Why winning WNIT could be springboard for Kansas women’s basketball next season

Before the 2023 Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) began, Kansas women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider consistently highlighted one team to his players — the Arizona Wildcats.

Why?

Arizona won the WNIT in the 2018-19 season and then two seasons later advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament final, falling 54-53 to Stanford. (There was no 2020 tournament due to the pandemic.)

Schneider’s message to his team was clear: winning the WNIT was step one. The Jayhawks (25-9) did just that on Saturday.

Kansas won its first-ever WNIT Championship, defeating Columbia 66-59 in front of 11,701 fans at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’m obviously not making any predictions, but the next year (Arizona) played for the national championship,” Schneider said postgame. “What they did to use the tournament as a springboard and momentum into next year, I think, is a pretty good example.”

KU finished the season winning nine of their final 10 games, which Schneider believes creates positive momentum for a team that can return most of its core.

The outlook of next year’s team primarily revolves around the decision of three Jayhawk stars: Taiyanna Jackson, Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter, who will decide whether to return to Kansas or pursue pro careers.

Jackson and Franklin made All-Big 12 first team, while Kersgieter received honorable mention. In addition, Franklin and Jackson made the WNIT all-tournament team. Jackson was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Despite their accolades, Schneider thinks all three Kansas stars will return.

“I’m not making statements for them,” Schneider said. “I’m just hopeful and basing that on conversions that we’ve had previously.”

Earlier in March, the Jayhawks narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament as they were one of the first four teams out. Initially, KU players used it as motivation. But as Kansas kept winning WNIT games, it wasn’t about revenge anymore.

A championship was in sight.

“I’m just excited we were able to come out here and do what we wanted to do, which was win the tournament and have fun as a team,” Jackson said. “I’m so happy for us. We worked so hard for this, even though this is not the tournament we want to play in. But still — I am just proud of us.”

Winning wasn’t the only thing on the players’ minds. They wanted to grow the sport of women’s basketball and increase the overall support for the team.

It certainly seems like KU players hit both goals.

As Kansas kept winning WNIT games, the crowd size inside Allen Fieldhouse increased.

It finally culminated at the WNIT championship — the attendance of 11,701 was the largest for a Kansas women’s home game since the 2009 WNIT final, which drew 16,113. Kansas had more than 7,200 fans on hand for the WNIT semifinal at Allen.

“Hopefully our fans just see how fun we are as a team and how we play together,” Jackson said. “Hopefully, going into the next few of our games — I’m not going to say sellout, (but I’m) speaking it into existence. Hopefully, it grows every game and more people just come support us like they did this WNIT tournament.”

Schneider shared a similar feeling about winning the WNIT.

“I couldn’t be happier with what it did to increase interest and fan support in our program,” Schneider said. “I’m hopeful that the many that came for the first time enjoyed it, felt like they were represented in the right way and, you know, they will plan on buying season tickets.”

Ultimately, this Kansas team exemplified the culture Schneider has tried to build. It’s that same culture KU will lean on to take the next step next season.

“I like being around people who are of strong character and I think they demonstrated that,” Schneider said. “When you face disappointment, like we did on Selection Sunday, sometimes even those with the most experience have a hard time bouncing back.”

He continued.

“But for our young group of young women to do what they did,” Schneider said, “... with the character and intensity and the competitive drive — I think as a staff it just makes us really proud to be able to be a part of their lives.”