Written by Atticai Margrave | Cover Image by Allie Brakel
Kansas State marched into Lawrence and picked up a dominant win against the Jayhawks this Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse behind “volcanic” and “national championship level” shooting according to KJHK broadcasters Ben Hooke and Grady Johnson during the 91-64 rout of Kansas.
Hopes were high headed into the 132nd matchup between the Kansas and Kansas State women’s basketball teams. The last five Dillon’s Sunflower Showdowns had been won by the home team, and Kansas was gaining momentum with wins over Houston and Texas Tech. Kansas State on the other hand struggled in their most recent game, needing overtime to beat Iowa State at home and dropping the game before to Colorado.
Instead of staying down, the Wildcats, backing up their 11th spot in the AP Poll, used those games as fuel for an absolute masterclass on both ends of the ball.
The first quarter started like many good rivalries do. Both teams went on their respective runs. Fans were loud for each team. The game was tight. After the first ten minutes the score was 20-17, and while Kansas State was winning and shooting over 50% from three and the field, people expected both teams to settle into a hard-nosed fight for the rest of the game.
Instead of settling, Kansas State turned it up a notch. First, it was the defense. The Wildcats held Kansas to 3-11 from the field in the second quarter for only eight points. Not only that, but they also only let Kansas get to the foul line once for two attempts, when normally the Jayhawks are one of the best teams at drawing fouls.
The game was still within reach at halftime with Kansas trailing 25-37. A good push at the beginning of the quarter would put the Jayhawks and the crowd right back into the game. Coach Mittie and his players were ready for that push.
“We got to push back at them, we got to make them call the first timeout out of the half and they did,” sophomore guard Taryn Sides of Kansas State said. “We did a really good job bringing energy and just making shots out of the half.”
That push for Kansas State forced 11 turnovers in the 3rd quarter alone. They were also able to turn defense into offense, scoring 30 points in the quarter and hitting five of their seven threes. The 11-2 run that the Wildcats opened the second half with really put the game away early, as Kansas was never able to recover.
However, it was not all dark skies for our Jayhawks. In the fourth quarter, Sania Copeland had her best quarter as a Jayhawk. She scored all of her 17 for the game and went 6-6 for the field, including three made threes. The team as a whole also had their highest scoring game of the last six contests against one of the premier teams in the country.
Four Wildcats would finish the game in double figures with Jaelyn Glenn leading the pack with 19. On the other side of the ball three Jayhawks were in double figures. Copeland led the way with 17, Elle Evans in her first Sunflower Showdown had 13 and Laia Conesa matched her career best with 12.
Kansas needs to be spectacular if they want a shot at March Madness at the end of the season. In their way is this Kansas State team, who they will face in 20 days. The Jayhawks know they don’t have the time to wallow in this loss, as they hit the road this Wednesday to take on West Virginia in Morgantown. The next game KJHK will cover is tonight as Iowa State’s men’s team comes into Allen Fieldhouse, so tune in as Jordan Ziegler and Caleb Kalcich bring you that coverage. In the meantime, we’ll eagerly await the women’s team to come back from their two game road trip.