photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Elle Evans shoots a 3-pointer against TCU Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Lawrence.

For the second game in a row, an opponent outpaced Kansas women’s basketball on the glass. This time, the disparity was far more dramatic, especially in the first half, as Colorado outrebounded the Jayhawks 23-11. The Buffaloes’ Sara-Rose Smith, who averages 5.4 rebounds per game, had 13 of her own in the first half — two more than the Jayhawks grabbed as a team.

The disparity made it difficult for KU to assert itself against CU, as it lost 84-76 in Boulder, Colorado, on Saturday afternoon.

“I thought Colorado was relentless on the boards, they set the tone with their energy level,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said postgame. “I think that’s the difference in the game. I mean, you’re just not giving yourself a real chance to win when you get out rebounded by 21. I was pleased with the production we got from Elle (Evans) and Regan (Williams), those are two that we need to consistently produce for us to be successful.”

Colorado finished with 39 rebounds compared to Kansas’ 18, 13 points on second-chance shots compared to Kansas’ three, and 22 bench points compared to Kansas’ four. Evans carried her team offensively with a season-high 28 points and seven 3-pointers.

KU’s star sophomore guard S’Mya Nichols, who averages 21.6 points per game, suffered an apparent injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s contest. With just under seven minutes remaining in the game and KU down 10 points, Nichols spun around awkwardly to throw up a contested shot in the post against Colorado’s Kindyll Wetta and landed hard on her back. Three KU staffers helped Nichols over to the bench after she lay on the court for several minutes. She did not return to the game.

If Nichols misses any time, it’ll be another blow for a team that has already struggled with a severely depleted rotation for much of the year. She finished Saturday’s game with 15 points and six assists.

KU started slow on the offensive end in Boulder, as Nichols had only three points 15 minutes into the game, but its fearless barrage from beyond the arc kept the Jayhawks within reach. In the first quarter, they only shot 30% from beyond the line, but scored nine of their 15 points from the area, with Nichols, Evans and Sania Copeland sinking one apiece to enter the second period down 21-15. Colorado attempted only four three-pointers in the quarter, but made three and shot 64.3% from the field for an efficient period that saw 10 of the Buffaloes’ points come off of Kansas turnovers.

But Colorado’s efficiency dropped in the second, as the Buffs shot less than 35% from the floor, yet they still put up another 20 points. Colorado’s rebounding dominance persisted in the new period, as Smith added on another 10 rebounds and the Buffs grabbed seven second-chance points on their eight offensive rebounds. Kansas matched Colorado’s point total with nine-point quarters from both Evans and Nichols, but still trailed 36-30 at the 2:11 mark of the quarter. A five-point run capped by a 3-pointer by Evans with less than a minute and a half remaining made it a one-point game right before the half, before a couple of crucial turnovers allowed Colorado to respond and extend to a 41-35 lead.

Colorado continued its momentum after the break with a 15-2 run, which forced a timeout by Kansas and caused Schneider to turn to his bench much earlier in the quarter than he might have liked to. After nearly three minutes, a jumper by Nichols ended the scoring drought with the Jayhawks down 56-40. Facing their biggest deficit yet, the Jayhawks turned it up a notch and finally both matched the Buffs on offense and forced some timely turnovers to get back in the game, as another 3-pointer from Evans brought Kansas within 11 points. A last-second layup on the other end put the Jayhawks down 68-55, but the fight KU showed in the last stretch of the third quarter left hope for a comeback.

This fire remained for the Jayhawks in the beginning of the fourth, even after Nichols’ departure, as a pair of free throws by Laia Conesa made it 72-64 with nearly seven minutes left to play. But a couple of short runs by the Buffaloes kept Kansas consistently out of reach, just as the Jayhawks made their deficit manageable. Even with 53% shooting from the floor in the final quarter, the Jayhawks lost a fourth conference game and dropped to 11-5 (1-4 Big 12).

Evans and Williams stood out in a rather lackluster performance by the Jayhawks, who once again were plagued with rebounding troubles to come out of a nearly 50% shooting performance with an eight-point loss. Nichols also went 3-for-4 from the field and 8-for-9 from the line and played efficiently before exiting.

Now the Jayhawks have a bit of a rest before hosting Big 12 newcomer Arizona State on Thursday to open a two-game homestand.

Box score

• Journal-World sports editor Henry Greenstein contributed to this report.