Box Score | Season Stats | Postgame Notes
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Behind a career-high 31 points from senior Zakiyah Franklin, the Kansas Jayhawks took down No. 23 Iowa State, 98-93 on Senior Night at Allen Fieldhouse. The win is No. 100 for Coach Brandon Schneider at KU and the Jayhawks’ first victory over Iowa State since 2015.
Franklin led the way with a career-high 31, but the Jayhawks got contributions from a variety of players as KU scored a season-high 98 points. Wyvette Mayberry had 22 points and six assists, while Taiyanna Jackson finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Zsofia Telegdy also set a new career-high with 10 points in 13 minutes of action off the bench.
“It was a lot of fun. There’s a big difference between beating yourself and being really hard to beat, and I think we have been really hard to beat these past two games,” Kansas Coach Brandon Schneider. “There’s ups and downs where your chemistry, on or off the court, can take a dip. I hope that we’ve shown that we have recovered from that and we’re excited for the team we have going into March. I don’t care what the date is, but we need our March team to show up.”
The Jayhawks started strong in the first quarter, scoring the first five points of the game, which included a layup by Franklin and a three-point basket by Chandler Prater. Iowa State was able to add points of their own, but a pair of short scoring runs helped KU keep the advantage throughout the first quarter. Mayberry hit three threes in the first, the final one of which capped off the quarter with KU leading 26-19.
The Jayhawks continued their strong play into the second quarter, using strong play from Franklin and Mayberry to lead 48-43 at the half. Both players had 17 first-half points as KU took the lead into halftime.
Kansas stayed hot out of the locker room and put up 11 points within the first three minutes of the second half to lead 59-47. A three-pointer from Telegdy at the 5:58 mark started a 7-0 run that put KU up 66-49 with less than five minutes to play in the third. ISU closed to within 10 at the end of the quarter, which ended with KU leading 72-62.
KU again build the lead back to 17 on a basket by Franklin that made it 85-68 with 5:39 to play, but the Jayhawks would have to hold off a late rally by the Cyclones, who got as close as two in the final 20 seconds of the game. Franklin, Prater and Holly Kersgieter combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 18 seconds to help the Jayhawks put the game away.
Kansas shot 52% from the field, hitting 34-of-66 field goals and 11-of-20 three-pointers (55%). The Jayhawks had an advantage of 44-to-38 on points in the paint and the Kansas bench outscored the Cyclone bench 18-to-11.
Up Next
Kansas concludes the regular season on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, taking on TCU. The Jayhawks will look for the season sweep of the Horned Frogs after defeating TCU 73-55 on Feb. 8 in Lawrence. Tipoff of that game is set for 1:00 p.m. CT on Big 12 NOW.
