Kansas women's basketball falls a point shy from upsetting No. 9 Virginia Tech

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (KSNT) - After a WNIT-winning season in 2022-23, Kansas women's basketball fans had a special group to look out for in 2023-24.

That excitement has delivered so far. In the Jayhawks' opening game of the Cayman Islands Classic on Friday, Kansas just fell short in a wire-to-wire contest with No. 9 Virginia Tech, eventually falling 59-58.

Kansas came ready, starting the game up 6-1 early. The Hokies responded, coming back to take a 19-16 lead through a quarter of play.

Virginia Tech scoring out of the break put it up 23-16, but the Jayhawks stormed back, tying the game at 26-26 off a Ryan Cobbins three-pointer. Both defenses stood steady, with the Hokies keeping a 32-31 lead at the half.

The third quarter looked like the rest of the game, with Virginia Tech leading by as many as seven, but a S'Mya Nichols and-one to end the frame put the Jayhawks within 50-47 with a quarter to go.

With eight minutes to play, Nichols gave Kansas the lead at 51-50. It was back-and-forth from there, with neither team leading by more than two points.

Again, defenses stood strong, with neither team scoring in the final 2:57 of play. In the end, it was the Hokies with a 59-58 victory.

Scoring for Kansas was spread out, with Nichols leading the team with 13 points and Zakiyah Franklin with 12.

Back-to-back ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley led the Hokies with 31 points and 18 rebounds. Kansas center Taiyanna Jackson was limited to just 18 minutes of game time due to foul trouble.

The loss moves the Jayhawks to 2-2 on the season. Kansas gets powerhouse and sixth-ranked UConn on Saturday at 6:30.