Jayhawks Face San Diego State Thursday in WBIT Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 26

Lawrence, Kan.

6:30 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

San Diego State

Jayhawks Face San Diego State Thursday in WBIT Quarterfinals

3/24/2026 1:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The postseason run of the Kansas Jayhawks continues Thursday, March 26, as KU hosts San Diego State in the quarterfinals of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).

Tipoff from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 6:30 p.m. 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, a No. 2 seed in the WBIT, improved to 21-13 on the year with a 62-55 victory over Rice in the second round of the tournament. Sophomore forward Regan Williams paced the Jayhawks with 15 points, while freshman forward Jaliya Davis added 13 and junior guard S'Mya Nichols had 11.

The Jayhawks will now play their final game at Allen Fieldhouse this season against SDSU. At stake on Thursday night is a berth in the WBIT Semifinals, which will be played on Monday, March 30, at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

KU now faces a second consecutive conference champion in San Diego State. The Aztecs are the regular season champions of the Mountain West Conference after going 19-1 in league play. SDSU comes to Lawrence with an overall record of 27-5 this season. The Aztecs have played in Kansas once this season, defeating Kansas State 64-53 on Dec. 10 in Manhattan.

As the higher seed, Kansas gets to host the quarterfinal matchup. The Jayhawks are 14-4 at home this season, which includes an 9-0 mark against non-Big 12 opponents. Dating back to December 2020, Kansas has won 42-consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.

Williams led the team in scoring for the third time this season as she totaled 15 points, five rebounds and two steals in the second-round win. Williams scored in double figures 10 times during the regular season, and she's now third on the team in both scoring (8.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg) for the year.

Davis has continued her exceptional freshman season in the postseason. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year is averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the WBIT, while shooting 65.0 percent (13-20) from the field through two games. Davis has scored 471 points this season, which ranks fourth all-time by a Kansas freshman, and she's averaging 19.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the year.

After going for 31 points on 5-for-5 three-point shooting in the WBIT opener, Nichols scored 11 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals against Rice. Nichols, who owns both KU's single season and all-time free throw records, moved into third in Big 12 history for a single season when she went 6-of-8 from the stripe in the Rice game. Nichols leads the nation in free throw shooting this season, hitting 233-of-275 (84.7 percent) from the line.

Junior guard Laia Conesa and senior forward Lilly Meister tied for team-high honors with 10 rebounds in the Rice game, marking the first time this season that Kansas has had multiple players pull down 10+ rebounds in the same game. Conesa has now grabbed double figure rebounds in back-to-back games after pulling down a career high 12 in the WBIT opener vs. Troy. Meister now has a team-high six games of 10+ rebounds this season, including three double-doubles.

Sunday's contest will be the third all-time meeting between Kansas and San Diego State. The series is tied at 1-1, with SDSU earning a 76-63 victory in San Diego on Dec. 30, 1987, before Kansas claimed a 71-45 triumph in Lawrence on Dec. 28, 2004.

SDSU led the Mountain West Conference in scoring (69.9 ppg), 3FG per game (8.4) and field goal percentage (43.9), while also ranking second in scoring defense (59.3), 3FG percentage (36.0) and free throw shooting (76.5). The Aztecs are led by MWC Player of the Year Nala Williams, who averages 10.1 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 assists per game. SDSU's leading scorer, Naomi Panganiban, was also an All-Mountain West selection, while Kaelyn Hamilton was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year.

Tickets
Tickets for the WBIT are on sale, with general admission tickets available for $10 and reserved tickets starting at $15, plus fees. Tickets can be purchased by visiting KUAthletics.com or calling 800-34-HAWKS.

Up Next
With a win on Thursday, Kansas would advance to the WBIT Semifinals, which take place on Monday, March 30, in Wichita, Kansas.