Kansas forward Lilly Meister had a little unfinished business against the team from her home state, and she made it count by dropping a double-double on them in a 63-57 KU win over Minnesota on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Meister was KU’s second-leading scorer with 11 points and leading rebounder with 10 boards in her 32 minutes on the floor.
The win moved the Rochester, Minn., native to 3-1 against the Golden Gophers during her college career, with 2 wins and a loss at Indiana before she transferred to Kansas.
This one was particularly important for two reasons.
“The one loss was last year,” Meister told R1S1 Sports after Wednesday’s win. “And, changing conferences, I didn’t think too much about it, but it feels good to have the opportunity to end on a win against them. So, it does mean something.”
The other reason might have meant even more.
Her 32 minutes on Wednesday night surpassed her total of 26 minutes during her three previous clashes with Minnesota while suiting up for the Hoosiers.
That’s the whole reason she left IU to come to Kansas. And to be able to reap the benefits of big minutes against and old friend was the whipped cream on top of Wednesday night’s Golden Gopher shake.
“For sure. That’s one of the reasons I came here, to get more minutes and more minutes playing how I want to play,” Meister said. “It feels great. I love contributing in any way I can. If that’s getting rebounds, points, assists, whatever, I love it.”
Meister was recruited by Minnesota, both out of high school and when she entered the transfer portal after three seasons at Indiana.
The UM campus sits about 90 minutes from her home, and she grew up playing with or against a lot of girls who went to Minnesota, both as students and as basketball players.
“In high school, I’d say I was a little more interested,” she said of how seriously she considered Minnesota during her recruitment. “But out of the portal I just didn’t want to stay in the Big Ten.”
When asked what comes to mind when she thinks of basketball in the state of Minnesota, Meister needed just one word to answer. Talent.
That’s after she tried to name-drop Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who was not eligible as an answer because he grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, a world away from The Land of 10,000 Lakes.
“I just think of so much talent,” she said, narrowing her answer to include just women’s basketball players from her home state. “There’s so much talent that comes out of Minnesota. Everywhere you go, I feel like there’s somebody on the roster who’s from Minnesota and that’s not just out of coincidence. Minnesota’s a great place to grow up playing basketball and produces great talent.”
“I feel like this game definitely meant something to her because she is from Minnesota. She didn’t talk about it, really. You could just tell. She was excited this whole week.”
— KU junior S'Mya Nichols on Lilly Meister
Some of the names she mentioned are among the best in the sport today, with Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers on her way to become a star after a standout career at UConn, and K-State forward Ayoka Lee being one of the best players in the Big 12 for the past few seasons.
Others who deserve mention include former UM All-American and WNBA standout Lindsay Whalen, WNBA star Maya Moore and 2-time Olympic gold medalist Napheesa Collier.
Beyond the personal reasons to enjoy Wednesday’s win, Meister said it was also big for the KU team, which moved to 5-0 and picked up a victory over a Power 5 program that entered the week receiving the second-most votes of any team in the country that sat outside of the Top 25. So, effectively, the No. 27-ranked team in the country.
“It was a very big win,” Meister said. “Coach (Brandon Schneider) talked about it in the locker room, that when Selection Sunday comes around, they’re gonna look at this and they’re gonna look at us. We’re not a team that a lot of people have eyes on, so it’s good to get these kinds of wins against Power 5 teams like Minnesota. It looks really good and it feels really good.”
KU star S’Mya Nichols, who led all scorers with 24 points, including a 12-of-12 clip from the free throw line, said she couldn’t help but smile when thinking about Meister getting bragging rights over her in-state school one final time.
“I feel like this game definitely meant something to her because she is from Minnesota,” Nichols told R1S1 Sports after the win. “She didn’t talk about it, really. You could just tell. She was excited this whole week.”
Added Meister: “I grew up playing against a lot of those girls. There’s no bad blood or anything. They’re great players, but it does mean more. I don’t know why people have rivalries with their home states, but we just kind of do.”
Next up for Kansas (5-0) is a Sunday home game against Oral Roberts at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
