Kansas concludes foreign tour with victory over Nice Select
NICE, France – Kansas women’s basketball wrapped up its 2016 foreign tour with a 113-27 victory over Nice Select on Tuesday afternoon in Nice, France. The Jayhawks head home from the 10-day trip on Thursday with a perfect 4-0 record while overseas.
KU scored triple figures for the first time on the trip to France and Europe and saw six Jayhawks record double-figure scoring performances. Kansas was led offensively by sophomore guard Kylee Kopatich, who ended the game with 17 points. She connected on five treys while also recording a pair of rebounds and three steals.
Junior transfer Eboni Watts tallied 15 points, second most on KU’s roster in the final game of the foreign tour. Watts also grabbed six boards against the Locaux. Redshirt sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert recorded 12 points and four assists. Seniors Timeka O’Neal and Caelynn Manning-Allen and sophomore Aisia Robertson completed the list of scorers in double figures with 10 each.
Over the first three minutes of the game, Kansas went on a 16-2 run to take an early lead that would remain intact until the final whistle blew. Calvert recorded seven of her 12 points in the opening 10 minutes. As the first period came to a close, the Jayhawks owned a 30-11 advantage.
Redshirt junior Jessica Washington began the second quarter with her first 3-pointer of the game. Calvert followed suit with a make from beyond the arc and Kopatich converted two more treys. KU opened the second period with an 18-0 run behind the four-straight 3-pointers. Kansas headed into the locker room at the half time break with a 63-15 lead after senior guard Sydney Benoit hit a shot just before time expired, which ignited KU’s bench. The Jayhawks outscored their opponents 33-4 in the second period.
Nice Select scored first in the second half, but Kansas’ defense held the Locaux to just six points in the third quarter. Kopatich’s fourth 3-pointer of the game marked KU’s first points of the half. The Olathe, Kansas product scored five of KU’s first seven points of the second half. Sophomore guard Jayde Christopher tallied six points in the third to lead KU for the period. For the second period in a row Kansas ended with a shot swishing through the net as time expired, this time from Watts.
With senior Lisa Blair and sophomores Chelsea Lott and Tyler Johnson recording points in the fourth quarter, all 14 Jayhawks that entered the game scored. Blair’s first points of the game lifted KU past the 100-point mark. Kansas ended its tour with its largest margin of victory, a 113-27 win over Nice Select.
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