Kansas Takes Down Lamar to Improve to 3-0

Wednesday, November 12

Lawrence, Kan.

6:30 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

3-0,0-0Big 12

Lamar

0-3,0-0Southland

Lamar University

Kansas

Photo by: Jordyn Pennington/Kansas Athletics

Kansas Takes Down Lamar to Improve to 3-0

11/12/2025 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – S'Mya Nichols scored a game-high 15 points and Regan Williams recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated Lamar, 65-54, Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Nichols finished with 15 points after hitting all seven of her free throw attempts, while also dishing out a team-high six assists. Williams was 4-of-6 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds to secure the fourth double-double of her career at Kansas. Elle Evans also reached double figures, hitting 4-of-6 three-pointers to finish with 12 points.

"We didn't play the best first half, had a lot of turnovers and let them get a lot of hands on balls, but we did the tough things better while playing harder in the second half," Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said following the game.?"We had to adjust to their playing style and physicality in the second half and we were able to do that. We're able to separate in games when we're hitting threes and that's what we were able to do tonight."

The Jayhawks improved to 3-0 with the win, while dropping Lamar to 0-3 on the young season. Kansas now turns its focus to the StorageMart Border Showdown with Missouri, which will be played on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Tipoff of that game is set for approximately 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Kansas opened the first quarter with a 4-0 run with layups from Libby Fandel and Williams. Lamar answered with one point, but Elle Evans caught fire from beyond the arc, sinking two three-pointers, and Tatyonna Brown contributed with a jumper to keep Kansas ahead 12-6 with 2:24 left in the first. The Cardinals caught some momentum late in the first, with a 5-0 scoring burst to cut the lead to 12-11. Kansas held on as S'Mya Nichols made two free throws in the final seconds to take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.

Lamar opened the second quarter with a jumper, but Nichols answered with a layup to keep Kansas ahead 16-13. The Cardinals then hit a three-pointer to even the score at 16. Kansas found a spark when Lilly Meister scored three straight points off a free throw and a layup to regain a 19-16 lead, which started a 10-0 run that lasted nearly four minutes as Kansas extended its lead to 26-16 with just over two minutes left in the half. Kansas added one more point before Lamar closed the half with a three and a jumper, cutting the gap as KU took a 27-23 lead into the break.

The Jayhawks exploded out of the half with another 10-0 run, sparked by layups from Williams, Meister, and Fandel which extended the lead to 37-23 before Lamar finally broke the drought with a basket at the 5:46 mark. The KU offense continued to stay in rhythm, with another Evans three-pointer, her third of the night, to push the Kansas advantage to 40-25. Lamar used a quick 6-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 11 at 42-31, but the Jayhawks closed the quarter on a 10-1 run to push the lead back to 18 at 50-32 entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Evans hit an early three before the Cardinals added four points to trim the Kansas lead to 53-42. KU quickly responded with back-to-back free throw attempts from Conesa, who converted all four for a steady 59-44 advantage. Lamar continued to try and chip away by bringing the score to 61-50, but Kansas was able to close out strong with offensive contributions from Sania Copeland and Nadira Eltayeb, securing the third straight win on the season and a 65-54 victory.