Unbeaten Kansas hands Gophers women’s basketball team first loss, 63-57

S’Mya Nichols scored 24 points — including four free throws in the final 10 seconds — to help Kansas outlast the Gophers women’s basketball team 63-57 on Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kan.

After the Gophers pulled to within 59-57 on a basket by Sophie Hart with 36 seconds remaining, Nichols, who was 12-for-12 from the line for the game, made two free throws with 10 seconds left.

After a Gophers miss with five seconds remaining, Nichols sealed the victory with two free throws with four seconds left.

The loss was the first of the season for the Gophers (4-1), who were playing their first road game of the season. Kansas improved to 5-0 on the season.

The Jayhawks got a lift from Rochester John Marshall product Lilly Meister, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Gophers trailed by six after three quarters but opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to tie the score 49-49. A field goal with 7:18 remaining by Meister broke the tie and gave the Jayhawks the lead for good. Meister, in her first season with the Jayhawks after three seasons at Indiana, scored again with 5:40 remaining to give the Jayhawks a 55-49 lead. The Gophers twice got within two in the final five minutes.

Tory McKinney scored 14 points, Mara Braun had 13 and Grace Grocholski added 12 for the Gophers.

The Gophers, who went into the game averaging 92 points per game, went just 3-for-17 on field-goal attempts in the first quarter.

After Gophers tied the score 37-37 on consecutive three-pointers by Braun and Grocholski, the Jayhawks outscored the Gophers 12-6 over the final six minutes of the third quarter to take a 49-43 lead into the fourth. Nichols scored 10 of the Jayhawks’ 20 points in the quarter, while Braun, who had two points at halftime, scored seven of the Gophers’ 16 points in the quarter. The Gophers didn’t score over the final 3:11 of the quarter.

BOXSCORE: Kansas 63, Gophers 57

The Gophers, who went into the game shooting 48.5% from the field and 38% from three-point range, shot just 34.4% from the field (22-for-64) and 21.7% from three-point range (5-for-23).

The Gophers travel to Nassau, Bahamas, for two games next week. The Gophers will play South Florida on Monday and either Harvard or Alabama on Wednesday.