Jayhawks To Challenge Top-Ranked Baylor Saturday
Jan. 27, 2012
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WACO, Texas – Coming off its second win over a Top 25 foe this season, Kansas women’s basketball (16-3, 5-2 Big 12) will now set its sights on No. 1/1 Baylor. The Jayhawks are scheduled to take on the undefeated Bears (20-0, 7-0 Big 12) on Saturday, Jan. 28 in Waco. Top-ranked Baylor is KU’s third-straight Top 25 opponent and fourth of the year. Kansas is 2-1 versus ranked teams in 2011-12 and already owns one upset on the road, a 72-67 win at No. 23/25 Texas in its Big 12 opener.
Follow the Jayhawks
Saturday’s game can be heard online through Jayhawk All-Access at www.KUAthletics.com. The contest will also be video streamed through the Baylor website on www.BaylorBears.com.
Fast Breaks
– KU is 2-1 versus Top 25 opponents in 2011-12 and has defeated multiple ranked foes for the first time since 2008-09.
– At 5-2 in Big 12 play, KU is off to its best conference start since 1999-2000 when the team also opened the conference with a 5-2 mark.
– Kansas’ 19-point margin of victory versus Texas Tech Wednesday was its largest in a Big 12 game this season.
– The Jayhawks are ranked No. 27 in the latest NCAA ratings percentage index (RPI) report and are one of five Big 12 schools in the top 30.
– KU is just one spot out of the ESPN/USA Today top 25 poll receiving 34 votes. In the AP poll, the Jayhawks are garnering 12 votes.
– No. 1/1 Baylor is the Jayhawks’ third-straight ranked opponent.
– Kansas is 4-1 in road games this season, including 3-0 in league games.
– The Jayhawks have out-shot 17 of their 19 opponents this season, including a 47.5-29.7 percent advantage versus Texas Tech.
– KU has held all 19 opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field.
– Junior Carolyn Davis scored 34 points versus TTU, the most points by a Big 12 player this season.
– Aishah Sutherland collected the most blocks by a Jayhawk in nine seasons with her six rejections against the Red Raiders. The forward is also responsible for pulling down the most rebounds in 30 years as she recorded 22 rebounds at OSU on Jan. 18.
– Sutherland cracked the top 10 in another KU career record list as she now holds the No. 10 spot with 789 boards in her collegiate career.
– Junior Angel Goodrich leads Kansas with 21 charges taken in 19 games this season.
About the Jayhawks
KU improved to 16-3 overall, including 5-2 in Big 12 play, following its second win over a ranked opponent, a 62-43 victory versus No. 21/23 Texas Tech Wednesday … Junior Carolyn Davis poured in a season-high 34 points vs. TTU and leads KU with 18.5 ppg … She leads the nation shooting 63.2 percent from the field … Junior Angel Goodrich also has a nation-leading average with her 7.7 apg … Goodrich is second in the Big 12 with 3.4 spg and adds 12.4 ppg with the help of a team-high 20 three-pointers … Senior Aishah Sutherland paces KU with 9.3 rpg to go along with 13.1 ppg … Junior Monica Engelman rounds out the Jayhawks’ quartet of double-digit scorers averaging 10.2 ppg … She is also the team’s top free throw shooter sinking 87.8 percent at the foul line … Freshman Natalie Knight has started every game along with Goodrich … She has the fewest turnovers among KU starters with 21 and has zero in her last two outings … As a team, Kansas is shooting 48.9 percent from the field, which ranks as one of the top five marks in the country, while its 74.0 ppg trails only Baylor in the Big 12 stat rankings.
Scouting Baylor
One of only two Division I teams still undefeated at 20-0, including 7-0 in the Big 12 … Defeated Oklahoma 89-58 in Norman Thursday night … Brittney Griner averages a nation-leading 5.4 bpg and leads Big 12 scoring 22.5 ppg … Averages a double-double with 10.1 rpg, which ranks second in conference, while Destiny Williams (10.3 ppg) is fourth with 8.8 rpg … Three-point threat Odyssey Sims is shooting 45.6% from beyond the arc and scores 15.9 ppg … Also dishes 5.4 apg … The Bears lead the Big 12 averaging 82.1 ppg, +30.2 scoring margin and +14.9 rebound margin … Second nationally holding teams to a 30.3 field goal percentage.
Series History
Kansas trails the all-time series with Baylor, 15-7, including a 2-7 record in Waco. The Jayhawks have lost five straight in the Ferrell Center, dating back to 2002. KU’s last win at Baylor came on Jan. 19, 2000, when the Crimson and Blue left Texas with an 81-67 victory. The most recent Kansas win was a 69-45 rout on March 4, 2009 in Lawrence.
Block Party
Senior Aishah Sutherland collected six blocks versus Texas Tech which are the most rejections by a Jayhawk since Tamara Ransburg had six against Western Illinois on Dec. 7, 2002. Sutherland’s mark also tied for the fourth-most blocks ever in Allen Fieldhouse.
Davis Hits 30 Mark
For the first time this season and seventh time in her career, Carolyn Davis reached the 30-point mark as the junior scored 34 points in Kansas’ win versus TTU. Her 34 tallies were a single-game high among Big 12 players in 2011-12. Davis collected all of her points from two-point field goals and in only 29 minutes of floor time.
Tops in the Nation
Kansas duo Angel Goodrich and Carolyn Davis are atop a few national statistics list. Goodrich leads the country with her 7.7 assists per game, while Davis is tops with a 63.2 field goal percentage. As a team, Kansas ranks third shooting 48.9 percent from the field.
Up Next
Kansas will have a quick turnaround when it returns to Allen Fieldhouse to host Oklahoma on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to close out the first half of its conference schedule. Game time with the Sooners is scheduled for 7 p.m. and Metro Sports will televise the contest.
