By Jordan Coburn
Kansas women’s basketball beat UCF 56-35 in its first matchup of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Jayhawks secured a victory despite both teams shooting extremely poorly. Kansas also outrebounded UCF and was more effective in drawing fouls to make its way to the free-throw line.
“It probably wasn’t what the fans paid for from an offensive perspective,” Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider said. “[I’m] proud of our bunch, I’m excited to be able to move on to the next round.”
Both teams started slowly, and UCF went back and forth with Kansas to begin the game. It wasn’t until the end of the quarter that the Jayhawks began to find their rhythm.
The Jayhawks drilled a series of 3-pointers, with two coming from junior guard Brittany Harshaw, while senior guard Sania Copeland also splashed a three. The Jayhawks ended the quarter leading the Knights 17-10.
The second quarter was sloppy as UCF committed multiple turnovers. Kansas also struggled and went on many scoring droughts and didn’t score any field goals for the last 5:48 of the first half, but still maintained a 27-17 lead at halftime.
The Jayhawks went on a 6-0 run in the middle of the third quarter while only allowing the Knights to score two points until there were 3:48 left in the quarter.
Kansas entered the fourth quarter leading UCF 39-26, but still struggled to finish the quarter, shooting 2-10 from the field.
Similar to what they did in the middle of the third quarter, Kansas went on another run, but this time the Jayhawks went on a 7-0 run. However, Kansas freshman forward Jaliya Davis committed two of her four fouls late in the fourth quarter.
UCF ended the game making only one of its last eight field goal attempts while also going nearly six minutes without making a field goal.
Davis was the only player for Kansas to score double-figures while also posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
UCF graduate guard Jaccoriah Bracey was the only other player in the game, other than Davis, to score 10 points.
The Jayhawks (18-12, 8-10 Big 12) are No. 11 in the Big 12 and have a quick turnaround as they will play against No. 6 Colorado on Thursday night, once again at T-Mobile Center in the second round of the tournament.
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT, and the game will stream on ESPN+ and be broadcast live on Jayhawk Radio Network.
This article was edited by sports writing editor Eric Lucio. Contact him at ericlucio12@ku.edu for feedback or errors.