Kansas Jayhawks Upset Texas Women at Home, 70-66
The Kansas Jayhawks ended a decade-long losing streak in Austin on Wednesday night, outlasting the No. 13 Texas Longhorns in overtime, 70-66, at the Erwin Center.
Kansas (11-2, 2-1 in Big 12) also beat a ranked team for the first time since 2018. Texas (11-3, 1-2) lost to an unranked Big 12 team for the second time in a week. The Longhorns lost to Texas Tech last week.
Kansas had a chance to win in regulation but failed after missing a chance to ice the game and watched as Texas sharpshooter Aliyah Matharu hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with nine seconds left. The Jayhawks didn’t waste their shot in overtime, outscoring the Longhorns 11-7 behind Holly Kersgieter.
The Jayhawks guard had 19 points and did most of her damage in the fourth quarter and overtime. After Zakiyah Franklin gave the Jayhawks the lead with a 3-pointer, Kersgieter scored the next two baskets for the Jayhawks, both on layups, to give Kansas a 66-61 lead with 2:01 left.
Texas guard Audrey Warren cut the lead to 66-63 with a jumper with 1:33 left. But, with time running short, Texas had to start fouling. Franklin made a free throw to push the Kansas lead back to four, 67-64, with 32 seconds left. Kersgieter made two more free throws with 11 seconds left to make it a 69-63 Kansas lead.
Matharu connected on a 3-pointer with three seconds left to give the Longhorns a chance. The Longhorns fouled Kansas’ Chandler Prater, one of the nation’s best free-throw shooters. Prater teased Texas by missing the first free throw but made the second one to set off a celebration.
It was not a pretty game. Both teams committed 23 turnovers. Kansas, normally one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the Big 12, shot just 57.7 percent from the line and it nearly cost them the game. Texas seemed disconnected on offense most of the night. While Matharu scored 11 points, and her 3-pointer tied the game and sent it to overtime, she played just 11 minutes and sat most of the game in foul trouble.
Texas led for just 25 percent of the game and had its biggest lead at 9-2 early in the game. Kansas, meanwhile, seemed in control for much of the contest. Despite missing the chance to win the game in regulation, the Jayhawks shot 75 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
Aniya Thomas scored 11 points for Kansas, while Franklin added 10 points.
Joanne Allen-Taylor led Texas with 18 points and she hit some key baskets throughout the game. DeYona Gaston added 14 points. Rori Harmon scored eight points, along with a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists. She played with four fouls for most of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Texas hosts West Virginia on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Mountaineers beat Texas Tech on Wednesday night.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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