KANSAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Led by 28 points from standout freshman Jaliya Davis, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats, 80-71, in front of 6,171 fans inside Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Davis' 28 points led the way, while three other Jayhawks scored double digits, as junior S'Mya Nichols (16 points), senior Lily Meister (14 points) and senior Elle Evans (12 points) helped propel Kansas to victory. Davis has now scored 20 or more points in 11 games this season, including five of the last six games.
Kansas improves to 15-10 (5-8) in Big 12 Conference play with its second-straight Big 12 Conference home win after defeating BYU, 81-60, inside Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 4. Cincinnati falls to 8-16 (3-9 Big 12) this season.
Cincinnati jumped out to an early advantage, leading 6-2 in the opening minutes until Kansas leaned on its leading scorers. Nichols connected on a 3-pointer, followed by a Davis lay-in to give Kansas an early first quarter lead, 7-6. Both teams would trade first quarter leads until Cincinnati took a 21-17 advantage into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Jayhawks went back to Davis, who scored five points in just over a minute to give Kansas a 22-21 lead. Davis and Nichols would combine to score the next 10 points for the Jayhawks as Kansas took a 32-27 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Jayhawks would work their lead up to as many as 11 on an Evans 3-pointer at 40-29 with 2:53 remaining in the half as Kansas would go on to take a 40-36 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, the Jayhawks went on an 8-2 run to rebuild their lead up to 12, forcing Cincinnati to take a timeout with 2:16 remaining in the quarter, as Kansas led, 60-48. The Jayhawks entered the final quarter leading, 64-53.
Cincinnati clawed back again in the fourth quarter, as they would use an 11-0 run to tie the game at 66-66 with six minutes remaining. With just over two minutes left, Kansas regained a lead at 74-70 on a pair of Nichols' free throws. With 47 seconds remaining and the shot clock winding down, Davis hit a contested jumper to put Kansas up 77-71.
The Jayhawks were able to wind down the clock in the final minute, as Kansas took down Cincinnati, 80-71.
Kansas heads to Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, to face No. 18 Texas Tech. Tipoff from United Supermarkets Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.