KANSAS VS PITTSBURGH

PHOTO BY: @billkiser / @vidaily.news

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas – S’Mya Nichols scored a game-high 20 points, Elle Evans added 19 points, shooting 11-for-17 from the charity stripe, and Laia Conesa added 12 as the Kansas Jayhawks (5-1) opened the Reef Tournament at the 2024 Paradise Jam with a 59-53 win over the Pitt Panthers (5-2) on Thursday. 

The Jayhawks got off to a hot start, opening a 10-point (16-6) advantage just over midway through the first quarter; however, Pitt closed the gap to eight (20-12) at the quarter break. After a 3-pointer by Khadija Faye cut the Panthers’ deficit to six, KU stretched its lead back into double figures and led by as many as 12 (28-16) with 4:15 to play in the half. The Jayhawks were held scoreless down the stretch, however, and the Panthers pulled back to within single digits (28-19) at the break. 

Pitt’s halftime adjustments paid immediate dividends, as the Panthers chipped away at the KU lead, knotting the game at 33-33 with 2:38 to play in the half after a 3-pointer by Mikayla Johnson. KU scored a pair of points on free throws late to take a two-point (35-33) lead into the fourth quarter. 

The Panthers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to jump ahead for the first time since holding a 1-0 lead, but the lead lasted 17 seconds before the Jayhawks knotted the game and then pulled ahead, using an overall 8-0 run to take a six-point (43-37) lead with just over six minutes remaining.

Pitt returns to action on Friday in a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Auburn, followed by Kansas tipping at 4 p.m. against Northern Iowa.

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