🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at Texas
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Coming off its first win in Big 12 conference play, the Kansas (12-4, 1-4) women’s basketball team will face Texas (11-6, 3-2) in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION:
Kansas vs. Texas
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. (CT)
Where: Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network with Jimmy Chavez
Watch: Longhorn Network with Alex Loeb (play-by-play), Andrea Llyod (analyst)
TIP-OFF
- This will be the 39th meeting between Kansas and Texas. The Longhorns lead the series 28-10 and won the last meeting in Lawrence, Kan., 91-73.
- Texas comes into the contest 11-6 on the season and 3-2 in conference play. The Longhorns are 7-2 when playing at home this season and have won its last two match-ups against Texas Tech and Kansas State.
- Kansas won its last game against Texas Tech, 67-50, in Allen Fieldhouse. That marks the Jayhawks’ first win in Big 12 play and the first time KU defeated TTU since the 2017-18 season where the team won 60-47 in Lubbock, Texas.
- Now through 16 games, six players are averaging double-figure points for the Jayhawks. Leading the way is sophomore guard Aniya Thomas with 11.9 points per game. She is followed by sophomore guard Brooklyn Mitchell (11.1), freshmen guard Holly Kersgieter (11.1), senior forward Mariane De Carvalho (10.9), freshman guard Zakiyah Franklin (10.6) and junior forward Tina Stephens (10.5).
- Against Texas Tech, De Carvalho led the team in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-14 (42.8%) shooting from the field. That marks her eighth game scoring 10 or more points and fourth game leading the Jayhawks in scoring.
- Stephens played in her first game since Jan. 4, where she finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 (60.0%) shooting. Stephens has scored in double-figures in seven of the 13 games she has played in.
SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
Texas comes into the contest 11-6 on the season and 3-2 in conference play. The Longhorns are 7-2 when playing at home this season and have won its last two match-ups against Texas Tech, 92-66, and Kansas State, 71-63.
Head coach Karen Aston is in her seventh season with Texas and has a record of 165-72. Aston is 266-135 as a collegiate head coach in 12 seasons with stops at Charlotte and North Texas.
The Longhorns are averaging 73.2 points a game on 42.3% shooting from the field and 31.0% from beyond the arc. UT collects 43.8 rebounds per game and outrebounds its opponents by an average of 9.6.
Leading Texas has been Joyner Holmes who is averaging 14.5 points a game on 45.6% shooting and 9.3 rebounds. Behind Holmes is Charli Collier who averages 14.2 points on 44.4% shooting from the field and leads the team in rebounds with 10.5.
LAST TIME OUT
De Carvalho paced the Jayhawks with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-14 (42.8%) shooting from the field along with three rebounds and two steals. In her first game back from injury, Stephens finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 (60%) shooting and three boards.
Kansas and Texas Tech traded baskets in the first, but thanks to a jumper from De Carvalho and a fast-break layup from Thomas, the Jayhawks took a 17-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Jayhawks pulled away in the second quarter with a 12-5 run in the last 3:57 that was capped off with a triple before the halftime buzzer from Kersgieter. KU led, 34-25, over TTU entering half.
Kansas extended its lead with a 9-2 run to start the third quarter and would take a 53-39 lead into the final quarter. The Jayhawks kept its lead as it outscored the Lady Raiders 14-11 in the fourth and cruised to a 67-50 win.
UP NEXT
KU will continue its two-game road trip as the team will travel to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State in James H. Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. CT.
