In another life, KU junior S’Mya Nichols would’ve made a hell of an MMA fighter.
If you’ve seen her play, even just once, you know what I mean.
There’s not a battle she won’t take on or a bone or body part she hasn’t bruised or banged up, all in the name of victory.
Few games showed that better than Wednesday night’s 68-59 win over No. 20 Texas Tech at Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks picked up a massive, gotta-have-it win to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes.
Nichols led Kansas, in both grit and on the stat sheet, with 19 points in 34 minutes, getting to the free throw line 17 times to help secure the victory.
But it wasn’t just the points that mattered. It was the way she kept taking hit after hit from a physical Texas Tech team — with the ball, off the ball, on defense — that really stood out and helped KU snag a big Senior Night victory.
Ask Nichols what mattered most about this one and she’ll say the most important thing was sending the seniors out right and honoring them and their work and contribution to the program by playing as hard as she possibly could.
Ask for proof of that, and you can look squarely at the 5:35 mark of the 2nd quarter, when KU was trailing — like it did for 31:22 of the game — and Nichols gave the best individual effort of the night by either team when she deflected a Texas Tech pass into the air in front of the Kansas bench and then went diving over the chairs, and the people in them, to try to save the ball from going out of bounds.
She didn’t save it — "I touchded it," she said while laughing — but she didn’t have to for the play to be meaningful. To her teammates. To her coaches. To the fans who came out to cheer on the Jayhawks.
After landing flat on her front side and staying on the ground for a minute or two, Nichols had to be peeled off the floor before she gingerly walked back onto the court to guard her man.
As she did, the 3,500 fans at Allen Fieldhouse let out a roar of approval, no, more like appreciation, with many of them standing and clapping to show what they thought of the extra-effort hustle play.
Yes, Nichols makes a variety of memorable plays almost every time out. And, yeah, she has shown that she is willing to sacrifice life and limb, sometimes multiple times in the same game, to give her team the best chance to win.
But it’s about more than the plays. It’s about what those plays mean to her teammates.
“Your ass better do it, too,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said, summing up what Nichols’ lead-by-example message says to her teammates. “That’s what that means. Everybody in a uniform. Nothing demonstrates competitive fire and care for your teammates than moments like that.”
As a result, the rest of the Jayhawks followed suit on Wednesday night, grinding their way to a come-from-behind, stay-in-it-at-all-costs victory that could go a long way toward shaping how the next few weeks go.
Senior Sania Copeland drew charges and played the kind of tough defense that matched Texas Tech’s style. Senior Elle Evans, who handled the ball well against the TTU press, buried a huge 3-pointer that started the Jayhawks’ takeover.
Bigs Regan Williams and Lilly Meister fought through and set screens while scoring in tight at crucial moments. That duo also helped handle the Tech full-court pressure by bringing the ball up the floor on better than half of KU’s possessions.
Freshman forward Jaliya Davis recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds despite getting less than 50% of the foul calls she deserved. Senior center Nadira Eltayeb literally gave her left shoulder to the cause, exiting the game with an injury and returning to the bench in street clothes.
And reserve guards Libby Fandel and Laia Conesa made opportunistic hustle plays at key moments, diving on the floor and scrapping for a tie-up whenever they saw the opportunity to do so, no matter how much or how little they played.
“This game meant so much,” Evans said after the win. “I’m so happy with how we performed tonight. I think we showed a lot of toughness, and S’Mya doing everything she can, and more, every single night just gives us the extra toughness factor.”
Schneider’s team entered Wednesday in the No. 3 spot on ESPN Bracketology’s “First Four Out” list, with two games to go. Beating a ranked Texas Tech team — projected as a 6 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology — only helped their case.
And it would not have happened without Nichols-type effort from everyone who played.
“You always have to do right by the seniors just in terms of your effort and your toughness and how hard you’re willing to compete for them in what could be their last opportunity to compete in this historic venue,” Schneider said while praising that type of effort from his team.
If you went up to Allen Fieldhouse on Thursday morning, you likely would’ve found no less than eight KU women’s basketball players wrapped in ice and doing everything they could to recover from the physical toll of the thrilling victory.
But, here’s the best part, by 2 p.m., they were back on the floor practicing, looking ahead to Saturday’s regular season finale at Oklahoma State.
Schneider said he knew his players had that kind of performance in them for one simple reason. Even with all of the injuries and the tough losses in close games, they haven’t quit. Their attitudes have remained good, their heads have stayed high and they have continued to believe that good things are ahead.
“I think we’re still improving,” Schneider said Wednesday night. “We’re getting closer, but I don’t think we’ve become the best version of ourselves.”
If that’s coming, and KU closes the season the way it looks like they might, Schneider believes receiving an NCAA Tournament berth is realistic.
“Should we be able to have success in Stillwater (against Oklahoma State at 5 p.m. Saturday on FS1), we're 9-9 (in Big 12 play), and then (if) we go win one, or better yet, two games in the Big 12 tournament, then I personally think we should be a lock.”
The Jayhawks (18-11 overall, 8-9 Big 12) wouldn’t even be able to talk like that if not for the mind-body-and-soul effort they gave on Wednesday night, led, of course, by their leader, junior point guard S’Mya Nichols.
“I think we could all just take a piece of her toughness,” Evans said after Wednesday’s victory. “Maybe somebody else will jump over some chairs sometime.”
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