TEMPE, Ariz. – The Kansas Jayhawks were held to a season-low 51 points on Saturday as KU suffered a 67-51 defeat to Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena.
The loss is the fourth straight for KU as the Jayhawks fall to 11-8 (1-6 Big 12) on the season. Arizona State improves to 16-3 (4-2 Big 12). Kansas concludes its road trip with a trip to Tucson, Arizona, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, to meet Arizona. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Jaliya Davis and Regan Williams had 11 points apiece to lead the Jayhawks, while S’Mya Nichols had eight points in 21 minutes before exiting the game with an injury in the third quarter. The Jayhawks shot 38.0 percent (19-50) from the field and 20.0 percent (4-20) from three-point range, while knocking down all nine free throw attempts in the game.
“We have to play with more discipline,” Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider said following the game. “I think there's a frustration when things aren't going your way, and there's a way to respond in a competitive way. We just fouled too much today, and I thought a lot of it was a frustration with how the game was going but also with where we are.”
The first quarter featured alternating runs from the two teams as they combined for two ties and four lead changes. Arizona State scored the first four points of the game at the free throw line before Davis and Libby Fandel combined to score the next seven as KU took its first lead of the day. ASU answered with a 9-2 run, building a 13-9 lead before Williams scored a basket and Davis hit two free throws to tie the game at 13-13 at the end of one quarter.
Nichols broke the tie with a three-point play to open the second quarter and Kansas led 18-15 at the 8:37 mark after Sania Copeland scored a driving basket. The Jayhawks were held to one basket - a Lilly Meister three-pointer - over the next six minutes as ASU went on a 19-3 run to build a 34-21 lead at the 2:14 mark. Nichols ended that streak with a three-pointer and Brittany Harshaw knocked down a triple of her own on KU’s final possession of the half, but ASU beat the buzzer with a jump shot to carry a 40-29 lead into the break.
Davis knocked down KU’s first two buckets of the second half, briefly cutting the deficit into single digits before ASU went on an 8-3 run to take their largest lead at 50-36. Williams scored the next six points for the Jayhawks and Elle Evans added a basket, but Kansas faced a 55-43 deficit at the end of three.