Kansas at Home to Host West Virginia on New Year’s Day

Thursday, January 1

Lawrence, Kan.

12 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

West Virginia

Photo by: Damon Young/Kansas Athletics

Kansas at Home to Host West Virginia on New Year’s Day

12/30/2025 12:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (pdf)Watch Listen Live Stats Tickets

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks will ring in the new year with a Big 12 Conference matchup at Allen Fieldhouse as KU hosts West Virginia on Thursday, Jan. 1.

Tipoff is set for noon CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Wayne Simien (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen on the Jayhawk Radio Network from Learfield, with Steven Davis and David Lawrence calling the action.

Kansas enters the contest with a record of 10-3 (0-1 Big 12) on the season. The Jayhawks are 7-0 at Allen Fieldhouse this season and finished non-conference play with a 107-39 victory over Haskell on Dec. 17. That win extended KU's non-conference home winning streak to 40 consecutive games, dating back to 2020.

KU returns to action for the first time since suffering a last-second, 79-76 defeat at No. 10 Iowa State on Dec. 21 in the conference opener. Junior guard S'Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 29 points, while freshman guard Libby Fandel scored a career-high 18 in her first conference game.

Nichols scored 29 points at Iowa State, marking her eighth 20-point game of the season. The scoring total also matched her previous high in a Big 12 game, set against Oklahoma on March 2, 2024. Nichols ranks third in the league in scoring at 20.0 points per game, while continuing to lead the nation in both free throws made (97) and attempted (116).

Fandel was 7-of-16 from the field and 4-of-9 from three at Iowa State as she set a new scoring career high for the second time in the three games with 18 points. After starting the season making one three-pointer over the first 10 games, Fandel has hit 10-of-22 attempts from long range over the past three outings.

Freshman guard Keeley Parks was 3-of-3 from downtown for nine points in the conference opener. Parks is now averaging 5.8 points per game for the year, and she's made a three-pointer in nine-straight games, hitting multiple threes five times in that stretch.

Senior guard Elle Evans was held without a made three-pointer for the first time this season at ISU as she scored 8 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Evans is KU's No. 3 leading scorer at 10.8 points per game and she's fifth in the nation in three-point accuracy, shooting 51.6 percent (32-62) from long range this season.

Senior forward Lilly Meister is the only Jayhawk other than Nichols to start all 13 games this season. Meister is averaging 8.7 points per game while leading Kansas with 7.2 rebounds per game.

The next challenge for the Jayhawks comes from West Virginia, who comes to town with a record of 11-2 after opening Big 12 play with a 101-46 victory over Houston on Dec. 21. The Mountaineers are averaging 82.5 points per game and lead the Big 12 in steals (13.4), turnovers forced (25.2) and free throw attempts (27.3) per game.

Thursday's matchup will be the 27th all-time between Kansas and West Virginia, and the 25th between the programs as Big 12 Conference opponents. WVU leads the series 19-7, including a 9-4 edge in games played at Allen Fieldhouse.

Tickets
Single game tickets for the 2025-26 Kansas women's basketball season are on sale now. To learn more about ticket options, fans are encouraged to visit KUAthletics.com or call 800-34-HAWKS.

Up Next
Kansas heads to Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, Jan. 4 to face UCF. That game will tip off at 1 p.m. CT from Additional Financial Arena and be broadcast on ESPN+.