LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas improved to 7-0 on the season as the Jayhawks defeated Southeast Missouri State 88-51 in a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse. The 88 points were a season high and the undefeated start is the best since the 2019-20 season.
Offensively, Kansas featured a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures. Senior Taiyanna Jackson paced the Jayhawks with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds. Sanna Strom scored a career-high 13 points, while Holly Kersgieter, Wyvette Mayberry and Zakiyah Franklin added 12 points apiece.
"I think we had the right mentality coming into the game. We addressed it head on, that this could be a trap game in between Texas A&M and Arizona and we felt like with the experience and maturity that we have that this should be a momentum game. I thought we used it the right way, we got some people who haven't got a lot of minutes some opportunities today."
Head Coach Brandon Schneider
The Jayhawks started out strong and never looked back. An 11-0 run to begin the game followed by another 11-0 run in the first quarter and an 8-0 run to end the quarter had KU leading 30-4 at the end of the first period. The 30 points were the most in a quarter this season. Kansas scored 14 points off six SEMO turnovers.
The lead continued to grow in the second quarter as the Jayhawks went into halftime with a 50-18 advantage. Seven three-pointers in the half helped the Jayhawks finish with a season-high 50 points and build a season-high 32-point edge at the break. Jackson led the team with 13 points at the half.
A 24-16 third quarter by KU allowed Kansas to stretch its lead to as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter.
The Jayhawks finished the game shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-25) and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (24-of-32). The 37-point victory was the largest since the 2020-21 season against Oral Roberts.
Up Next
The Jayhawks are on the road Thursday, Dec. 8 to face Arizona, who is currently ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll. That game tips off at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Notes
The Jayhawks scored 80+ points for the first time this season, with 88 points. KU also had the most points they’ve scored in one half this season with 50 points in the first half.
Taiyanna Jackson has scored in double-figures in every game this season (16, 16, 10, 14, 24, 16, 17), averaging 16.1 on the season.
Five Jayhawks scored in double-figures: Holly Kersgieter (12), Taiyanna Jackson (17), Zakiyah Franklin (12), Wyvette Mayberry (12), Sanna Strom (13), (prev. Franklin (21, Jackson (14), Kersgeiter (11), Mayberry (11), Prater (10) vs Texas A&M 11/23/22.
The Jayhawks have never trailed after the first quarter through 7 games this season.
Prior to the game, Kansas recognized former Jayhawk Carolyn (Davis) Jenkins, who played at KU from 2010-13 and is currently an assistant coach for the Redhawks.
KANSAS: THE LAST TIME (INDIVIDUAL)
Chandler Prater had 5 Assists (prev. Zakiyah Franklin had 5 assists at Saint Mary’s)
KANSAS: THE LAST TIME (TEAM)
Scored 50 points in a half (55 points against Vanderbilt 12/5/21)
Had 40 rebounds: 44 rebounds (40 at Saint Mary’s 11/26/22)
