🏀 Jackson Stars as Jayhawks Defeat BYU

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Taiyanna Jackson had one of the best performances of her career with 25 points, 22 rebounds and five blocked shots as she led the Kansas Jayhawks to a 67-53 victory over BYU on Wednesday evening at Allen Fieldhouse. 

Kansas led wire-to-wire in the contest, winning its fourth-straight home game while improving to 9-1 at Allen Fieldhouse this season. The Jayhawks are now 11-10 on the year and 4-6 in Big 12 play, while BYU falls to 12-10 overall and 2-7 in their first year in the league.

“I thought Taiyanna Jackson was incredible tonight with her activity level and she was relentless,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said. “She struggled early to make shots, but she kept after it and put together a complete performance on both ends of the floor.”

Jackson recorded the 36th double-double of her career, matching Vickie Adkins for third in school history on a night where the Jayhawks honored Adkins as part of the Marian E. Washington Trailblazer Series. The 22 rebounds for Jackson established a new career-high and she surpassed 900 rebounds for her career.

S’Mya Nichols added 17 points and four rebounds for the Jayhawks while Wyvette Mayberry reached double figures with 11 points and a season-high five steals. Ryan Cobbins got her second start of the season and scored six points while matching her career high with 12 rebounds. 

The Jayhawks grabbed an early 8-4 lead in the first, with Nichols scoring six points on 3-for-3 shooting to put the Jayhawks ahead at the first media timeout. Jackson kept the Jayhawks in front by scoring Kansas’ next four points as KU maintained a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

Kansas held BYU to shooting 23.1 percent and the Cougars went just 3-for-13 from the field in the opening quarter. The Cougars were also held scoreless for the last 1:33 of the quarter. 

Kansas stretched its lead to eight points behind a 6-0 run early in the second quarter, forcing BYU to take a timeout. Jackson contributed four of the six points to put her over the double-digit mark early in the game. 

BYU narrowed the lead to just one point with its own 7-0 run, but Mayberry extended Kansas’ lead by delivering KU’s first three-pointer of the game, which gave KU a 23-19 lead. 

The Jayhawks ended the second with a five-point lead after Jackson scored another basket, and Nichols chipped in a free throw on the final possession to make it 26-21 at the break. 

BYU would score the first four points of the second half before a fast-break layup by Cobbins extended KU’s lead back to five points at 28-23. Both teams scored five points a piece with KU leading 33-28 before going into a media timeout. An 11-2 Kansas run propelled them to a lead of 14 points before BYU knocked down a three-pointer to cut KU’s lead down to 44-33 at the end of the third. 

The Jayhawks kicked off the fourth quarter with a 4-0 spurt to reach a lead of 16 points at 49-33. BYU answered with their own 13-2 run to shrink Kansas’ lead to 51-46. Kansas widened its lead to double digits with 2:09 left in the fourth after Nichols’ layup, following a 3:33 scoreless stretch by BYU. The Jayhawks closed with a 10-4 run to secure the 67-53 win over the Cougars. 

Next Up
Kansas opens play in February with a road trip to Fort Worth, Texas to face TCU. Tipoff from Schollmaier Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.