WICHITA, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks were outscored 24-16 in the fourth quarter as BYU prevailed 70-67 in the WBIT Semifinal matchup Monday at Charles Koch Arena.
Jaliya Davis led the Jayhawks with 18 points and four rebounds, concluding her first season at KU as the program’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer among freshmen. S’Mya Nichols had 14 points, hitting 10-12 free throws, while dishing out six assists with four rebounds. Lilly Meister had 12 points and nine rebounds in her final game for the Jayhawks, while Regan Williams added eight points off the bench.
With the defeat, Kansas ends its season with a record of 22-14. BYU (26-11) advances to the WBIT Championship game to face Columbia.
Kansas scored the first eight points of the game, with five from Davis mixed in with a three-pointer by Meister, and the Jayhawks held BYU scoreless for more than four minutes to open the contest. The Cougars answered with a 9-0 run, taking their first lead of the night at 11-10 before Nichols hit two free throws to put the Jayhawks back on top. BYU went on top by two, but Nichols scored a layup in the closing seconds to tie the score at 15-15 after 10 minutes of play.
BYU held the lead early in the second quarter, while Kansas tied the game on three occasions. The Jayhawks trailed 24-22 at the media timeout, but quickly scored six-straight points, including a pair of baskets by Libby Fandel, to take a 28-24 lead at the 2:53 mark. BYU scored the next four to tie the game, but Meister put in a traditional three-point play at the 1:40 mark, sending Kansas to the break leading 31-28.
Kansas quickly built its advantage to 36-32 early in the second half, but BYU countered with a trio of three-pointers to take a 41-40 lead with 5:22 to play. Laia Conesa hit a jumper to put KU back on top 46-44 and the Jayhawks used a 5-0 run from the free throw line to go up six before BYU got a free throw back to make it 51-46 at the end of three.
The fourth quarter was all about runs, starting with an 8-0 spurt by BYU as the Cougars took a 54-51 lead at the 6:48 mark. Meister ended the run with a three and Nichols added a pair of free throws, putting Kansas back on top, 56-54, just 68 seconds later. BYU hit three straight three-pointers as part of a 9-0 run, opening up a 63-56 advantage with 3:51 to play. BYU’s lead remained at nine into the final minute, when Brittany Harshaw knocked down a three-pointer and Davis scored to make it 69-65 with 15 seconds to play. Nichols added two more free throws to make it 70-67, which ended up as the final margin.
NOTES:
- Freshman Jaliya Davis scored 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, marking her 25th game in double figures this season. Davis scored in double figures in all four of the WBIT games.
- Davis’ 18 points make her the second highest scoring freshman in program history with 514 total points this season. Davis passed current teammate S’Mya Nichols, who scored 508 in 2024.
- Junior guard S’Mya Nichols scored 12 points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, marking her 32nd game this season scoring in double figures, and 87th time in her career.
- Nichols’ 12 points moved her into the top 10 in the all-time scoring list in program history with 1,691, passing Tamecka Dixon from 1994-97.
- Nichols’ went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe and moved into 2nd in Big 12 history for single season free throws made with 243.
- Nichols recorded six assists in Monday’s contrast against BYU and now sits in 9th place for single season assists in program history with 167.
- Senior forward Lilly Meister finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field. Meister shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, marking her second straight game with multiple three pointers made, and fourth time this season. Meister has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and 28 in her career.
- Freshman Libby Fandel pulled down seven rebounds against BYU, marking the fourth time this season she has grabbed five or more rebounds in a game.