Jayhawks Take Down Oklahoma State for First Big 12 Victory

Saturday, January 4

Stillwater, Okla.

2 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Damon Young/Kansas Athletics

Jayhawks Take Down Oklahoma State for First Big 12 Victory

1/4/2025 4:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats Highlights Photo Gallery

STILLWATER, Okla. – S'Mya Nichols, Regan Williams and Elle Evans combined for 62 points as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma State 75-66 on Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Nichols led the Jayhawks with 27 points, four rebounds and seven assists, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Williams scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed three rebounds before fouling out, while Evans had 15 points, six rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots.

For Nichols, it was the fourth-straight game she has scored more than 20 points, her 10th of the season and the 19th of her career.

Defensively, Kansas limited the Big 12's top-scoring offense to 66 points, marking just the fourth time this season that OSU has failed to score at least 80 points.

Kansas has now won its last six matchups over Oklahoma State, including three-straight wins over the Cowgirls in Stillwater. KU's six-game win streak is its longest over OSU since a stretch of eight-straight wins from 1995-2000.

With the win, Kansas improves to 11-3 on the year while picking up its first conference win to move to 1-2 in league play. The Jayhawks also handed OSU their first conference loss, dropping the Cowgirls to 12-2 (2-1 Big 12) this season.

Oklahoma State scored the first basket of the game, but a pair of free throws by Evans tied it up and was followed by a Laia Conesa three-pointer as Kansas led for the remainder of the first quarter. Nichols scored KU's final 11 points of the quarter, hitting three jump shots and all five of her free throw attempts as the Jayhawks led 18-12 at the end of the first.

Nichols also scored KU's first bucket of the second quarter, before Williams added five straight points to give the Jayhawks their largest lead of the half at 25-17. OSU scored the next eight points to tie the game, then took its first lead since the opening seconds with a transition basket in the final minute to give the Cowgirls a 30-29 lead at the break.

OSU opened the second half on an 11-3 run, including a 7-0 spurt that made it 41-32 with 6:50 to play in the third, forcing Kansas to call a timeout. Following a technical foul on OSU, Evans hit four-straight free throws to cut the deficit to five, then knocked in a three-pointer to narrow the Cowgirl advantage to 43-41. OSU led 50-43 with 2:02 to play in the third, but Kansas closed on an 8-0 run, capped by a bucket from Nichols on the final possession as KU regained the lead, 51-50, heading to the fourth.

Kansas used a 6-0 run to flip back the lead at 59-52 with 5:50 to play after Nichols hit one-of-two from the line. Evans nailed a three-pointer and Nichols scored twice more, to give KU a nine-point lead with 2:52 remaining. OSU scored the next four points before Conesa sank the biggest shot of the night, a dagger three-pointer from the right wing that made it 69-61 with 1:02 to play.

Kansas finished the game by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line to secure the 75-66 victory.

Up Next
Kansas plays its first home game of 2025 on Tuesday, Jan. 7, as No. 11 TCU comes to Allen Fieldhouse. That game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT and be streamed on ESPN+.