Kansas' Kersgieter, Franklin and Jackson lead Jayhawks to dominant victory

The Kansas Jayhawks brought three players to Big 12 Media Days expecting them to be the leaders that would help this team accomplish more this season than they have in a decade. And during the early stretch of the season, each member of the senior trio of Taiyanna Jackson, Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin had put the team on their shoulders and carried them to victory. But they had yet to put it all together at the same time, until tonight.

Kersgieter and Franklin led all scorers with 26 points each, including 14 in the first half for Kersgieter and 13 in the first half for Franklin. Not to be outdone, Taiyanna Jackson had her ninth double double of the season, tallying 15 points and 18 rebounds, including 10 of those rebounds in a dominant first quarter. And those three were all Kansas needed in a dominant 77-59 victory over the Texas Tech Lady Raiders.

The Jayhawks got started quickly, scoring the first eight points of the game in less than three minutes. Kersgieter hit two three point shots after Jackson started the scoring with a layup. But even when Texas Tech finally got on the board, Kansas didn't stop, storming out to a 10 point lead on Kersgieter's third made three of the quarter at the buzzer.

But just as important in the first quarter was the contributions of Jackson. In the first two minutes of the game, she already had tallied both an offensive and defensive rebound, was credited with a steal, and had a made basket. And her dominance continued as she pulled down four offensive rebounds and six defensive rebounds in the period.

The second quarter was all about Franklin, as she went 5-7 from the field and scored 11 points in the period. She was able to drive to the basket seemingly at will for good shot after good shot, and Texas Tech didn't have an answer for her. The Jayhawks went into the half up by 14. At half, all 32 points scored by the Jayhawks came from those three players.

In the second half, not much changed for the Jayhawks. But Texas Tech started making shots, closing the gap to just 9 after an 8-0 run midway through the period. But Ioanna Chatzileonti scored her only two points on the night on two free throws to end the run, and then Kersgieter and Franklin chipped in to push the lead all the way back to 15. A Franklin shot at the end of the quarter put the Jayhawks up 13 going into the final period.

In the 4th, Kansas left no doubt, with the three seniors pushing the issue and growing the lead all the way to 21 before giving way to the rest of the team to finish out the victory.

While the offensive performances were impressive, the entire team was extremely active on defense, with Texas Tech players routinely cut off on drives and having to take poor shots just to avoid a shot clock violation.

Bre'Amber Scott was able to score 21 on the night, but everyone else was pretty much held in check. Jasmin Shavers scored 11 points, but needed 10 shots to do it.

Up next for the Jayhawks is a ranked matchup against the Baylor Bears. Tipoff is scheduled for 4pm Central on Saturday January 7th in Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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