Prater does it all as Jayhawks defeat Horned Frogs 73-55

Kansas picked up a much-needed win on a night when they had to dig into their depth against TCU.

On a night where starting point guard Wyvette Mayberry was sidelined, the Kansas Jayhawks built and early lead and never let the TCU Horned Frogs back into the game on their way to a dominant 73-55 win in Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

TCU took a quick lead in the first quarter, scoring the first four points of the game. But after back-to-back layups from Taiyanna Jackson, the Horned Frogs got their last lead of the game on two free throws from Lucy Ibeh. From there, the Kansas defense stepped up and fueled an 11-0 run to take a nine-point lead.

TCU tried multiple times to make a run to get back into the game, but each time they landed a blow, the Jayhawks counterpunched with a bigger swing. They extended a five-point lead early in the second quarter with a 13-3 run that put them firmly in control. After stretching the lead to 20 at halftime, the margin never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.

But it wasn't all easy. With Mayberry out for the game and Ioanna Chatzileonti out until further notice, Kansas coach Brandon Schneider had to dig deep into the bench for minutes.

"Depth is really important, even in small windows," Schneider said in the postgame press conference. He pointed out how big of an impact even a 90-second rest right before a media timeout can have for the starters.

And the Jayhawks got a lot of help from their depth against TCU. Zsofia Telegdy got the start, playing 19 minutes and securing 8 rebounds. Katrine Jessen pitched in 12 minutes with 5 rebounds, with 4 on the offensive end. Sanna Strom played good defense for 27 minutes, hitting two big threes for some momentum. And those are just some of the biggest examples. 

Kansas guard Zakiyah Franklin noted how important that contribution was tonight, saying "we've been preaching all season about our depth."

But the star of the show tonight was Chandler Prater, who led the Jayhawks with 19 points. And she did it from all over the floor, as Schneider mentioned that "she played four positions tonight." 

The rest of the regulars stepped up as well. Franklin was right behind Prater with 18 points, and also added 7 assists and 2 steals. Holly Kersgieter had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, while Taiyanna Jackson recorded another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

With the win, the Jayhawks improved to 15-7 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12 this season. TCU falls to 6-17 overall and 0-12 in the Big 12.

Kansas is back in action on Saturday as they travel to Lubbock, TX to take on the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. Tipoff is scheduled for 2pm CST and the game will be broadcast on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.

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