Kansas rally falls short against Baylor in 77-73 loss

Four Jayhawks scored in double figures, but the Lady Bears held them off late to preserve the season sweep.

Down by ten early in the fourth quarter, it seemed that the luck for the  Kansas Jayhawks had finally run out. The cold-shooting Baylor Lady Bears team that had repeatedly been unable to capitalize on the Kansas mistakes had just finished a big turnaround in the third quarter. And despite limiting turnovers that had been a problem in the first half, the lead has swelled in the third period. 

But the Jayhawks, led by Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin, made a fourth quarter push to get within two points multiple times before ultimately falling by a final score of 77-73. The loss drops them to 14-6 overall and 4-5 in Big 12 play.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter, as Kansas went just 4-11 from the field with eight turnovers, while Baylor went 4-14 with five turnovers. Kansas' Taiyanna Jackson picked up 2 fouls in just 6 minutes of play, and the Jayhawks ended the first quarter up 12-8.

But the second saw the Baylor offense get going. Led by nine points from Sarah Andrews, the Lady Bears scored 22 points in the quarter to take a 2 point lead into the half. The Jayhawks stayed in the game with their rebounding, pulling down 6 offensive rebounds while only allowing Baylor to get 2. 

The third quarter saw Caitlin Bickle and Bella Fontleroy step up for Baylor, with each scoring 7 points on their way to a 23 point quarter. The Jayhawks were able to limit the fouls and turnovers that plagued them in the first half, but cold shooting kept them from getting closer, and the defensive rebounding fell off to set up the dramatic fourth quarter comeback that fell short.

Kersgieter finished with 20 points to lead Kansas, with Zakiyah Franklin (13), Wyvette Mayberry (13) and Taiyanna Jackson (12) joining her in double digits. Jackson and Chandler Prater led the Jayhawks in rebounding with 9 each, but Kansas was undone by 20 turnovers versus 13 assists and foul problems, with Mayberry fouling out and Prater ending with four.

The Jayhawks are back in action on Saturday as they come home to take on the Texas Longhorns. Tipoff is scheduled for 4pm CST with the game broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+

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