Kansas women’s basketball cruises past Rice to reach WBIT quarterfinals
The Kansas Jayhawks took the lead in the first 20 seconds of their WBIT second-round matchup against Rice.
They never let the Owls do the same, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 62-55 win.
Three of the Jayhawks’ Kansas City-area players led the way. Sophomore Regan Williams provided 15 points and five rebounds off the bench, star freshman Jaliya Davis tallied 13 points and seven rebounds and junior S’Mya Nichols posted 11 points and four rebounds.
Kansas led by four at the end of the first quarter and pushed that advantage to 12 by halftime. KU led by 15 early in the fourth quarter and won despite not making any field goals in the final seven minutes of game time.
Kansas shot 38% from the field and 42% from 3 for the game. The Jayhawks also got to the line for 30 free-throw attempts, making 21.
The Jayhawks held Rice to 30% shooting, 20% from 3, and won the rebounding battle 46-30.
Kansas will face No. 4 seed San Diego State in the WBIT quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Lawrence. The semifinals and finals will be played in Wichita at Wichita State’s Charles Koch Arena on March 30 and April 1.
