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BYU's Kaylee Smiler, 11, scrambles for a loose ball against Kansas during the Big 12 Basketball Tournament in Kansas City on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Amari Whiting, center, looks to shoot against Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Kailey Woolston takes a 3-pointer against Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Lauren Gustin, 12, takes a shot against Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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To pull off an upset of No. 7 seed Kansas in the second round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament, BYU was going to have to shoot the ball well early and get a little bit of luck.

The Cougars accomplished the first task, leading for most of the first half and trailing by just two at halftime. Unfortunately, bad luck showed up in a knee injury to freshman Kailey Woolston that derailed the BYU offense in the second half.

The result was the third win by the Jayhawks over the Cougars this season. Kansas outscored No. 10 seed BYU 42-20 in the second half and cruised to a 77-53 victory at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City on Friday.

“First of all. losing Wooly, who was off to great start, put us even further behind the eight ball,” Cougar assistant coach John Wardenburg said on BYU Radio. “We’re not the deepest team in American right now anyway, so losing Kailey hurt us. We were right there going into the second half but I think we ran out of juice a little bit. They got a lot of shots at the rim. We just couldn’t keep them away from the rim. But I’m proud of our girls. It was a season of learning and growing. This was a great atmosphere here at the tournament. We’re going to learn and continue to grow this program the way it should be.”

Woolston made a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter but went out in the second due to the injury. The Cougars couldn’t find enough offense to keep up with the Jayhawks, who got 20 points from guard Zakiyah Franklin and had all five starters in double figures.

Freshman guard Amari Whiting led BYU with 13 points and added four rebounds and three assists. Senior Lauren Gustin — possibly playing in her final game in a BYU uniform — finished with her 30th double-double this season with 10 points and 17 rebounds but was just 4 of 16 from the field. Woolston finished with nine points (and an ice pack on her knee) and Lauren Davenport added eight points off the bench for the Cougars. Senior Kaylee Smiler had four points in what could be her final game.

BYU led for more than 13 minutes of the first half, riding the strong start from Whiting and Woolston. The Cougars held a 19-17 lead going into the second quarter and led by six, 31-25, on a Davenport 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark.

Kansas went on a 10-0 run to regain control, fueled by five points from Franklin, for a 35-31 lead in the final minute of the half. Whiting, who was 5 of 6 from the field and scored 11 points in the first half, scored on a drive to pull the Cougars within 35-33 at the break. Franklin scored 14 to pace the Jayhawks.

“No doubt, we had them in a good spot, we just let them off the hook right there,” Wardenburg said.

The third quarter started poorly for BYU with four turnovers and the Jayhawks took advantage to extend their lead to 10, 46-36, on a jumper from Holly Kersgieter with 3:25 to go. Kansas led by as many as 14 points but a 3-pointer by Rose Bubakar trimmed the deficit to 11, 56-45, entering the fourth period. That was as close as BYU could get and the Cougars trailed by as many as 24 as the Jayhawks (19-11) advanced to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Texas on Saturday.

The season may not quite be over for BYU (16-16), which could receive an invitation to the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.

“Obviously, that’s a decision that Coach (Amber Whiting) will make with our administration and the powers that be who run these various programs,” Wardenburg said. “But whether this is the last game or not, we’re really proud of this group of young ladies. They played hard and gave us their best. They’ve set a great foundation for what I believe will be a great run in the Big 12 for our women’s basketball program.”

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