🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at Oklahoma State
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Kansas women’s basketball team will hit the road to kick off its first Big 12 Conference game against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 4, in Gallagher-Iba Arena at 2 p.m. CT.
GAME INFORMATION:
Kansas vs. Oklahoma State
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. (CT)
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.)
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network with Jimmy Chavez and David Lawrence
Watch: Big 12 NOW on ESPN+
- Kansas will match up against Oklahoma State for the 72nd time in program history on Saturday. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 38-33.
- The last time the Jayhawks and Cowgirls faced off was March 8, 2019, in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City where Kansas came out on top, 76-66.
- The Jayhawks go into Big 12 Conference play 11-0, which is the best start for the program since the 2005-06 season.
- As of Dec. 29, 2019, Kansas has received four votes to be ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 teams in women’s Division I basketball.
- Through the nonconference schedule, the Jayhawks have six players averaging double figures in points. Leading the way is sophomore guard Brooklyn Mitchell with 12.7 points a game, followed by junior guard Aniya Thomas (12.6), freshman guard Holly Kersgieter (11.8), senior forward Mariane De Carvalho (11.5), freshman guard Zakiyah Franklin (11.1) and junior forward Tina Stephens (10.5).
- The Jayhawks are one of eight teams still undefeated in DI women’s basketball. KU and Texas Tech are the only remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12.
- In the last outing against Wofford (Dec. 30), Kersgieter was three points shy of her career-high, scoring 21 points on 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the field to go along with five rebounds.
- De Carvalho finished with 18 points against Wofford on 8-of-10 (80%) shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Redshirt-sophomore center Emma Merriweather made her Kansas debut against the Terriers with 1:53 remaining in the second quarter. She grabbed four rebounds in her time on the court and recorded her first basket as a Jayhawk with one minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
Prior to their Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State, head coach Brandon Schneider met with the media.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
Oklahoma State is 9-3 on the season and 7-0 when playing at home. The Cowgirls are currently riding a three-game win streak coming off an 84-41 victory over Duquesne.
Head coach Jim Littell enters his ninth season at Oklahoma State with a record of 170-99 and a career record of 798-216.
The Cowgirls are averaging 69.1 points per game on 39.8% shooting from the field and 25.7% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma State averages 15.5 assists and has protected the paint averaging 6.2 blocks per contest.
Leading the Cowgirls has been junior forward Vivian Gray, who is scoring 19.3 points a game on 39.7% from the field and 32.7% from the 3-point line. Junior forward Natasha Mack follows with 16.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Five Jayhawks finished in double-figures on Monday as Kansas women’s basketball remained undefeated with its 83-64 victory over Wofford inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas jumped out to a 22-13 lead to end the first quarter, but the Terriers utilized an 8-0 run late in the second quarter to bring the game within single digits at 38-34 entering halftime.
In the second half, it was all Jayhawks as they would outscore Wofford 55-30 over the final two quarters. KU put together a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to push its lead up to 15 and was able to ride that momentum through the remainder of the contest.
The Jayhawks will host No. 19/21 West Virginia on Wednesday, Jan. 8, in Allen Fieldhouse at 7 p.m., CT.
