Kansas downs Tigers in overtime

LAWRENCE, Kan. – It took five extra minutes of action, but Kansas women’s basketball snuck away with a 90-83 victory over Fort Hays State on Sunday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse.
 
The Jayhawks closed out the final 3:53 of the overtime period on a 9-1 run to seal KU’s exhibition win over the Tigers.
 
Kansas was propelled by the mature play of four seniors down the stretch. The foursome of Christalah Lyons, Brianna Osorio, Austin Richardson and Kylee Kopatich combined for KU’s final 11 points in the win. The four finished the game with 54 points, 23 rebounds and eight assists for the Jayhawks. It wasn’t just the seniors that made an impact, freshman Brooklyn Mitchell tallied 17 points and four assists in 19 minutes of action off the bench. 
 
KU finished the afternoon shooting 45.2 percent from the field with four Jayhawks connecting on 40 percent or higher on their attempts. The Jayhawks got the ball inside, outscoring the Tigers in the paint, 44-30, which helped to open up the KU shooters on the outside. As a team, Kansas sank 10 attempts from long distance from five different players.
 
Quotes:
Head coach Brandon Schneider
Opening statement:
“I don’t know if we could have asked for anything more out of an exhibition game. Give Fort Hays State a lot of credit, they were exactly what we expected out of such an experienced group. A lot of veterans over there, who I thought played extremely hard. They were so competitive in all the hustle and toughness areas of the game and I think that made us a lot better today. To be in so many situations that this time of year you don’t expect to be in in an exhibition game that we haven’t necessarily had time to practice yet. To be in some of those and have some of those plays and have film of that too look at what we did right and what we did wrong. I thought this was great for our team.”
 
On playing an overtime exhibition game:
“I just don’t know that you get a lot out of a 30 or 40-point blowout. Of course, we would like that, but with who we play exhibition, whether it is Emporia State, Washburn, Pittsburg State or Fort Hays State, those are high level Division II teams. Quite frankly, they are Division I teams with Division I talent. So we get a lot more out of it than maybe other teams around the country do.”
 
Freshman guard Brooklyn Mitchell
On the expectations for a game like today’s:
“I expect us to win, first and foremost. I expect us to execute and do what coach says and be disciplined.”
 
On her first game in Allen Fieldhouse:
“It was pretty exciting. It was a great feeling to get out there and put in what we’ve been doing in practice and how hard we’ve been working.”
 
Senior guard Brianna Osorio
On playing with a player like Brooklyn:
“It’s amazing. She gets it out in transition and looks for the open man. She’s a good driver and she gets it up.”
 
On how this game will help prepare them for the upcoming season:
“All of the different situations. We were down three. We do situations in practice also, so that really helps us. The switching portion that we did at the end of the game, just doing different plays and different situations in so many areas.”
 
On her mindset throughout this matchup
“They’re a tough team. My mindset was that we’ve got to get the win and I’m going to do anything that we can to get the win.”
 
NOTABLES

  • Kansas’ 90-83 win over Fort Hays State marks the Jayhawks’ 27th-straight exhibition victory.
  • KU’s overtime win is the first overtime game in exhibition play since 2007 when the Jayhawks beat Emporia State, 74-64.
  • After being down 32-29, the Jayhawks used a 15-4 run over the final 4:32 in the second quarter to close out the first half and take a 44-36 lead into halftime.
  • Freshman guard Brooklyn Mitchell’s 17 points are the first time a KU freshman has scored double figures in an exhibition matchup since 2015 when Kylee Kopatich scored 10 points against Emporia State (11/8).
  • Kansas finished with four players in double figures (Mitchell, Austin Richardson, Kylee Kopatich and Brianna Osorio).
  • As a team the Jayhawks corralled in 17 offensive boards, which led to 19 second chance points.
  • The Jayhawk bench outscored the Tigers 31-27 on the afternoon.
  • As a team the Jayhawks finished with 18 assists on 33 made field goals. They were led by Mitchell, who finished with four on the afternoon.
  • Richardson recorded a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She also finished with a game-high four blocks. 

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will be at home for one final exhibition matchup against Washburn on Sunday,  Nov. 4, before KU begins regular season play. Tipoff against the Ichabods is set for 2 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse and can also be viewed through ESPN+.
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