WOMEN'S BASKETBALL INVITATION TOURNAMENT: KANSAS VS BYU

March 30, 2026

Brandon Schneider

Lilly Meister

Sania Copeland

Charles Koch Arena

Kansas Jayhawks

Semifinal Postgame Press Conference

BYU 70, Kansas 67

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: I would first want to really thank our fan base and the Jayhawks for creating an exceptional environment, even though it's about a two hour and 15-minute drive from our campus, so really appreciate them. Also want to thank everybody involved in the community that helped put on this event.

It was really extremely well done and first class. We were grateful for the opportunity to compete.

Q. Obviously not how we all wanted to see the season end, but just tell me what worked well for you guys tonight, what you were seeing through your teammates, what was working like on the bench. Tell me some positive things that happened.

SANIA COPELAND: I think that we were together. We knew the game plan, and we executed it defensively pretty well first half. We were getting the ball down low. We were sharing it. We were playing good.

Q. In your last matchup against BYU, obviously that one was a win. What was the difference that you noticed on the court between the last game in early February and today?

LILLY MEISTER: To be honest, I don't even remember the first game. It was so long ago. I think we got a lot more in transition the first game. We were pushing the pace pretty well, and I don't remember their press being as intense, so we definitely picked that up, and I think we just needed a little bit more in transition.

Q. Eight team steals tonight, you had two blocks and a steal. What was going well for you guys on defense there a little bit?

SANIA COPELAND: Yeah, we were together as a team. We knew that Gibbs is a very good player for BYU, so one way to stop their team chemistry is to stop Gibbs, and we were doing that together as a team.

Q. Coach, you had three scorers in double digits. You had a little bit of a late comeback there. What did you see from your perspective on all that?

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, we were one or two in the Big 12 in field goal percentage for much of the season. Tonight we didn't finish plays that we normally finish, especially around the rim.

Credit BYU's defense and their length. But when you get an advantage, you have to try to capitalize, and we didn't capitalize enough to win the game.

Q. Olivia Hamlin had 23 points tonight. In your last matchup she was 1 of 7. What did you see out of her that changed, and how did you struggle to readjust to that?

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: Yeah, we missed some assignments in some key moments of the game. I thought give Lee credit; I thought they were able to get some switches and pick on some matchups, and then within those matchups, we were not as assignment correct as we needed to be.

She's a player that you've got to make bounce it, and we gave her what felt like back to back hands-down threes that I felt like really created momentum for BYU.

Q. What was your perspective, what did you see on that inbounds play at the end?

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: With the challenge?

Q. After the challenge.

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: Well, we didn't have time-outs, number one, and it's an experimental rule. So I would have a question about where the ball was placed. While they were at the challenge, as a staff, we felt like it should have been at the sideline.

We asked initially prior to them going to the monitor, if we win the challenge, is it our ball, and we're not sure, this is all new to us, which is completely understandable.

But when we won the challenge in the time-out while they were looking at it, we had discussed a sideline play, and then the ball went to the baseline, and we have a baseline play for that, but we had not talked through it in the time-out.

Clarification on that rule is obviously if the rule is changed will be something that I'll need to get educated on.

Q. Did they give you an explanation for -- I thought because your kids stole it in the lane. Was that the reason?

BRANDON SCHNEIDER: They just said the ball is on the baseline. My understanding is if it's above the free-throw line then it should be on the sideline. That's, again, where we thought it should be.