KU Jayhawks’ shooting woes spell loss to Colorado, exit from Big 12 women’s tourney
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas shot 34% overall and 20% from three, missing 8 of 10 threes.
- Colorado out-rebounded Kansas 38-22; KU endured a six-minute second-quarter drought.
- Loss leaves Kansas 19-13; coach says team will pursue WBIT or WNIT play.
The Kansas Jayhawks’ run in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament ended at the hands of Colorado on Thursday night at T-Mobile Center.
Blame KU’s poor shooting, which apparently carried over from the Jayhawks’ first-round win over UCF. Sixth-seeded Colorado bested 11th-seeded Kansas 55-48 in the second round of the tournament.
It’s the Jayhawks’ second loss to Colorado this season; the first was an overtime defeat in Lawrence in February.
Junior KU guard and Shawnee Mission West grad S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks (19-13) with 11 points (5-for-15, 1-for-3 from deep), three rebounds and three assists.
Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Blue Valley North grad Jaliya Davis recorded eight points and six rebounds, hitting two of her nine shots from the field and scoring mostly from the free-throw line. She had to fight through double-teams all evening, battling lengthy Colorado post players Londyn Greer and all-conference second-teamer Jade Masogayo.
After watching the physical play between Davis and Masogayo, Kansas coach Brandon Schneider lambasted the officiating in his postgame remarks.
“Two of the best power forwards in our league, and that would have been a great matchup to have them go against each other in a way that was less physical, where their skills could have been on display,” Schneider said.
Masogayo fouled out late in the fourth quarter, while Greer and Davis recorded three fouls apiece.
“I felt like it was two teams just beating the (expletive) out of each other,” Schneider said, “and that’s not necessarily what anybody wants to watch, in my opinion.”
The coach said he preferred fouls be called early and often to counter physical play. At the same time, he credited Colorado as one of the top teams in a deep, competitive conference.
“I don’t want to take away from it. I just don’t like how our game is played in certain situations where it’s so physical that really, really good players cannot display all the things that they work on to our fan bases,” Schneider said.
After a close first quarter, Colorado pulled away to a double-digit lead in the second while Kansas endured a six-minute scoring drought. The dry spell ended with less than a minute to go until halftime, when the Jayhawks trailed 36-28.
KU shot 25% from the field and from 3-point range in the first half, making just six shots in 24 attempts. The Jayhawks were also outrebounded 22-8 in the opening two quarters.
The second half was more of the same as Colorado’s physicality really took over. KU stayed within about 10 points but ultimately had no answer.
Nichols said the Jayhawks were ready for a hard-fought game after playing the Buffaloes in a close one last month. But she also echoed some of her coach’s sentiment.
“I do think that there were a lot of calls that were uncalled, and a lot of really itty-bitty fouls that we got called for,” she said. “That was just the flow of the game, and we really can’t do anything about that. The best thing we could have done is just keep our composure.”
For the game, KU shot 35.8% from the field and 15.4% from 3-point range, making just two of 13 tries from beyond the arc. Colorado shot 39.1% from the field, 42.9% from 3-point range, and by game’s end had lapped KU in rebounds, 39-25.
In a win over UCF on Wednesday night, the Jayhawks shot 35.7% from the field and 31.6% from 3-point range. That malaise continued on Thursday.
Greer and guard Desiree Wooten had 10 points apiece for Colorado, but the Buffs’ scoring was a full-squad effort: Nine of their 10 available players had at least a point.
After the game, Wooten expressed disdain for the Big 12 tournament’s new LED glass court. It was Colorado’s first game playing on the unique surface.
“It’s very different. Personally, I don’t like it,” Wooten said. “It was really slippery. Other than that, it’s really cool.”
Nichols said the court made some KU players second-guess themselves, perhaps because they’d heard talk of injuries occurring on that type of surface earlier in the season.
“I think it made us a bit timid, just being the first time,” Nichols said. “It’s a different feeling.”
ASB GlassFloor, the company that created the interactive court, claims it is better for athletes, saying it can help them feel lighter and less prone to injury.
“You’re in your head mentally about it,” Nichols said, “because it’s not the same as a regular court. But at the end of the day, we’re just trying to compete out there.”
With some bracketology experts placing KU in the “Next Four Out” category, the Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament hopes appear slim. But Schneider has indicated the team could continue playing in an alternate postseason tournament, such as the WBIT or WNIT.
Schneider believes his team has enough impressive wins over expected tournament teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, but he expects KU to be selected for the NCAA-run WBIT.
The Jayhawks won the pay-to-play WNIT in 2023.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 10:57 PM.
