LAWRENCE, Kan. – Led by 31 points from junior S’Mya Nichols and 21 points by freshman Jaliya Davis, Kansas battled to a 79-70 win over Troy on Thursday night in the first round of the WBIT at Allen Fieldhouse.
Despite trailing for most of the first 30 minutes of the game, Kansas outscored Troy 30-16 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.
“We struggled to make shots in the first half in particular, mainly because we had poor shot selection with no paint touches,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said after the game. “In the second half, we did a much better job against the press and I thought S’Mya did a really good job of controlling tempo and getting us into the right stuff.”
Nichols hit a career-high 16 free throws in 18 attempts, surpassing her own single season free throw record in the process. The 16 made free throws is third-most in a single game in school history and Nichols is now 227-267 from the stripe this season. She also passed the 600 made free throw milestone in the game, extending her all-time school record to 613 for her career.
“It's just what she does. It's unbelievable how she can draw fouls and create contact,” Schneider said of his junior point guard. “She's so strong and skilled. It's a real strength of hers, and she's going to shatter records that I don't know how anybody would ever touch them. It's unbelievable, especially at a guard position.”
With the win, Kansas improves to 20-13 this season, marking Kansas’ 25th 20-win season in program history and its fourth in the last five seasons. Kansas advances to the second round of the WBIT and will take on Rice on Sunday, March 20, back inside Allen Fieldhouse. Troy ends the season with a 25-8 record.
Both teams battled in the opening quarter as Troy was able to jump out to a slight lead at 13-8 midway through the first quarter. The Jayhawks were able to take their first lead of the game at 14-13 with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter following a layup from Davis and a pair of free throws from Nichols. Both teams were knotted after the first quarter at 17-17.
Midway through the second quarter, Troy spouted off a 9-2 run to take a 31-25 lead. Following a pair of free throws from Davis, senior Sania Copeland scored four straight points for the Jayhawks to bring Kansas to within two points at 33-31 with 1:30 remaining before halftime. Troy would take a 37-32 lead into halftime, while Davis and Nichols led Kansas with 11 and 10 points, respectively, at the break.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the third quarter until Kansas cut the Troy lead down to three points at 44-41 following a Nichols 3-pointer. Troy would later take a 54-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Davis scored Kansas’ first four points to bring Troy’s lead down to 54-53 with 8:30 remaining in the game. Trailing by three at 56-53, freshman Libby Fandel hit her first 3-pointer of the game to tie the game at 56-56.
Kansas broke the tie by connecting on five straight free throws to take a 61-56 advantage with 5:30 remaining. Sophomore Regan Williams followed up with a layup, before Troy answered back with a 3-pointer to cut the Kansas lead to 63-59. On Kansas’ next possession, Nichols found the bottom of the net on a 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining. Troy went back to Leilani Guion for her second straight 3-pointer to bring the Kansas lead to 66-62.
Davis brought Kansas’ lead back up to 69-62. Following a technical foul on the Troy bench, Nichols hit a pair of free throws to give Kansas a 71-62 lead with 2:37 to go. On Kansas’ next possession, Nichols hit a 3-pointer to go up 74-62. Junior Brittany Harshaw then hit her first 3-pointer to send Kansas up, 77-66.
The Jayhawks would close out the Trojans down the stretch, 79-70, to advance to the second round of the WBIT.
NOTES:
- With S’Mya Nichols’ 31 points and Jaliya Davis’ 21 points, it marked the 7th time this season with two players scoring 20+ points, including the fifth time Nichols and Davis scored in double figures in the same game. Kansas is now 5-2 in those games.
- Nichols set the single season free throw record for the second consecutive season with 227. Nichols previously set the record in 2025 with 218 made free throws. Nichols also surpassed 600 career free throws made and now has 611 career free throws made.
- Nichols’ 16 free throws set a new career high and are tied for the second most in school history. Nichols’ 16 free throws are the most since Angela Aycock tied the school record with 17 free throws made on Dec. 29, 1994.
- With her 31 points, Nichols also moved up to 11th on Kansas’ all-time scoring list, passing Crystal Kemp, who scored 1,637 career points from 2003-06. Nichols now has 1,650 career points.
- Nichols recorded her 13th 20-point game of the season and her second game with at least 30 points. It was Nichols’ 38th career game with 20+ points.
- Freshman Jaliya Davis scored 21 points, marking her 22nd game in double figures in 23 games played this season. It also marked Davis’ 14th game with 20+ points this season.
- Junior Laia Conesa recorded a career-high 12 rebounds, topping her previous career best of 10 set at Houston on Jan. 25, 2025.