Franklin scores career-high 31 as Jayhawks hold off Cyclones
On an emotional Senior Night, the Kansas Jayhawks held off a late rally from the Iowa State Cyclones to get their first win in the series since 2015 and bolster their case for the NCAA Tournament. In a game that was the exact opposite of a physical win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, defense was nonexistent as a total of 37 fouls were called in the Kansas 98-93 victory.
Kansas senior guard Zakiyah Franklin led the Jayhawks with a career-high 31 points on just 20 shots, including a 3-4 night from three. Junior guard Wyvette Mayberry went 4-7 from three and added 22 total points on 13 shots, plus 6 assists and 2 blocks. But it was a strong defensive effort on Iowa State guard Emily Ryan and some timely defense against Ashley Joens that made the difference for the Jayhawks.
There were several points where it looked like Kansas was going to run away with this game, but a late push by the Cyclones gave the juiced up crowd something to be nervous about. With a Franklin layup that put Kansas up 85-68 with 5:39 to go, it looked like Kansas was going to cruise to a win. But an 11-0 run over the next two minutes of play started a furious comeback that pulled the visitors as close as 2 points in the final minute. But the night was saved with some clutch free throw shooting from the Jayhawks, which allowed head coach Brandon Schneider to record his 100th win at Kansas just one game after his 500th career win.
The Jayhawks got off to a hot start, as Franklin and Chandler Prater combined to score the first 5 points of the game. After a Denae Fritz three-pointer, Mayberry set the tone for the rest of the night by finishing a layup through contact. Iowa State's Ashley Joens, who led all scorers with 33 points, scored four straight points from the line, but the resulting one point margin was the closest that the Cyclones would get the rest of the night. Mayberry hit the first of her three 3-point baskets of the quarter, and the hot shooting from outside started to open up the lane. Taiyanna Jackson and Prater took advantage early, and a Mayberry three at the end of the quarter sent Kansas into the first break with a seven-point lead.
The second quarter started where the first one left off, with Franklin answering a Morgan Kane three-pointer with a three-point play of her own. But Iowa State finally started to find their footing, going on a 14-4 run over 5 minutes to close the gap to just three with a minute left in the half. But a three point play by Nadira Eltayeb was matched by a Joens 3-pointer before Franklin's layup at the buzzer put the Jayhawks ahead by five at the half.
Kansas came out swinging in the second half, with Jackson scoring 9 of her 15 points in the third quarter. But early foul calls against Chandler Prater sent Coach Schneider to the bench for extended periods of time. But most impressive was the defensive effort, as Kansas held the Cyclones to just 6 points before the media timeout. The lead stretched to 17 at one point, but a small run towards the end of the quarter brought it back to 10, with Franklin missing a layup at the buzzer and Jackson missing two free throws that she was awarded before time expired.
Foul trouble stacked up for both teams, with some unusual lineups hitting the floor in the fourth quarter. Kansas saw extended minutes with both Szofia Telegdy and Eltayeb on the floor, and the move paid off. Schneider said after the game that he told his team that he had faith in the lineup, as it was "good enough to increase the lead."
And they did, with Telegdy scoring the first 8 points of the quarter for Kansas to stretch the lead to 15. It was 17 after an Eltayeb layup, and Franklin stretched it one last time with her layup with 5:39 to go in the game before Iowa State started their furious comeback.
Neither one of the two pre-game senior honorees had a sizeable impact on the game. Holly Kersgieter came off the bench in her first action since being held out for concussion symptoms, but was on a loose minutes restriction. She only had three points on the night, but she scored the final point of the game from the line.
Despite a desperate plea from the student section, Chisom Ajekwu did not see the floor. When asked afterwards, Franklin noted that the chants "juiced them up" and Coach Schneider noted that there just "wasn't a moment where it would be appropriate" to get her in the game given the stakes of the win for their NCAA Tournament hopes. He assured everyone that "Chisom knows how much we love her."
As good as the action on the floor was, everyone involved mentioned how big the Allen Fieldhouse crowd was. Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly noted that it was an "extremely tough road environment" that helped Kansas to be "as good as I've seen them play in a long time."
"I can't thank our fans enough," Prater said in the postgame press conference. "We always talk about Kansas fans, but the Kansas women's side, those fans are special."
Jackson was held to a relatively quiet 15 points and 8 rebounds, but she added 3 blocks and had 2 assists, including an interior pass to a streaking Prater that delighted the Kansas crowd. The bench came up big, with Telegdy scoring 10 points in 13 minutes and Eltayeb scoring 5 points and pulling down 6 rebounds in just 9 minutes.
The win over Iowa State likely assures a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but the Jayhawks finish the season on the road against TCU before heading to Kansas City next week for the Big 12 Tournament.
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