Kansas Women's Basketball Unveils 2011-12 Schedule
Aug. 2, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
More than half of Kansas women’s basketball opponents in 2011-12 made a postseason appearance last year, including defending national champion Texas A&M and Sweet 16 participants Baylor and Oklahoma. In all, the Jayhawks will play 19 contests versus teams that advanced to the postseason a year ago.
KU, which finished 21-13 in 2010-11 and reached the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), will play 19 of its 30 games in historic Allen Fieldhouse beginning with the Jayhawks’ season-opener versus Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 13.
KU’s non-conference home slate is highlighted by a matchup with WNIT participant Wisconsin on Dec. 8 as part of the 2011 Big 12/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge. Other key home games include Creighton (Nov. 16), Lamar (Nov. 25) and Oral Roberts, all foes that appeared in the 2011 WNIT.
The Jayhawks will hit the road just twice before the start of Big 12 Conference play as they head to Wake Forest on Nov. 20 and then to Alabama on Dec. 4, another Women’s National Invitation Tournament team from a year ago.
Kansas will open its always challenging conference schedule right after the new year, which now includes two contests versus each Big 12 opponent due to the new 10-team format. League play begins on Jan. 4 for the Jayhawks as they travel to Texas, one of seven Big 12 teams that participated in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. KU’s conference slate also includes a particularly tough stretch in which the Jayhawks face three-straight Sweet 16 foes – at Baylor on Jan. 28 (Elite Eight), versus Oklahoma (Sweet 16) on Jan. 31 and at defending national champion Texas A&M on Feb. 4.
The 2012 Big 12 Championship, which will be held at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., will begin Wednesday, March 7 and conclude with the title game on Saturday, March 10.
KU will tip-off the 2011-12 season with a pair of exhibition games in Allen Fieldhouse versus Emporia State (Oct. 31) and Pittsburg State (Nov. 6).
The Jayhawks return four starters from last year’s squad, including leading scorer and All-Big 12 First Team member Carolyn Davis. In all, KU brings back seven letterwinners and its top five scoring threats from 2010-11, which include senior Aishah Sutherland, juniors Monica Engelman and Angel Goodrich and sophomore Keena Mays in addition to Davis.
Added to the mix are five incoming freshmen led by guard Asia Boyd, who was the 39th-best player in the 2011 recruit class. Boyd is joined by guards Donielle Breaux and Natalie Knight along with forwards Chelsea Gardner and Catherine “Bunny” Williams.
