By AJ Neargarder
The powerful duo of Jaliya Davis and S’mya Nichols gave Kansas the 75-60 edge over Northwestern State, scoring 28 and 22, respectively.
The Jayhawks started out the game strong when Nichols scored the first points on a tough offensive drive, fighting through contact and securing the layup and drawing a foul. She connected on the free throw and completed the three point play.
Multiple defensive stops from Kansas led to a handful of successful trips to the paint for Nichols, extending the Jayhawk lead to 11-5.
“[Our defense] got off to a much better start,” Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider said.
Along with the strong defensive start, an offensive surge during the first quarter ended in a buzzer beater three pointer from Lilly Meister, getting the crowd on their feet as the Jayhawks went into the second quarter with a 22-12 lead.
Davis kept this offensive surge going to start the quarter, with successful layups on back-to-back possessions. Davis is the highest rated Jayhawk recruit since at least 2008, when ESPNW began ranking.
“Playing with this team, there’s been a lot of energy.” Davis said. “We’re all super close off the court.”
After not scoring for almost three minutes, Kansas ended its drought with a catch-and-shoot three from Elle Evans. Evans is not unfamiliar from beyond the arc, where last year she nailed 69 three-pointers, tied for second in school history for a single season.
Much of the second quarter Kansas was able to secure good defense and playmaking, as they forced six turnovers and spread the scoring around. Six players scored a basket for the Jayhawks on their way to a 39-22 lead at halftime.
Davis opened the second half with her foot on the gas, scoring on two straight possessions for the Jayhawks. This extended the Kansas lead to an even 20, making the score 45-25.
Coming out of a timeout, Nichols drove towards the paint and collected her second three point play of the afternoon to extend the lead further.
The Lady Demons managed to score eight unanswered points over the span of two minutes, opening up some defensive struggles for the Jayhawks.
“We didn’t necessarily play with the juice and competitive spirit that we need to.” Schneider said.
This shrank the Kansas lead going into the media timeout. This surge of points was led by Northwestern State forward Vernell Atamah, who nailed two beyond the arc and two free throws.
Keeley Parks ended the Jayhawks scoring drought with a long distance jumper that connected to keep the Lady Demons distanced.
Looking to get back in the game, Northwestern State was starting to play more aggressive, and the new playstyle gave them life. Sparked by a three point play from Lady Demon forward Payton Miller, they had cut the lead to 11.
Just over a minute into the half, after a Nichols shot was blocked, she inbounded the ball on an alley-oop to Davis to get the crowd back on their feet.
Back and forth possessions kept the Jayhawk lead hovering around 10 for the first half of the fourth quarter.
A late foul given to Lady Demon forward Clarence Djuela was her fifth, sending her out of the game, and Davis back to the free throw line to extend the Kansas lead to 66-54.
Davis wasn’t done scoring, getting back into the paint and backing down her opponent to lay it in.
Handfuls of free throws kept the game out of reach, and gave Kansas their second win of the season with a score of 75-60.
The Jayhawks will look ahead to their next matchup against Lamar back in Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. CT, streaming on ESPN+.
This article was edited by Eric Lucio. Contact him at ericlucio12@ku.edu for feedback or errors.