LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 20 Kansas Jayhawks played the third triple overtime in program history on Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena, falling to Nebraska 85-79. The loss is the first of the year for the Jayhawks, who are now 10-1 at the conclusion of non-conference play.
Kansas had several significant individual performances in the game. Taiyanna Jackson recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, while Holly Kersgieter also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Big 12 Player of the Week Zakiyah Franklin set a new career-high with 27 points, which included all 10 of KU’s points in the first two overtime periods. Jackson became the first Jayhawk with 20-plus rebounds in a game since Chelsea Gardner in 2015 against West Virginia and Franklin’s 29 field goal attempts is the second-most in program history for a single game.
“There are some positives in there somewhere with our toughness and our grit,” Kansas Coach Brandon Schneider said after the game. “We didn’t play our best, but I thought we made ourselves really hard to beat and there’s a ton of things that are beneficial from a game like this. Now, the non-conference portion of our season is over, we’re 0-0 and we have a chance to go compete for a Big 12 title.”
The game was the first triple overtime game for Kansas since Dec. 30, 1988, when the Jayhawks defeated Wake Forest 105-100. Kansas also defeated Missouri 118-111 on Jan. 29, 1983 in the only other triple overtime game in program history.
The Jayhawks trailed 15-13 after a low-scoring first quarter, but quickly regained the lead on a Sanna Strom three-pointer to open the second. Kansas would push the lead to four at 19-15 before foul trouble and free throws helped Nebraska regain control. The Cornhuskers used a 13-2 run to take a 28-21 lead, which was snapped when Kersgieter connected on her lone basket of the first half, a three-pointer with 5:05 to play in the half. Nebraska would push the lead to 13, but Kansas closed on a 5-0 run after a Franklin three-pointer and pair of free throws from Kersgieter sent the Jayhawks into the locker room down 37-29.
Nebraska led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but buckets on consecutive possessions by Jackson got the Jayhawks within one, 48-47, with 2:33 to play in the third. It stayed a one-possession game for nearly the entire fourth quarter, with KU drawing even at 55-all on a lay-in from Franklin with 6:56 to play. Both teams would remain scoreless for more than three minutes, until Franklin struck again and put KU on top with a three-pointer. Nebraska scored the next five points before Kersgieter got a steal and a layup with 1:14 to play, which tied the game at 60-all, which is where the score remained heading into overtime.
Franklin scored all of KU’s points in the first and second overtime periods, hitting a jumper early in the first overtime that would be the Jayhawks’ only points. Nebraska scored just two free throws in the first extra period, including one-of-two with 1:07 to play which tied the game at 62. The Jayhawks took the lead on each of Franklin’s four baskets in the second overtime, but Nebraska tied the game each time, including at 70-all with 34 seconds to play, which forced the third extra period.
Nebraska hit three three-pointers in the third overtime, including one with 34 seconds to play that broke a 79-all tie. Kansas was held scoreless the final 1:19 while the Cornhuskers ended the game on a 6-0 run to pull ahead for the 85-79 victory.
Kansas had four players score 10 or more points in the game and three who totaled 10 or more rebounds. In addition to Franklin (27), Jackson (18) and Kersgieter (12), Ioanna Chatzileonti scored 10 points and had seven rebounds. Jackson had a career-high 21 rebounds, which tied for the sixth-most in a single game in the country this season, while Kersgieter recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Chandler Prater matched her career-high with 10 rebounds as well.
Up Next
Kansas opens Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 31, as the Jayhawks head to Oklahoma State in the final game of 2022. That game will tip off at 4 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on Big 12 NOW.
