Kansas women's basketball has tournament-clinching win over Big 12 champion Oklahoma
The Jayhawks might have just punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with Saturday's victory.
With the conclusion of the regular season looming, the Kansas women's basketball team put on a show in front of the Allen Fieldhouse crowd to secure a potential tournament-clinching 83-74 victory over Big 12 champion Oklahoma.
The Sooners led at halftime, but a strong second half from the Jayhawks was enough to put them away late. KU forced 19 turnovers and nearly outscored their opponent by double digits despite being outrebounded 38 to 28.
It was an offensive onslaught from Brandon Schneider's starting lineup, as they contributed each point in the win. Freshman phenom S'Mya Nichols scored a team-high 29 points with 13 made free throws, while senior guard Holly Kersgieter dropped 26 points and recorded three steals.
Senior Night was hosted in Allen Fieldhouse for KU seniors, who went out with a bang after upsetting OU. They came into the game ranked No. 20 in the nation and had already clinched the league's regular season title with 15 wins in conference play, but Kansas was able to get it done to improve to 18-11 on the year.
In ESPN's most recent edition of bracketology, Kansas was the first of the last four schools in. This win should make them a sure-fire entry into March Madness, barring a disastrous mistake by the Selection Sunday committee. KU's resume also includes wins over ranked teams such as Baylor and K-State.
The Jayhawks have made the tournament once since signing Coach Schneider in 2015. That appearance came in 2022 as his group made the Round of 32 while the men's team subsequently won it all the following month. The program has reached three tournaments since the 2000-01 campaign.
Kansas, the No. 7 seeded team in the Big 12 Tournament, will begin its postseason this Friday against No. 10 seed BYU. The Jayhawks prevailed over the Cougars in both of their meetings in conference play.
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