The women’s basketball season was off to a hot start for Kansas, until it wasn’t. After opening the 2025-26 campaign winning six straight games, including a neutral-site Border War victory over Missouri, that momentum has faded.
Must-win games ahead for the Jayhawks
Conference play hasn’t been kind to the Jayhawks. In the Big 12, they sit 13th with a 3-8 record. The question now is whether or not there is any hope as the season nears its end.
Luckily for the Jayhawks, the turn into February moves in their favor, with the back half of the schedule looking surprisingly light. Only two ranked matchups remain – both against the same team
Kansas will face No. 18 Texas Tech twice in just over two weeks, first on the road Feb. 10 and again at home on Feb. 25. The last time Kansas went down to Lubbock, the Lady Raiders won 73–64, escaping a competitive contest that never really felt out of reach.
But this isn’t a preview of those games. The Jayhawks need wins before those matchups arrive – and what happens in the next two to four days matters just as much as what happens down the stretch.
Games against BYU on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday offer a chance to rewrite the narrative after back-to-back single-score losses against Colorado and TCU. The Jayhawks enter both contests favored, playing in front of a home crowd.
Women in Sports Night ⬇️@KUWBball vs BYU
— Kansas Women's Basketball (@KUWBball) February 3, 2026
Feb. 4 | 6:30 PM CT | ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/LJSN1EqCXa
Key Contributors: Top Scorers and Impact Players
Jaliya Davis and S’Mya Nichols remain the only starters averaging double figures. Davis sits at 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while Nichols adds 3.9 to the rebound total and averages 4.1 assists.
Nichols scored 29 against then-No. 10 Iowa State, a game that the Cyclones won on a buzzer-beating triple from Kenzie Hare that ended the hopes of an overtime turnaround.
Davis, a freshman, has only appeared in 13 games this season. Her career-high 30 points came against Oklahoma State, but she dropped an eye-opening 29 points on the road against the Horned Frogs.
The bench has shown flashes of energy as well. Both Keely Parks and Regan Williams have posted multiple double-figure scoring games while playing just over 15 minutes per contest.
Still, for the Jayhawks to make the most of those numbers, the closing minutes need improvement. Another single-possession loss would mark the sixth game this season decided by three points or fewer, a troubling trend Kansas can't afford to continue, especially in front of the home crowd.
The Outlook
Does sitting 13th in the conference standings mean the season is over? No, not at all.
The 2022–23 season looked much the same at this stage, sub-.500 in conference play and hovering around that mark overall, but here’s a quick reminder: that team went on a run to win the WNIT. Case in point, head coach Brandon Schneider has been here before, and he knows how to turn it around.
Make sure to bookmark Through the Phog and follow us on X and Facebook with the username @Throughthephog