Kansas hosts Texas Tech for Jayhawks for a Cure Game

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball welcomes Texas Tech to Allen Fieldhouse for the Jayhawks for a Cure game on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
 
Fans who wear pink to the game will receive $5 admission. The game will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN+ and the Jayhawk Radio Network.

FAST BREAKS

• A win over the Lady Raiders on Sunday would give Kansas a win over Texas Tech for the third-straight season.
• Kansas has held its opponents to shooting only 28.8 percent from the 3-point line, which is second lowest in the Big 12. The Jayhawks have limited their opponents to making just 92 3-pointers this season and are the only team in the Big 12 that have allowed less than 100 triples.
• Freshman Aniya Thomas notched double figures for the second-straight game with 11 points against the Sooners (2/13).
• With a team-high 17 points against Oklahoma (2/13), senior Austin Richardson posted her fifth-straight double-digit scoring effort, her ninth in Big 12 play and 15th overall this season, which ties her for the most on the team.
• The Jayhawks have snagged the third-most steals in the Big 12 with 8.9 per game. Seniors Kylee Kopatich and Christalah Lyons lead Kansas with 46 and 38 steals, respectively.
• Sixth year Jessica Washington matched her career high in assists for the fourth time against Oklahoma (2/13), dishing out a team-high six dimes.
• Kansas has four different players shooting above 80 percent from the free throw line during conference play, including seniors Chelsea Lott (87.5 percent), Kopatich (87.1 percent) and Lyons (82.0 percent) and junior Mariane De Carvalho (81.8 percent).

THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Feb. 17: 7-6
On Feb. 17, 1990, Kansas beat Nebraska on the road, 70-69, as Lisa Braddy went one-of-two from the charity stripe to seal the KU victory with two seconds left in overtime. Braddy led Kansas with 17 points, shooting 11-of-14 from the free throw line.

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks enter Sunday’s Jayhawks for a Cure matchup against Texas Tech with a 12-11 overall record and a 2-10 mark in Big 12 Conference play. A KU win over the Lady Raiders would give Kansas a win over Texas Tech for the third-straight season. Kansas’ offense is paced by senior guard Christalah Lyons who is dishing out 3.4 assists per game. Lyons has posted three 20-point performances in Big 12 play, averaging a team-leading 13.1 points per game against conference opponents and 11.4 points overall. Senior guard Kylee Kopatich is averaging 11.5 points and is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from the 3-point line. Kansas’ defense is led by sophomore center Bailey Helgren with 5.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks, while Kopatich leads KU with 2.1 steals, the second-best in the conference. Senior Austin Richardson leads Kansas with 18 blocks on the season and serves as KU’s second-leading rebounder with 5.3 rebounds per game, while adding 10.6 points per game. Collectively, the Jayhawks limit their opponents to 63.9 points per game, while holding them to 28.8  percent from beyond the 3-point line. 

SCOUTING THE LADY RAIDERS
Texas Tech owns a 11-13 overall record and is 2-11 in Big 12 action with wins over Kansas and at Oklahoma State. Texas Tech has three players averaging double digits in scoring, led by freshman Chrislyn Carr who has been named Big 12 Freshman of the Week three times and National Freshman of the Week once. Carr is averaging a team-best 18.4 points per game, while adding 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Junior forward Brittany Brewer is averaging 16.0 points and 9.2 rebounds, while sophomore guard Sydney Goodson is chipping in 10.7 points per game. Texas Tech’s offense is the fifth-best in the Big 12 with 71.6 points per game. Senior forward Zuri Sanders leads the the Big 12 with 10.7 rebounds per game, while Brewer leads Texas Tech in blocks with 52 on the season, averaging 2.2.

OKLAHOMA LEFTOVERS
Kansas was within a possession of Oklahoma early in the fourth quarter, but a cold-shooting spell cut the Jayhawks’ comeback short as the Sooners evened the 2019 series with a 78-67 victory. Senior Austin Richardson led Kansas with 17 points, her fifth-straight game in double figures, while freshman Aniya Thomas chipped in 11 points for her second-straight double-digit scoring performance.

CLIMBING UP THE RANKS
Senior Kylee Kopatich has been putting her stamp on the Kansas record books since she first stepped foot onto James Naismith Court. The Olathe, Kansas native is on track to make the most 3-pointers by a senior in KU history. Kopatich is 19 triples away from surpassing fellow Olathe South High School grad Natalie Knight for the most 3-pointers by a Kansas senior. The 5-10 guard has made 214 career 3-pointers and is just 24 treys away from surpassing Angie Halbleib and becoming Kansas’ all-time 3-point field goal leader. Her 214 career 3-pointers are the most by a Jayhawk since 2015, when Knight ended her career with 178 triples. Beyond the 3-point line, Kopatich is 11 steals away from passing Jaclyn Johnson and moving into 10th all-time for steals with 190 through her career thus far. Additionally, Kopatich needs to play 99 minutes to pass Sade Morris and move into seventh all-time for minutes played with 3,678 minutes played to date. 

TURNOVER CENTRAL
The Jayhawks have forced an impressive 421 turnovers on the year and have forced at least 20 turnovers on 11 occasions this season. Kansas forced a season-high 26 turnovers twice this season against Iona (11/25) and at TCU (1/27). While Kansas has been forcing a lot of turnovers, the Jayhawks have limited their own. KU has the third-fewest turnovers in the Big 12 with 331, averaging 14.4 per game. The Jayhawks boast the best turnover margin in the league (+3.9).

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Senior Austin Richardson has been a key component for the Jayhawks on both ends of the floor, providing consistent scoring and rebounding for KU. Richardson has posted 15 double-digit scoring games this season, including nine in Big 12 play and in each of the last five games. The six-foot forward has recorded three 10-point rebounding performances, while grabbing at least eight rebounds on five occasions. Richardson is the only Jayhawk to register a double-double this season, recording two double-doubles during her senior campaign. 

FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Jayhawks have been making improvements from the free throw line throughout Big 12 play. Kansas shot 65.1 percent from the free throw line duing nonconference play and have improved that mark to 72.2 percent during league games. After shooting 75 percent or better from the charity stripe only twice through 11 nonconference games, Kansas has surpassed that mark, shooting 75 percent or better in five games during league play. KU shot 75 percent or better from the free throw line in five of the last eight games, shooting 75 percent (12-of-16) against Oklahoma State (1/19), 78.6 percent (11-of-14) at TCU (1/27), 94.1 percent (32-of-34) against Oklahoma (1/30), 78.6 percent (11-of-14) against K-State and 100 percent (6-of-6) at Oklahoma (2/13). Kansas’ 94.1 percent shooting percentage from the charity stripe ties the eighth-best free throw percentage in a single game in KU history. Additionally, seniors Christalah Lyons and Kylee Kopatich have improved their shot from the line in Big 12 play with Lyons improving her 66.7 percent in nonconference to 82.0 percent (41-of-50) in Big 12 contests and Kopatich improving her 76.2 percent in nonconference to 87.1 percent (27-of-31) in league matchups. Kopatich made a perfect 10-of-10 free throws against Oklahoma (1/30), tying her for first for a single-game free throw percentage.

FRESHMEN FILLING THEIR ROLE
KU’s three freshman stepped up against then-No. 14 Texas, as the trio combined for 26 points off the bench. Aniya Thomas led the way with 15 points, while redshirt-freshman Brittany Franklin and Brooklyn Mitchell added seven points and four points, respectively. Franklin also pulled down four rebounds, while Thomas dished out two assists. Mitchell had one steal and one assist. Thomas’ performance against Texas earned her the third start of her career on the road at Oklahoma. The Duncanville, Texas native posted her second-straight double-digit scoring performance with 11 points against the Sooners (2/13).

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks hit the road for a two-game road tilt beginning at No. 1/1 Baylor on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m., inside the Ferrell Center. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest and the Jayhawk Radio Network.

FOLLOW

@KUwbball

/KansasWomensBasketball

@KUwbballl

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.