Kansas hosts Kansas State Sunday for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

Sunday, January 25

Lawrence, Kan.

12 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

Kansas State

Lawrence, KS - January 20, 2026 - Libby Fandel #13 and S'Mya Nichols #12 during a game against Arizona in McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, AZ. Photo by Kansas Athletics

Photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas hosts Kansas State Sunday for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

1/23/2026 11:06:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The first edition of the 2026 Dillons Sunflower Showdown is coming to Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, Jan. 25, as the Kansas Jayhawks host the Kansas State Wildcats.

Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m. CT in front of a nationally televised audience on FS1, with Shelby Coppedge (play-by-play) and Missy Heidrick (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 comes home following an 80-69 victory at Arizona on Jan. 20. The win snapped a four-game slide and improved the Jayhawks to 12-8 (2-6 Big 12) on the year. Freshman forward Jaliya Davis and junior guard S'Mya Nichols led the way with 43 of KU's 80 points in the win, with Davis going for 25 points and a career-high eight rebounds, while Nichols added 18 points.

Davis, the back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Freshman of the Week, is averaging 20.7 points per game with seven games of 20 or more points. She's the first Big 12 player to average more than 20 points per game through her first 10 career games since Courtney Paris of Oklahoma in 2005-06.

Davis and Nichols make up one of the top scoring duos in the Big 12. Through the first eight conference games, Davis is averaging 22.0 points per game, which ranks second in the league, while Nichols is seventh among conference players with an average of 17.3 points per game in league play.

Nichols hit 10-of-12 free throws at Arizona, marking the sixth time this season she's made at least 10 free throws in a game. Nichols continues to lead the nation in both free throws made (137) and attempted (164), while shooting 83.5 percent from the stripe, which ranks ninth in the Big 12. Nichols is KU's all-time leader with 521 free throws made in her career.

Senior guard Elle Evans broke out of her brief shooting slump by hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers and scoring 13 points at Arizona. Evans is the nation's leader in three-point accuracy, shooting 48.9 percent (44-90) from long range, and she's fourth on the team with 9.4 points per game.

Senior forward Lilly Meister scored six points and grabbed five rebounds at Arizona, marking the 11th time in the past 12 games she's pulled down at least five rebounds. Meister is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game, while leading the Jayhawks with 6.9 rebounds per game on the season.

Junior guard Laia Conesa has hit multiple threes twice in the past three games, including going 2-for-2 from long range Tuesday at Arizona. Conesa is averaging 3.9 points per game for the year and shooting 36.4 percent from long range.

Kansas State comes to Lawrence with a record of 11-9 (4-3 Big 12) following consecutive victories at No. 17 Texas Tech (65-59) and at home against Houston (69-65). The Wildcats, who are 4-2 on the road this season, are led by Taryn Sides (12.7 points per game) and Nastja Claessens (11.4 points per game).

The Dillons Sunflower Showdown is the most-played rivalry in Kansas women's basketball history with 133 previous meetings. Kansas State swept the season series in 2024-25, but the Jayhawks have won four of the last five meetings played at Allen Fieldhouse.

Tickets
Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 Kansas women's basketball season are on sale now. For more information, fans can visit KUAthletics.com or call 800-34-HAWKS.

Up Next
The Jayhawks play on national television for the second straight game when KU visits No. 9 TCU on Thursday, Jan. 29. Tipoff from Fort Worth is set for 5 p.m. CT with the game televised on ESPN.