Arkansas women’s basketball falls to Kansas in WNIT, ends short of Fab 4 round

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Sunday was about Kansas women’s basketball and Kansas women’s basketball alone, according to seniors Taiyanna Jackson and Holly Kersgieter.

It’s no secret two different Jayhawks teams saw their seasons ended by Arkansas prior to it. Arkansas beat Kansas in football in December in the Liberty Bowl and in men’s basketball earlier this month in the NCAA Tournament. But according to Jackson and Kersgieter, when their team took the floor against the Razorbacks in the WNIT, they were just looking to win so they could advance in the tournament.

And once those four quarters had been played, that’s exactly what Kansas had done. The Jayhawks won 78-64 at home inside Allen Fieldhouse. They’ll advance to the WNIT’s Fab 4 round.

“I just think that, as I’ve told our team today, how excited I am for the opportunity to compete,” Kansas women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider said. “And you think about the teams we’ve got to play in this tournament, I mean Western Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, we’re talking about really good programs from terrific conferences. And I think it’s a chance to get more eyeballs on our players and our team, and hopefully that’s building momentum even for the future.”

From Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors’ perspective, Kansas (23-11) showed him what he knew all along. Neighbors thought the Jayhawks should have been in the NCAA Tournament. He praised the energy Kansas’ fans brought, and remarked that even though the official attendance came in a little under 5,000 it felt to him as if there were 10,000 fans there.

The two teams met earlier this season when they scrimmaged against each other, and Neighbors said it was unfortunate they met again before the WNIT’s championship game. In the time since, he’s seen the Jayhawks become a more cohesive unit. He described them as both difficult to score against, and keep from scoring.

Kansas was led by a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double from Jackson, a center, and a 25-point and seven-rebound effort from Kersgieter, a guard.

Arkansas (24-13) was led by a 21-point, five-rebound effort from senior guard Makayla Daniels.

Although the Jayhawks never trailed and led 38-19 at halftime, they did need to weather a Razorbacks run in the third quarter in order to maintain control.

“We kind of recommitted to playing in a stance and guarding the ball better,” Schneider said about that third quarter. “We brought a little bit more help, so we made a few more adjustments. Thought the foul trouble hurt us, (junior guard Chandler Prater) being in foul trouble, and they went bigger and tried to post some of our guards. And just getting back to executing on the offensive end and having a little bit more patience.”

Each game the Jayhawks have played in the WNIT have seen more fans come than did in the game prior. It’s not lost on Kersgieter that there aren’t too many teams playing anywhere around the country at this point in the season. And considering all of that, they’re grateful of what they’ve been able to experience already.

“The crowd is huge,” Jackson said. “They just keep us going when we have the momentum and it’s just like a big help, and I appreciate everybody for coming out and I hope you guys continue to come out and support us.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Arkansas women’s basketball falls to Kansas in WNIT to end season