The Jayhawks outscored No. 20 Texas Tech 20-7 in the fourth quarter to escape Allen Fieldhouse with a massive upset win in Big 12 play.
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech Lady Raiders have dropped two in a row after losing 68-59 at the Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday. On Saturday, they fell to the Colorado Buffalos 75-68.
It's now back-to-back games in which Texas Tech was in a position to win, but fell victim to poor closing sequences on both ends of the floor in crunch time.
No. 20-ranked Texas Tech (24-6) led for more than 30 minutes in the game, but a 20-7 fourth quarter scoring advantage put Kansas (18-11) in front when it mattered most.
Despite the loss, Sarengbe Sanogo had a career night, recording a personal-best 16 points on efficient 8-of-10 shooting. Her six rebounds also co-led the team with Gemma Nuñez, who along with six assists, became the 11th active player to surpass 500 career rebounds and assists.
Kansas' top performer was S'Mya Nichols, who hit an astounding 15 free throws in 17 attempts for the game. She ended with 19 points and was 8-for-8 at the charity stripe in the final three and a half minutes as the Jayhawks pulled away.
The Lady Raiders shot a putrid 1-of-7 over the final five minutes, allowing Kansas to go on a 16-3 scoring run that decided the outcome. Nichols and the Jayhawks got to the free throw line with frustrating consistency in the second half as Kansas made 21-of-22 free throws after halftime.
Texas Tech was whistled for 27 fouls while Kansas was called for 16.
The loss drops Krista Gerlich's squad to 11-6 in Big 12 play, placing them fourth in the conference standings behind TCU, West Virginia and Baylor.
With just one game remaining on the regular season slate, Texas Tech will look to fix its late-game closing abilities. Last Saturday, the Lady Raiders fell to Colorado after the Buffalos surged on a 22-9 run in the fourth quarter.
Tech returns to the United Supermarkets Arena for the regular-season finale on Sunday, March 1, against Arizona State at 2 p.m. CST.