photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard S'Mya Nichols floats in a layup against Baylor on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

S’Mya Nichols’ 22 points weren’t enough to get the Jayhawks their first Big 12 win of the season in their first road matchup of conference play, as Kansas fell 78-64 at Iowa State on Wednesday afternoon and moved to 0-2 in the league.

Without a match for Iowa State’s Audi Crooks down low, Kansas allowed the first-team All-Big 12 star a season-high 33 points en route to a convincing victory for the Cyclones. As the first and second-leading scorers in the Big 12, respectively, both Crooks and Nichols produced on offense, but Kansas’ supporting cast struggled to score at high volumes outside of Nichols, while Iowa State’s Addy Brown put up 19 points to complement Crooks.

“We did some really good things today. Their crowd is going to create momentum in (Hilton Coliseum), this is a terrific environment,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said in a press release. “There were times in the first half that they got up by 10 and we came back and cut it to three at halftime. What we didn’t do as well as I would like is communicate and execute in the second half. Those are things we will continue to get better at.”

The Cyclones started off hot, shooting 60% from the field in the first quarter, as Crooks scored 16 of Iowa State’s 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting, collecting nearly half her points for the entire contest. But while Crooks was the spark for the Cyclones, the Jayhawks took a more balanced approach in the period, as four of five starters scored to keep them within reach. Kansas ended the quarter down just six points, even though it shot just 31.3%, including 1-for-7 from beyond the arc, to start off on the wrong foot.

But the Jayhawks were able to turn things up in the second, outshooting the Cyclones and going 50% from the field as the team effort continued. On the Iowa State side, Crooks went scoreless as Brown stepped up with seven of her team’s 17 points and five of nine rebounds. After KU trailed by 10 on two separate occasions in the period, a 7-1 run led by Nichols and Elle Evans made it a three-point game at halftime, as Iowa State remained ahead 36-33.

Evans and Nichols combined for 17 points at the break, while Regan Williams supported them with six points of her own. Crooks led all scorers with 16, while Brown followed with seven points and Emily Ryan added six.

The Cyclones opened up the scoring on their first possession of the second half, but a five-point run by the Jayhawks tied things at 38 less than two minutes into the period. Iowa State quickly regained the lead, and the Cyclones went up 50-42 halfway through the third. Kansas trailed by as many as nine points, while Nichols kept the Jayhawks afloat offensively, but they were unable to pull any closer and ended the third in a 56-48 deficit.

Six immediate points for the Cyclones got them their largest lead at 62-48. Schneider called a timeout to regroup after a rocky start to the final quarter, and Nichols was able to end the scoring drought right after with a layup.

Danai Papadopoulou completed a three-point play at the six-minute mark to make it a 10-point game, but an 11-point Iowa State run was the final nail in the coffin as Kansas was constantly trying to come from behind. Even with a 10-2 stretch to end the game, the Jayhawks fell by 14 points for their second conference loss.

Kansas will now get back on a regular schedule following its extended holiday break, as it travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to play an Oklahoma State team that has beaten both of the Jayhawks’ first two conference opponents by a combined 29 points. The Jayhawks and Cowgirls will face off in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m. to wrap up KU’s two-game conference road trip.

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