Wichita welcomes WBIT semis, KU women’s basketball with several Kansas stars
Wichita will be back in the college basketball postseason spotlight this week, as Koch Arena hosts a national championship event and Kansas arrives with a roster full of homegrown stars.
For the first time, the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament semifinals and championship will be played at Koch Arena, giving Wichita a prominent stage in women’s college basketball and giving local fans a compelling in-state draw in KU’s national semifinal matchup against BYU.
The semifinals are set for Monday with Columbia and Wisconsin tipping at 1:30 p.m. and Kansas and BYU following at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. Tickets for Monday’s semifinal doubleheader are $24 through the WSU ticket office and GoShockers.com. Tickets for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. championship game are also $24, while all-session passes for both days begin at $42.
It is the latest chance for Wichita to show itself again as a basketball city capable of drawing a crowd for a major women’s postseason event, the first NCAA Division I women’s basketball postseason hosted in town since Wichita welcomed a March Madness regional in 2022.
The WBIT semifinals and finals are slated to return to Koch Arena in 2027.
And if local fans need a hook, Kansas offers an easy one.
“What else are you doing?” KU senior Lilly Meister said after the Jayhawks punched their ticket to Wichita. “Come to Wichita.”
It is not a bad sales pitch.
Kansas will make the short trip south to Wichita and the Jayhawks are bringing plenty of in-state talent. Three of KU’s five starters are Sunflower State products in freshman forward Jaliya Davis, junior guard S’Mya Nichols and senior guard Sania Copeland. Junior guard Brittany Harshaw, another contributor, is also returning to familiar territory after starring at Andover Central.
“We’ve got young women who have played in the state championship here in this arena,” said KU coach Brandon Schneider, a reference to Koch Arena hosting the annual Class 6A state tournament. “So some of them should feel pretty comfortable.”
For Wichita-area fans who follow Kansas high school basketball, Davis may be the biggest draw of all.
The Big 12 Freshman of the Year has plenty of past experience at Koch Arena. During her four-year career at Blue Valley North, Davis finished every high school season at the Roundhouse, helping lead the Mustangs to Class 6A state titles in 2023 and 2025, a third-place finish in 2024 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2022. Now she returns to the same floor after a freshman season at Kansas in which she averaged 19.8 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 62% from the field, numbers that helped her earn first-team All-Big 12 honors.
“My experience was pretty good here,” Davis said. “Couple of years we didn’t go as far as we wanted to. But I mean it’s a really cool place. And just being able to come back play again is a really cool opportunity.”
Nichols gives KU another familiar Kansas name for fans to rally around. The Shawnee Mission West product averaged 17.5 points this season and joined Davis on the All-Big 12 first team, giving Kansas one of the most dynamic in-state duos in the country. Nichols has her own memories of Koch Arena, even if hers came with a little less joy.
“The No. 1 thing I remember was losing,” Nichols said.
Davis quickly jumped in to remind her teammate that not everyone left the building disappointed.
That kind of banter is part of what makes Kansas such a natural fit for a Wichita crowd this week. It is a roster stocked with players who built their reputations in Kansas gyms and, in some cases, on the very court they will be playing on Monday.
Harshaw, the Andover Central graduate, said the return carries its own meaning.
“I’m excited to be back,” Harshaw said. “I remember the fans and the energy were really good in this place.”
Schneider has his own ties to the area. Before Kansas, he spent 12 seasons at Emporia State and won the 2010 Division II national championship. That job regularly brought him to Wichita on the recruiting trail and he understands the city’s history with the sport.
“I spent a lot of time in Wichita recruiting,” Schneider said. “I actually applied for the job here twice.”
The week is also set up to feel like more than just a game day. WSU is promoting an ESPN Wichita Fan Zone before Wednesday’s championship game with vendors, interactive challenges, giveaways and music scheduled from 4-6 p.m. in the west lot near Koch Arena’s main entrance.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 7:01 AM with the headline "Wichita welcomes WBIT semis, KU women’s basketball with several Kansas stars."
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