Kansas Defeats FAU, 90-60, To Win FAU Thanksgiving Tournament

BOCA RATON, Fla. – With three players setting career highs in scoring and two in rebounding, Kansas rolled pass FAU, 90-60, to win the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament in FAU Arena on Saturday, Nov. 30.

Sophomore guard Brooklyn Mitchell led the team in scoring with a career-high 23 points on 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the field.

Behind Mitchell were junior forward Tina Stephens, who had her third double-double of the season with a Kansas career-best 19 points and 15 rebounds, and sophomore guard Aniya Thomas, who also finished with a career-best 19 points and seven rebounds.

This marks back-to-back tournament victories and the second tournament championship for Kansas under head coach Brandon Schneider. Two Jayhawks received tournament awards as Mitchell won MVP and Stephens earned All-Tournament team honors.

Kansas jumped out to a 9-2 lead starting with sophomore guard Aniya Thomas converting on an and-1 in the first 12 seconds of the game. The Jayhawks kept the lead and went on an 11-2 run in the last 3:12 of the quarter led by sophomore guard Brooklyn Mitchell, who had a career-best 11 points in the opening period. Kansas led 24-10 entering the second quarter.

The Jayhawks carried its momentum into the second quarter opening on a 10-4 run to get its largest lead of the game at 34-14. The Owls came back with a 19-4 run over the span of 3:59, closing Kansas’ lead at 38-33. The Jayhawks took a 42-37 lead into halftime.

Kansas was dominant on both sides of the court coming out of the half. The Jayhawks outscored the Owls 23-10 and shot 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from the field. Kansas held FAU to 4-of-16 (25 percent) from the field and 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

KU continued to roll through the fourth quarter shooting8-of-16 (50.0 percent) from the field and defensively held the Owls to 13 points on 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) shooting from the field and 2-of7 (28.6 percent) from the 3-point line.

UP NEXT

The Jayhawks will travel back to Lawrence and get ready to host Florida on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. CT in Allen Fieldhouse.

Sophomore guard Brooklyn Mitchell leads all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field after the first quarter.