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Kansas women’s basketball uses strong 2nd half to earn Big 12 tournament win against BYU

Kansas women’s basketball captured a 77-53 win Friday against BYU in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Here are a few takeaways from the No. 7-seed Jayhawks (19-11) victory against the No. 10-seed Cougars (16-16):

That makes three wins for Kansas against BYU this season

Kansas women’s basketball had already beaten BYU twice in the regular season. The Jayhawks won at home and on the road. And with this victory they now have three wins against the Cougars this season.

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Although this game was close during the first half, Kansas puled away in the second. Super-senior guard Zakiyah Franklin led the team with 20 points. Senior guard Wyvette Mayberry added 14 points.

Next up for Kansas is a quarterfinals matchup against Texas

Kansas’ path forward in the Big 12 tournament doesn’t get any easier, with No. 2-seed Texas (27-4) looming Saturday in the quarterfinals. The two sides met once, back in January, when the Jayhawks lost on the road 91-56. Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m. (CT) inside the T-Mobile Center.

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Kansas should be able to play with a free mind, because it’s already done enough to earn a NCAA tournament spot. And they should also have confidence that they can compete with the best in the Big 12, despite previously being routed by the Longhorns. Kansas split its regular season series with each of the other top five seeds in the Big 12 tournament.

Keep an eye on Kansas’ 3-point shooting

Kansas finished the game shooting 6-for-14 (42.9%) from behind the arc, with Mayberry hitting all four 3-pointers she took. That’s much better than the 32.2% mark the team had on threes this season prior to this game. Back when the Jayhawks lost at Texas, they shot 1-for-13 (7.7%) on 3-pointers.

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Kansas also needs to perform better defensively than it did in that loss. The Longhorns shot the ball incredibly well, at least away from the free-throw line. But if the Jayhawks can garner some momentum from behind the arc, that could carry over to the other end of the court.

Kansas women's basketball super-senior guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) helped lead the Jayhawks to a Big 12 Conference tournament win against BYU on Friday.
Kansas women's basketball super-senior guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) helped lead the Jayhawks to a Big 12 Conference tournament win against BYU on Friday.

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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas women's basketball defeats BYU in Big 12 tournament victory