Senior guard Christalah Lyons brought two things to the Kansas Jayhawks women’s basketball team: an impressive high-school record and a nickname.
According to a profile on the KU athletics website, Lyons has carried the nickname “Stank” with her since childhood, courtesy her mother, Mikie Dean. However, only her closest friends and family know the moniker.
“I don’t stink, of course,” Lyons said in the article. “That’s just the name she came up with.”
A Skyline High School alumnus originally from Dallas, Lyons’ per-game high school stats include averaging 10.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals during her senior year. During the 2015 6A Texas State Championship game she single-handedly scored 23 points.
After a stopover at Trinity Valley Community College, Lyons earned a No. 4 national ranking among guards and was ranked 11th overall. Her numbers were 11.9 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals.
With the Jayhawks, she has continued her strong performance, twice selected as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2018 and 2019). With Kansas, she has personal bests of 24 points in one game (Iowa State), 37 minutes of play time against Oklahoma State, nine field goals and eight free throws.
The communications major’s family includes mother Mikie Dean and father Chris Lyons, as well as brothers Chis and Davon.
