By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Through the first 14 games of the season, the fourth-ranked Baylor women had rarely played from behind, leading from tip to final buzzer against both Utah and Texas when they were ranked in the top-5.
 
When Kansas reeled off 16-consecutive points in a six-minute stretch bridging the second and third quarters, the Bears weren't able to respond and fell hard from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to the Jayhawks, 87-66, Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
 
"That was a wounded team that was competing, and we didn't fight back," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team fell to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12. "They were absolutely the tougher team. They were clawing, scratching, fighting. . . . it's a simple game. It was the team that made shots, the team that was tougher, the team that played downhill and drew contact. I thought we played too finesse when we got in the lane. We tried to play around them instead of through them."
 
Baylor had no answer for 6-6 super senior center Taiyanna "Twin" Jackson, who had a career-high 27 points to go with 19 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. She was an efficient 9-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the line after coming in as a 40% free-throw shooter.
 
"Obviously, Twin was incredible tonight," Collen said. "And we didn't have an answer."
 
Kansas, which had lost 19-straight to the Bears coming into Wednesday's game, also got 22 points from freshman S'Mya Nichols, 19 points and six boards from Holly Kersgieter and 11 points from Zakiyah Franklin.
 
"I thought defensively, we didn't come ready to play," Collen said. "We scored easily offensively in the first quarter, enough that they switched to zone. Honestly, Kansas doesn't want to play zone, that's not who they are. Because of that we were open, we were wide open. And we just didn't make shots."
 
Baylor led 21-18 after the first quarter and was up by nine, 35-26, with five minutes left in the opening half. But when KU switched to a 2-3 zone, the Bears hit just one of their next 11 shots as the Jayhawks closed the half on an 11-2 run and tied it at 37-37 on a drive and scoop layup at the buzzer by Nichols.
 
With the momentum already turned, Kansas (8-7, 1-3) capped off the extended 16-0 run with four buckets in the first 2 ½ minutes of the third quarter and went up 45-37 on a backdoor cut and layup by Kersgieter. Hoping to get off to a better start in the second half, the Bears instead turned it over on three of their first four possessions.
 
"We had really bad turnovers in stretches where we needed to make a run," Collen said. "We started the third quarter with three turnovers in our first four possessions. And I thought that set the tone."
 
Holding Baylor to 21.4% shooting in the third quarter, including 0-for-6 from outside the arc, Kansas outscored the Bears, 26-10, in the period and went up 63-47.
 
Sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs led BU with 16 points and six rebounds, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, while former Kentucky teammates Jada Walker and Dre'Una Edwards scored 11 points apiece. Aijha Blackwell came off the bench to score eight points and grab a team-high 11 rebounds.
 
"Shout out to Aijha. I thought she was tough," Collen said. "Buggs got hit probably four times in the facemask tonight and battled back. It wasn't that we didn't have some kids competing, I just think we really struggled to stay in front of the ball. They did a great job of making shots in the lane and putting pressure on us in the lane, and offensive rebounding when we had to rotate in the lane."
 
Baylor was outscored 50-29 in the second half as Kansas shot 52% for the game and dominated the boards, 48-31, scoring 26 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds.
 
After shooting a season-best 57% in Saturday's win over Houston, BU shot a season-low 37% overall and hit just 5-of-25 from distance.
 
Staying on the road, Baylor will head to Ames, Iowa, next to face the Iowa State Cyclones (11-4, 4-0) at noon Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit with a 27-point fourth quarter and defeated 24^th-ranked West Virginia, 74-64, Saturday.
 
"This is where we get tested," Collen said. "You get tested when you lose, and not just when you lose, we got our butts kicked tonight. So, we have to be better."


GAME NOTES

• The No. 4 Baylor women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling to Kansas, 87-66, at Allen Fieldhouse. 
• For the third-consecutive game, Baylor shot 80% or better from the free throw line and have made 38-of-43 in that stretch.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line and finished with a team-high 16 points. She added six rebounds and dished out an assist as well. 
• For the second-straight game, and fifth time this season, Aijha Blackwell led the Bears on the glass, grabbing 11 boards. 
• In the lowest assist output of the season by the Bears, Yaya Felder dished out a team-leading four assists and she has led BU in the category four times this year. 
• Sarah Andrews has hit at least two 3-pointers in all but one game this season and she was the only Bear to sink more than one from range against the Jayhawks. 
• For the team-leading seventh time this season, Dre'Una Edwards recorded the most steals, finishing with three of Baylor's seven. She also went a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
• Three Bears – Littlepage-Buggs, Andrews and Bella Fontleroy – logged a team-leading 29 minutes.