Foul trouble dooms Jayhawks against the Sooners

For the third straight game, a big fourth quarter performance by an opposing star was enough to hold off the Kansas Jayhawks as they fell 80-74 to the Oklahoma Sooners. Sooner forward Madi Williams had 13 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter, and three key Kansas players finished the game with 4 fouls.

The game started out well for the visitors, as Zakiyah Franklin scored 8, Wyvette Mayberry scored 7, and the Jayhawks finished the quarter up by 9. The defense was very active in disrupting the Sooners, holding them to just 22.2% shooting from the field and 14.3% from three. But the pace was frenetic, with the two teams combining for 49 total shots in the period.

The second quarter was exactly the opposite, as the pace ground to a halt. Each team only had 16 shots, the Jayhawks only shot 18.8%, but the lead only shrunk by 2. Wyvette Mayberry, who picked up two fouls in the first quarter, did not appear at all in the second, and the offense struggled to get into rhythm.

The third quarter started poorly for the Jayhawks, with Mayberry picking up her third foul less than three minutes into the period. The Jayhawks missed their first 5 shots before Ioanna Chatzileonti made a layup with 3:40 into the half. But it did little to stop the Oklahoma run, with Jackson picking up three fouls in the quarter and a balanced attack that saw the Sooners pull level heading into the fourth.

And the fourth quarter was a struggle for Kansas, as Franklin picked up three fouls in the period and Mayberry picked up her fourth. Ultimately, the 9 from Mayberry and 7 from Franklin weren't enough, as Williams picked up 13 points to pull away for the victory.

Mayberry led the Jayhawks with 20 points, Franklin added 15 and Jackson was just two points shy of her 11th double-double, tallying 8 points and 13 rebounds. Chatzileonti was the only other Jayhawk in double digits, as Holly Kersgieter had 9 points and 7 rebounds.

The Jayhawks are back in action on Wednesday, as they host the West Virginia Mountaineers at 7pm in Allen Fieldhouse.

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