photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore guard Laia Conesa screams in excitement after a teammate is fouled during the game against Arizona State on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Lawrence.

The Kansas women’s basketball team (12-5, 2-4 Big 12) stopped its two-game skid in the league play with a 75-52 win over Arizona State at Allen Fieldhouse on Thursday.

Sophomore guard S’Mya Nichols had left the team’s prior game against Colorado early with a back injury but was back in action against ASU. Even though she played, the Jayhawks made the emphasis to rally around her in light of her injury. Sophomore guard Laia Conesa, in particular, shouldered a larger scoring role and finished with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field.

“I think as a collective, we did a good job of coming in knowing she’s not at 100%,” junior guard Elle Evans said. “It was a team effort, trying to fill in for what she does.”

The Jayhawks started fast on both ends. Conesa hit a 3-pointer on the team’s opening possession, starting a 9-0 run. Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said Conesa was the “ringleader of everybody having S’Mya’s back.” She played a team-leading 35 minutes with an aggressiveness that Schneider hadn’t seen before.

On the other end, the Sun Devils went five minutes without a bucket and had a couple of turnovers. This was indicative of the night for an ASU team that struggled with numerous scoring droughts and 20 turnovers, off of which the Jayhawks scored 20 points.

Evans said the team has been focusing on defense lately, and the pressure it put on ball handlers helped hit that total. Freshman forward Regan Williams added that the Jayhawks rotated well, which put pressure on the Sun Devils.

The Jayhawks led 20-9 after the first quarter and pushed their lead to 41-23 by halftime. Nichols hit her only field goal in the second quarter before finishing 1-for-7 shooting. While it wasn’t a typical scoring night, Nichols made an impact as the team’s facilitator.

“I thought we did a phenomenal job on Nichols, but other players stepped up,” Arizona State coach Natasha Adair said. “Kansas is a balanced team — it’s more than just Nichols. She made the right reads when she was doubled or triple-teamed where she didn’t force anything.”

Arizona State made a comeback effort in the third quarter, going on a 14-3 run to cut the Kansas lead to nine points. It was the closest the game had been since the early minutes of the first quarter, which led to Schneider calling a timeout. The adjustment was simple: get back to playing the way they played earlier. Once the team regrouped, the Jayhawks took control of the game and built a 25-point lead.

“We got way too comfortable with our lead, and we can’t do that,” Evans said. “This is a very competitive league, and we need to keep our foot on the gas.”

Evans led the Jayhawks with 22 points on 9-for-15 from the field. It was her second game in a row with over 20 points.

“I think mostly I’ve been getting more aggressive on the offensive end, and obviously, my shots have been falling more than at the start of the season,” Evans said. “A big thing is my mindset.”

Kansas attacked the paint over the final quarter, scoring 12 of the team’s 23 fourth-quarter points in that area. The team finished with 30 points in the paint for the game.

The Jayhawks started the conference schedule slowly, with four losses in their first five games. However, their win against the Sun Devils was a boost as the conference season continues, with two games in every week except one until the Big 12 tournament in March.

The Jayhawks will host the Arizona Wildcats (11-8, 2-4) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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