Kansas
Jayhawks Take Down No. 10 Kansas State in Dillons Sunflower Showdown
Box Score | Season Stats
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Behind 22 points from freshman S’Mya Nichols and seven fourth-quarter points from super-senior Holly Kersgieter, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated No. 10 Kansas State by a score of 58-55 before a crowd of 9,007 at Allen Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon.
Kansas trailed 51-47 with 4:36 to play, but used an 11-1 to take the lead and closed the game by outscoring the Wildcats 11-4 to secure the victory.
With the win, Kansas improves to 16-11 overall and 9-7 in Big 12 play, which includes a 5-1 record in its last six outings. The Jayhawks are now 12-1 this season at Allen Fieldhouse and have won 20 of their last 21 home games, dating back to last season.
The win is KU’s second over a top 10 opponent this season, after the Jayhawks previously defeated then-No. 4 Baylor, 87-66, on Jan. 10 at Allen Fieldhouse. This marks the first time since 2000 that the Jayhawks have defeated two top 10 teams in the same season.
Three players finished with double figures for Kansas, who was led by 22 from Nichols on 8-of-16 shooting. Taiyanna Jackson had 11 points, seven rebounds and eight blocked shots – one off her career high and the single-game school record. Kersgieter added 10 points and seven rebounds and was KU’s closer with seven points in the fourth quarter.
“That was an incredible atmosphere for college basketball,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said after the game. “Kansas State is a very good team, but I thought we really stuck together, never fragmented and had some players step up and make plays in big moments to help us win the game.”
Jackson started off scoring by running the length of the court and being rewarded with a fast break layup on an assist by Holly Kersgieter. Kansas nailed all three of its three-point attempts in the first quarter, as Wyvette Mayberry, Zakiyah Franklin, and Nichols each knocked down one in the quarter. Another Jackson fast-break layup forced K-State to call a time with a little over two minutes left in the first frame, with the Jayhawks leading 17-6.
The Wildcats went on a 9-2 run to shrink the Kansas lead to just four at the quarter break. This marks the second-highest-scoring quarter by the Jayhawks against a conference opponent this season since the 22 first quarter points against Cincinnati. Nichols was just a point short of double-digits as she collected nine points heading into the second quarter.
Kersgieter hit her own three-pointer to start the second-quarter scoring, making KU four-for-four from beyond the arc. Kansas State stormed back and took its first lead of the game with 5:21 left in the second quarter. KSU’s lead got to 28-22 before KU junior Skyler Gill’s personal 4-0 run brought it back within a bucket. KU rounded out the quarter with a Franklin dish to junior Danai Papadopoulou to end the first half down 30-28, with seven different players contributing points in the box score.
Jackson earned her fifth block of the game, a rebound, and a bucket, all within 10 seconds for KU’s first points of the second half. Six-straight Nichols’ points, another Mayberry three-pointer and a Jackson jumper tied it up at 41-41 at the under-five media timeout. Nichols hit a free throw, and KSU scored another basket with the Jayhawks down a point, 42-43, going into the final frame of action.
Both squads traded off scoring in the fourth quarter, with Kansas State maintaining the upper edge before a 4-0 Kansas run tied it up 51-all with 3:31 left to play. Kersgieter nailed a jumper just in time to beat the shot clock to give Kansas its first lead of the quarter at 53-51. Kersgieter closed out KU’s scoring by going 3-4 from the line as Kansas completed a 11-1 run in 3:54 minutes of action. The Jayhawks held the Wildcats without a field goal for over four minutes before KSU hit a three with 12 seconds left to bring it to a final score of 58-55.
Next Up
The Jayhawks are on the road for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 28, with their first trip to Orlando, Florida, to face Big 12 newcomer UCF. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast in Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
Gage Workman came off the bench and hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot that sent the Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Sunday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Matt Vierling had a two-run double and Riley Greene reached safely four times as the Tigers prevented a three-game sweep.
Called up hours earlier from Triple-A Toledo when Kerry Carpenter was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder sprain, Workman entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.
Workman drove a 1-1 slider from Nick Mears (2-2) to right field to give Detroit a 5-3 lead.
Wenceel Pérez added an RBI single in the seventh.
Enmanuel De Jesus (2-0), the fourth of six Tigers pitchers, retired all seven batters he faced. Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 483rd career save and seventh this season.
Kansas City lost for only the third time in 10 games.
Hao-Yu Lee’s two-out RBI triple off the outstretched glove of Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone opened the scoring in the second. Zack Short walked and Vierling delivered a two-run double off the left-field wall to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
In the third, Kansas City greeted reliever Drew Anderson with three straight hits, scoring their first run on a hit-and-run, opposite-field single by Vinnie Pasquantino, and another on Carter Jensen’s sacrifice fly.
In the fourth, Caglianone doubled to left-center and scored the tying run on Maikel Garcia’s third hit, a two-out single to center.
Royals starter Noah Cameron exited after allowing a leadoff hit in the fifth on his 95th pitch. He allowed three runs and five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
The top three Kansas City batters combined for seven of the team’s eight hits.
Greene has reached base safely in a career-best 21 consecutive games. In 27 games since April 11, he is batting .384 with 13 extra-base hits.
Up next
Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (0-3, 5.56 ERA) faces Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (2-3, 3.12) on Tuesday night in New York.
Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (1-0, 4.50 ERA) pitches Tuesday in Chicago against White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (0-4, 3.79).
Four teens hurt in southeast Kansas rollover
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Four teenagers are hurt after being in a rollover crash on Sunday.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said a 16-year-old girl was behind the wheel of a Jeep. She went off the road, hit a culvert and rolled.
The crash happened just after midnight near the intersection of North 150th and North streets, northeast of Girard.
Man dead after downtown Wichita shooting
Two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old were passengers in the Jeep. All four teens were hurt and taken to the hospital after the crash.
The driver received suspected serious injuries, and the rest received suspected minor injuries.
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The Detroit Tigers were beaten by the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Saturday night.
Michael Wacha pitched seven scoreless innings, Bobby Witt Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run on a grounder and Michael Massey had a three-run homer for the Royals, who will go for the series sweep on Sunday night.
Witt hit the ball down the right-field line in the first inning that bounced off the wall and eluded right fielder Kerry Carpenter. Witt motored around the bases and beat the relay throw to the plate for a two-run homer.
It was the Royals’ first inside-the-park home run since Witt did it in August 2023.
Carpenter left the game later with left shoulder soreness.
Wacha (4-2) gave up two hits, walked two and struck out six. It was his longest scoreless outing since throwing eight scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox on April 11.
Burch Smith (0-2) took the loss. He retired only one of the four batters he faced, allowing two runs on three hits in one-third of an inning.
Massey’s homer in the fourth inning came with runners on first and third with two outs. He lined the ball over the right-center field fence for his third homer of the season.
Wacha had at least one strikeout in each of his first four innings. The Tigers loaded the bases in the fifth on a double, a walk and a hit batter, but Wacha got Matt Vierling to ground out to end the inning.
The Tigers scored in the eighth on a two-out double by Riley Greene.
Up next
The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday. The Tigers have not announced a starter, though manager AJ Hinch said it will be a bullpen game. Kansas City will send LHP Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.40 ERA) to the mound.
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