Led by S’Mya Nichols, KU women’s basketball outlasts Missouri at T-Mobile Center

Overland Park native S’Mya Nichols scored 20 points with seven assists and five rebounds and senior guard Elle Evans added 20 points, two blocks and two steals as the Kansas Jayhawks earned a Border War win over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday night.

Jaliya Davis, from Blue Valley North, added 15 points in 24 minutes for the Jayhawks, who won 82-77 over the Tigers at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The matchup was the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 2012.

“We told our players pregame, ‘Not every Kansas women’s basketball player has had the opportunity to play in this game. Let’s go take advantage of it,’” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said.

The Jayhawks led for more than 35 minutes, though Missouri, paced by 18 points from junior guard Shannon Dowell and 16 more from Grain Valley native Grace Slaughter, made things interesting at several points in the second half.

The Tigers used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one point midway through the third quarter. Later, Slaughter tied the score with a free throw at the 3:28 mark in the period, then Saniah Tyler, from Florissant, Missouri, drilled a 3-pointer to put MU up three.

“I thought it was an exciting game and fun to be a part of,” Missouri coach Kellie Harper said, per the Columbia Missourian. “We really challenged them at halftime, and it was exciting to see our team show some competitiveness.”

The Jayhawks (4-0) led by four by the end of the quarter, but the Tigers again tied the score courtesy of a Slaughter basket with 8:56 to play. That was their final push, however, as the Jayhawks quickly regained control of the game and led by at least two possessions for the final 4:53.

Nichols, who attended Shawnee Mission West, scored eight points in the fourth quarter on 3-for-5 shooting. The Jayhawks played an efficient game overall, shooting 54.2% from the field, 50% from 3 and 80% at the free-throw line.

“I thought a couple of our veterans, Sania Copeland (Olathe North product; five assists, three steals) and Elle Evans were physically tough and competed really, really hard,” Schneider said. “S’Mya wasn’t her best and still gets 20 and seven. It was good to see some others step up.”

The Tigers (3-1), meanwhile, left points at the line, shooting 11 for 20 (55%), while committing 15 turnovers to KU’s 10. The Jayhawks scored 21 points off turnovers, the Tigers two.

Jordana Reisma also scored in double figures for Missouri, contributing 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting.

“We just fell a little bit short, and a lot of that has to do with our defensive execution,” Harper added.

Kansas returns to action Wednesday against Minnesota. Mizzou will next face Southern Illinois on Tuesday.

This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 9:13 PM.