The first two quarters were an absolute battle, one befitting the terrific crowd that packed Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon for the women's version of this year's Sunflower Showdown basketball clash.
But the third quarter was where it got away from the Jayhawks.
Instead of playing with No. 11 Kansas State to the end, the KU women's basketball team gave up 30 points in the third quarter — much of it via self-inflicted wounds — and fell into a hole that was far too big to crawl out of in a 91-64 loss to the Wildcats.
KU was outscored 54-39 in the second half, including 30-13 in the third quarter.
The Wildcats hit 15 of 23 3-pointers (65%) on the day and shot 60% from the floor overall.
The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 14-8 overall and 4-7 in Big 12 play.
The game took place on National Women and Girls in Sports Day. KU legends Marian Washington and Lynette Woodard were in attendance. Former volleyball All-American Camryn Turner was named the Marlene Mawson Award winner for 2024-25 and the announced attendance was 8,180.
In all, it was a perfect day to celebrate women's hoops in the state of Kansas, and while the Jayhawks came out on the wrong end of the final score, so much of it had to do with how well the Wildcats (21-2, 9-1) played in the terrific environment.
Next up, Brandon Schneider's team will head out on the road for a pair of conference games this week — Wednesday at West Virginia and Saturday at Cincinnati.
Here's a look back at some of Sunday's action.
• Photos by Chance Parker •
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
