Another year, another championship for the Kansas Jayhawks.
This year it was the women’s basketball team who took home a trophy, following the program’s first-ever WNIT championship win over Columbia on Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks were led by senior Taiyanna Jackson, who scored 17 points and grabbed 21 rebounds. Her performance earned her MVP honors to go along with her All-Tournament Team selection.
Fellow Jayhawk and All-Big 12 performer Zakiyah Franklin was also named to the All-Tournament Team. She finished the championship game with a team-high 19 points along with four assists and three rebounds.
The Jayhawks played a stifling defensive game, holding Columbia to just 31% shooting from the field and 26% from three-point range. They also forced 17 turnovers on the night.
It was a memorable finish to an up-and-down season, especially for seniors Jackson, Franklin, and Holly Kersgieter.
Perhaps the best part of the afternoon was the fact that more than 11,000 Kansas fans showed up to cheer their Jayhawks on to victory.
It would have been easy for most Kansas fans to dismiss this game because of the disappointing finish to the men’s season or because this wasn’t an NCAA Tournament game, but that was far from reality. The fans showed up and the team rewarded them.
It wasn’t exactly the finish the team was hoping for when the season began, but no one can be disappointed about this program winning a postseason championship – no matter which tournament is listed on the trophy.
This is 𝙆𝘼𝙉𝙎𝘼𝙎 𝘽𝘼𝙎𝙆𝙀𝙏𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙇 🎉 pic.twitter.com/q9U8slkDDL
— Kansas Women's Basketball (@KUWBball) April 1, 2023