Offense stalls as Jayhawks fall at Cyclones, 64-50

A combination of foul trouble and cold shooting from long range kept Kansas from matching Iowa State's performance.

The Kansas Jayhawks struggled from start to finish in Ames on Saturday, as the #18 Iowa State Cyclones held them to a season-low 50 points. The Jayhawks fell to 13-5 on the season, including a 3-4 record in Big 12 play.

It was a contrast of shots in the first quarter, as Kansas went 6-15 inside the arc and 0-4 outside the arc and Iowa State went 0-2 inside the arc and 5-14 from outside. The Cyclones led after the first quarter, with the Jayhawks losing the lead for good with 5:46 left in the first quarter.

It got worse from there, as Kansas only scored 9 points in the second quarter. Taiyanna Jackson came alive in the second quarter, ending the half with 9 points and 9 rebounds. But the rest of the Jayhawks struggled, with Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter being the next highest scorers at 4 points apiece.

Iowa State had no problems with shooting though, as they started making baskets from all over the floor. While the percentage didn't get significantly better, they were able to score 16 points in the second quarter to take a 31-21 lead into the break.

The second half was all Iowa State, as Jackson was on the bench for long stretches of the half due to some questionable foul calls. Kansas was able to get the lead back down to 10 a few times, but every time it looked like the Jayhawks were going to get some momentum, Iowa State would hit a few more threes to stretch the lead again.

Iowa State's Ashley Joens led all scorers with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Taiyanna Jackson led the Jayhawks with 13 points and 15 rebounds, recording her league-leading 12th double-double. Zakiyah Franklin had 11 points, but needed 13 shots to do it, while Wyvette Mayberry scored 10 points on 17 shots, including the only two made three pointers for the Jayhawks on the night.

The Jayhawks are off in the midweek window this week, with their next game being nationally televised on ESPNU on Sunday, January 29th against the Kansas State Wildcats. The game will be in Allen Fieldhouse and the tip is scheduled for 5pm. 

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