🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at Baylor
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Looking to bounce back from an overtime loss to Oklahoma, the Kansas women’s basketball team (12-8, 1-8) will get ready to travel down to Waco, Texas, for its second meeting this season with No. 2/1 Baylor (19-1, 8-0) on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. CT inside the Ferrell Center and can be watched on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Kansas at Baylor
Date/Time: Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. (CT)
Where: Farrell Center (Waco, Texas)
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network with Jimmy Chavez and David Lawrence
Watch: Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ with John Morris (play-by-play), Jim Haller (analyst)
TIP-OFF
- The Kansas Jayhawks will match-up against the Baylor Lady Bears for the 41st time in program history and the 18th time in Waco on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Baylor leads the all-time series, 32-8.
- Baylor heads into the contest with a 19-1 record on the year and is currently undefeated at 8-0 in Big 12 play. BU has won 12-straight games, with its latest win coming over Texas, 64-44, on Jan. 31.
- In KU’s last outing against Oklahoma on Feb. 3, freshman Zakiyah Franklin set a career high in scoring, finishing with 25 points on 9-of-18 (50.0%) shooting from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line, going 6-of-6.
- Franklin’s 25 points are the most a Jayhawk has scored since Nov. 21, 2018, when then-senior Jessica Washington scored 30 points on 9-of-15 (60.0%) shooting with six 3-pointers against George Mason.
- Freshman Holly Kersgieter finished with 18 points against OU to pass 200 career points. Kersgieter sits with 202 total points on the year and in her career.
- Senior Mariane De Carvalho had 17 points on 5-of-10 (50.0%) shooting against the Sooners on Sunday. De Carvalho hit four shots from behind the 3-point line, which is the second-most she has had this season.
- KU went 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the charity stripe against OU, which is the highest percentage the team has shot this season.
- Kansas is the only team in Division I women’s basketball to feature six players averaging double-figures in points. Leading the way is Franklin with 11.5 points per game. She is followed by sophomore Aniya Thomas (11.4), De Carvalho (11.2), junior Tina Stephens (11.0), Kersgieter (11.0) and sophomore Brooklyn Mitchell (10.0).
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
Head coach Kim Mulkey is in her 19th season at Baylor with a 595-100 record while with the Lady Bears. Mulkey has led BU to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and has won three national championships.
Baylor is averaging 85.3 points per game on 50.8% shooting from the field and 41.5% from the 3-point line. BU averages 45.0 boards per game and outrebounds its opponents by an average of 14.8.
The Lady Bears have five players averaging double-figure points. Leading the way has been Te’a Cooper and NaLyssa Smith, who both average 14.7 points per game. DiDi Richards leads the team and the Big 12 in assists per game at 5.4 and Lauren Cox leads the team in rebounding with 8.3.
Baylor is 19-1 on the season and 8-0 in Big 12 play after its 64-44 win over Texas on Jan. 31. The Lady Bears are riding a 12-game win streak with their last and only loss coming back on Nov. 30, against South Carolina.
LAST TIME OUT
Kansas 82, Oklahoma 94 (OT) | Sunday, Feb. 2; Lawrence, Kansas
Despite a 22-point lead in the first half, the Kansas women’s basketball team fell, 94-82, to the Oklahoma Sooners in overtime on Sunday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Freshman Zakiyah Franklin topped her career high, scoring 25 points in the game. After drawing a foul, Franklin knocked down two free throws, surpassing her previous career high of 19. Franklin shot 9-of-18 (50.0%) from the field, and was perfect from the charity stripe, going 6-of-6.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will be back in Allen Fieldhouse as the team will look to split the series against TCU on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 5 p.m. CT on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
