Oklahoma bench pushes Sooners past the Jayhawks, 86-80

The Kansas bench was held scoreless for the third straight game as the Jayhawks fell at home on Sunday.

On a day where the Kansas senior trio of Zakiyah Franklin, Holly Kersgieter and Taiyanna Jackson combined for 73 points, the Kansas Jayhawks still weren't able to complete the comeback in the second half, falling 86-80 to the Oklahoma Sooners in Lawrence.

Schneider praised their game afterwards:  "If you had told me that they were going to play that well, I wouldn't have thought that we would have lost. But I thought OU was exceptional."

And they were exceptional, with Madi Williams goin 8-15 for 23 points, Ana Llanusa hitting four of five three pointers, and Aubrey Joens coming off the bench for 12 crucial points as the Jayhawks were trying to make a run. 

The game started off with a blur, as both teams scored quickly and often in the first quarter. Williams and Llanusa both had a three, and Liz Scott had 3 baskets on the interior to put Oklahoma up 4 with 3:29 to go in the period. But Kansas answered back with 6 straight points, and the back and forth resulted in a 27-27 tie at the end of the period.

The second quarter started will for the Jayhawks, as they scored the first 8 points on a Franklin layup and two three-pointers from Kersgieter, but Oklahoma used a push from Williams and Joens to storm back before the media timeout. Those two continued to fight off the Kansas runs, and a Llanusa three sent the visitors into the locker room up by 4.

The start of the second half saw Oklahoma build their lead to 8, but they couldn't push it any higher, as Franklin and Jackson took over the third period. They scored 19 of the Jayhawk's 22 points in the period, and Franklin's layup sent them into the break down just one.

Just eleven days after being propelled by the bench to a dominant victory, the Kansas Jayhawks needed some help from the bench heading into the final period. Unfortunately, as has been the case the last few game, the bench has not been able to contribute enough. No bench player scored in this one, with all the bench players combining for 0 points 1 assist, 1 steal and three turnovers in nearly 27 total minutes. As Coach Schneider put it in the post-game, "the drop-off can't be that much" when the bench players come in. "It affects momentum big time."

For the game, Zakiyah Franklin led all scorers with 30 points, also recording 6 assists. Holly Kersgieter, who briefly left the court after a hard foul late in the fourth quarter before returning, added 24 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds. Taiyanna Jackson had 19 points and 13 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season, which leads the conference and ties her for 6th in the nation.

The Sooners (22-4, 12-3 Big 12) have the middle of the week off before hosting the Longhorns on Saturday. The Jayhawks (16-9, 6-8 Big 12) are next in action on the road against the Kansas State Wildcats on Wednesday. Tip time is scheduled for 6:30pm CST, with the game being broadcast on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.