KU Athletics
LAWRENCE – The Kansas Jayhawks are set to renew a long-time rivalry in the second round of the WNIT as KU hosts Missouri for a postseason edition of the Border Showdown on Monday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on Monday and the game will be televised on Big 12 NOW, with Josh Klingler and Wayne Simien on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on the Jayhawk Radio Network from Learfield, with Steven Davis and David Lawrence calling the action.
This will be the first meeting between Kansas and Missouri in women’s basketball since 2012, which was the Tigers last season as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks and Tigers faced off 82 times from 1973-2012, with Kansas holding a 44-38 lead in the all-time series.
Kansas is competing in the WNIT for the sixth time, first since 2011, and the Jayhawks are in the postseason for the second consecutive season. KU now has postseason victories in back-to-back seasons after defeating Western Kentucky 86-72 on Friday night in the first round of the WNIT.
With the first-round victory over WKU, Kansas improved to 20-11 on the season, securing its second-straight 20-win season and the 23rd in program history.
Missouri comes to Lawrence with a record of 18-13 on the year after defeating Illinois State 61-51 in the opening round of the WNIT on Thursday. The Tigers, who placed ninth in the SEC with a 6-10 record, are led by Hayley Frank, who averages 13.0 points per game.
All five starters for Kansas scored in double figures against Western Kentucky as the group combined to score 79 of KU’s 86 points in the victory.
Taiyanna Jackson led the Jayhawks as she notched her 19th double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jackson, a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 and All-Big 12 Defensive Team selection, is on pace to become the first Jayhawk since 1982 to average a double-double for an entire season, with current totals of 15.0 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. Her 2022-23 total of 94 blocked shots is one away from tying her single-season school record set last season, and her 393 rebounds ranks fourth in school history for a season.
First Team All-Big 12 selection Zakiyah Franklin filled the stat sheet against Western Kentucky with 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Franklin is KU’s leading scorer with 15.7 points per game and she has scored in double figures 15 times in the past 16 games.
Holly Kersgieter, a three-time All-Big 12 selection, had 14 points against WKU. She hit four three-pointers in the game, giving her 200 for her career as she became the fourth player in program history to reach that milestone. Kersgieter is No. 13 on KU’s all-time scoring list with 1,490 career points.
Chandler Prater recorded her second-straight double-double and third of her career with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds versus WKU. Wyvette Mayberry rounded out the scoring for KU’s starters with 11 points.
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With a win, Kansas would advance to the third round of the WNIT, where the Jayhawks would face the winner of a second-round matchup between Nebraska and Northern Iowa.