Kansas Beats Western Kentucky In First-Round WNIT Game
The Kansas Jayhawks gave the Big 12 a clean sweep in its first-round games of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament on Friday night.
The Jayhawks (20-11) defeated the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers, 86-72, at Allen Fieldhouse.
With the victory, Kansas will play Missouri in the second round of Group 3 play, with the date, time and location to be announced.
The game was tied at 36-all at halftime, but the Jayhawks outscored the Hilltoppers (19-14), 30-15, in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Kansas followed Kansas State and Texas Tech both of which won its first-round games on Thursday night.
All five Kansas starters were in double figures, but two had double-doubles. Center Taiyanna Jackson had a team-high 21 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Chandler Prater had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Guard Zakiyah Franklin added 20 points along with six rebounds and seven assists, one ahead of Prater, who had six assists.
Guard Holly Kersgieter had 14 points, including four 3-poiinters while guard Wyvette Mayberry had 11 points. Kansas shot 46.4 percent for the game.
Western Kentucky forward Jaylin Foster led the Lady Toppers with 24 points.
Texas Tech (19-14) already knows its opponent and game times for the second round.
Texas Tech will host former Southwest Conference rival SMU on Monday at 7 p.m. in Group 3 play.
Kansas State (18-16) is waiting for the winner of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Wyoming. The Wildcats could host a second-round game.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
