LAWRENCE, Kansas — BYU freshman Kailey Woolston notched three career highs including 26 points as BYU fell to Kansas 67-53 at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
She led the Cougars with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, going 6-for-10 from downtown. Woolston’s eight made field goals and six triples also notched career highs. The two-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week also recorded two assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Lauren Gustin and Amari Whiting each scored in double figures, with Gustin recording her nation-leading 20th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Whiting finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, six assists and five rebounds.
The Cougars were outrebounded for just the fifth time all season by the Jayhawks on Wednesday, 47-29 including 17-9 on the offensive glass. Kansas scored 17 second-chance points and cashed in on 22-of-30 free throws while the Cougars were 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Kansas had three players finish with 11 or more points led by Taiyanna Jackson who recorded a double-double with 22 rebounds and 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
1st Quarter
The Cougars were held scoreless over the first three minutes before Whiting found a cutting Gustin for the bucket to knot the game at two with 6:59 left in the first. After trailing 8-2, Whiting beat her defender to the cup for the score to cut the deficit in half with 5:06 to go in the period.
BYU drew within two with a perfect trip to the line for Rose Bubakar before Yaiyana Jackson scored four-straight points for the Jayhawks to take a 12-8 lead heading to the second quarter.
2nd Quarter
Kansas pushed the lead to eight just 3:18 into the second before a bat came out of the rafters and flew on the court, interrupting the game for five minutes before it again flew into the rafters, allowing the game to resume with 7:20 to go.
Following the delay, the Cougar offense found their rhythm going on a 9-2 run to pull within one with 3:43 left in the half. The run included an offensive rebound and putback by Whiting, a layup from Gustin and a transition triple for Woolston.
The Jayhawks would answer with a three of their own to take a 26-21 lead into the break.
3rd Quarter
Kansas had an answer for every BYU basket, holding a five-point lead at the under-5 media timeout. Following the media timeout, the Jayhawks scored seven-consecutive points to take a 12-point lead with 1:47 left in the third.
The lead was pushed to 14, but a three from Woolston trimmed the deficit to 11 heading to the final ten minutes.
4th Quarter
After trailing by a game-high 16, Woolston faked out the defender and scored off the window before hitting a transition left-wing triple on the next possession to pull BYU within 11, before a Jayhawk timeout.
Following the timeout, back-to-back three-pointers by Woolston pulled BYU within five, but Kansas would answer with a six-point run of their own to retake an 11-point advantage at 57-46 with 2:09 to play.
The Cougars couldn’t mount enough of a run to overcome the Jayhawk lead, falling to Kansas 67-53.
Up Next
BYU will return to the floor when they welcome the No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers to the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. MT.
The game will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Dave McCann, Kristen Kozlowski and 2011 National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette on the call. The game will also be simulcast on BYU Radio 107.9, BYURadio.org and the BYU Radio App with play-by-play with Jason Shepherd.