🏀 GAME PREVIEW: at West Virginia

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Coming off a big win over Texas, the Kansas women’s basketball team (13-11, 2-11 Big 12) will look to carry the momentum forward as it takes on West Virginia (15-9, 5-8 Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 22, inside WVU Coliseum at 4 p.m. CT in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Kansas at West Virginia

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. (CT)

Where: WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, W. Va.)

Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network with Jimmy Chavez.

Watch: AT&T SportsNet with Rob King and Meg Bulger.

TIP-OFF

  • The Jayhawks and Mountaineers will meet for just the 17th time in program history on Saturday at WVU Coliseum. West Virginia leads the all-time series over Kansas, 12-4.
  • WVU split its last two games defeating Texas Tech at home, 67-60, on Feb. 15, and fell to Texas, 50-44, on Feb. 17, on the road. The Mountaineers are 3-5 on the road, but are 9-3 when playing inside WVU Coliseum this season.
  • In its last game on Feb. 15, Kansas came out on top over Texas, 82-67, inside Allen Fieldhouse. The victory was the first over Texas since Jan. 23, 2013 in women’s basketball.
  • Redshirt-sophomore Emma Merriweather and junior Tina Stephens both recorded their first-career starts for the Jayhawks against Texas. Merriweather finished with four points along with three blocks and three steals, while Stephens scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards.
  • Sophomore Aniya Thomas led KU with 21 points against UT, marking the third time she has scored 20 or more points in the 2019-20 season and the eighth time she has been the team’s leading scorer.
  • At the end of the first half against the Longhorns, the Jayhawks led 41-31, which marked the 10th time this season that the Jayhawks have led at the end of the first half. With the win, the Jayhawks moved to 10-1 when they lead going into the second half.
  • All eight players who stepped on to the court against UT recorded a basket. Four players finished in double-figures with Thomas leading the way scoring 21, followed by Stephens (14), freshman Zakiyah Franklin (14) and senior Mariane De Carvalho (12).

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

Head coach Mike Carey is in his 19th season with West Virginia and has a 408-214 record with the Mountaineers. Carey has led WVU to 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and finished tied for first in the Big 12 Conference in the 2013-14 season.

 

The Mountaineers are averaging 66.1 points per game on 39.4% shooting from the field and 30.9% from behind the 3-point line. WVU has played strong team defense this season, holding opponents to 60.5 points a game, which the second-best average in the Big 12.

 

Leading West Virginia has been redshirt-junior Kysre Gondrezick scoring 16.1 points a game on 38.3% shooting from the field. Redshirt-senior Tynice Martin follows with 14.9 points on 36.3% shooting and grabs 4.5 rebounds per game.

 

The Mountaineers head into the contest with a 15-9 record on the year. This will be the second meeting between KU and WVU this season, with the Mountaineers coming out on top in the first game, 68-49, on Jan. 8 inside Allen Fieldhouse.

LAST TIME OUT

Kansas 82, Texas 67 | Saturday, Feb. 15; Lawrence, Kan.

 

At the end of the first half, the Jayhawks led the Longhorns by a score of 41-31, the 10th time this season that the Jayhawks have led at the end of the first half.

 

The Jayhawks were able to guarantee the victory by going on a 14-7 run to close the game. Sophomore Aniya Thomas fueled the run with a layup at the 3:03 mark of the final quarter. Thomas scored four points during the last three minutes of the game.

 

Thomas finished the night with 21 points, marking the third time she has scored 20 or more points this season and the eighth time as the team’s leading scorer.

Oklahoma logo

The Jayhawks will play the second of back-to-back road games as they take on Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. inside the Llyod Noble Center.