Kansas Faces No. 8 Oklahoma State Wednesday

LAWRENCE, Kan. – On the heels of an upset over a top-10 opponent, Kansas women’s basketball faces another top-ranked foe when the No. 8 Cowgirls of Oklahoma State roll into Lawrence. The Jayhawks (9-9, 2-4 Big 12) have lost three-consecutive games to the Cowgirls (16-1, 5-1 Big 12), but lead the overall series, 31-27.

The game will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 and the Jayhawk Radio Network. KU Faculty and Staff recieve $3 admission for the game against OKlahoma State by showing their campus ID. 
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas is coming off a 76-60 upset over then-No. 7 Baylor and looking to defeat its second-straight top-10 opponent as No. 9 Oklahoma State comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 22. KU is averaging 66.9 points per game and has a scoring margin of + 1.6, while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from beyond the arc.  The Jayhawks have shot 50 percent or better from the three-point line in two of the last four games. Kansas averages 36.9 rebounds per game and has outrebounded 12-of-18 opponents including three of the last four contests. Kansas’ bench is scoring 18.8 points per game and has reached the 20-point mark in eight games this season.
 
Junior Chelsea Gardner posted 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to victory over Baylor. The forward has recorded five double-doubles this season and has the 10th-best field goal percentage in the country. She is shooting 60.8 percent (115-189) on the year and leads the team with 16.3 points per game. She has recorded three-straight double-digit scoring efforts and 15 total in 2013-14. Senior CeCe Harper  continues to lead the league in Big 12-only games with 5.8 assists and 2.2 steals. Harper is 48th in country in assists per game with 5.2 on the year. Junior Natalie Knight recorded her third double-figure scoring effort in the last four games and has 10 double-figure scoring performances this season. Knight is averaging 9.3 points per game and is shooting 42.0 percent (16-143) from the field.
 
Newcomer Jada Brown is averaging 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game when starting for the Jayhawks compared to 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds a contest on the year. Brown scored a career-best 10 points at Texas (1/15) for her first double-figure scoring effort. Freshman guard Keyla Morgan is the other rookie in the starting lineup this season. Morgan has had two double-digit scoring efforts in her initial season with KU, the first against then-No. 2 Duke. She is averaging 5.8 points per game and shooting 50 percent (8-16) from behind the three-point line. Junior guard Asia Boyd is the only other Jayhawk averaging double figures with 11.8 points per game. In KU’s upset win over Baylor, Boyd was one point shy of her third double-double of the season. She has appeared in every game this season, playing 27.3 minutes a contest and grabbing 5.6 boards per game, which is second-best on the squad.
 
Freshman forward Caelynn Manning-Allen has provided a spark off the bench for Kansas. The Chicago native is averaging 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the last four games, which includes scoring a career-high of six points against Texas (1/15) and grabbing a career-best 10 boards against Texas Tech (1/11). In the last four games, freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez is averaging 4.8 points per game off the bench and is shooting 42.9 percent (3-7) from beyond the arc. On the season, she is shooting 36.8 percent from the three-point line and averaging 4.3 points a contest. Senior guard Markisha Hawkins scored 12 points at TCU (1/8) for her second double-digit scoring effort of the year. She is averaging 4.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 13.6 minutes a contest.
 
Sophomore guard Lamaria Cole is averaging 3.3 points and 1.5 assists per game. Junior forward Bunny Williams is grabbing 2.1 boards per game while shooting 69.2 (9-13) percent from the field. Freshman guard Dylan Gonzalez is averaging 1.3 points behind 62.5 (5-8) percent from the field.
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS

• The Jayhawks are coming off a 76-60 upset over No. 7 Baylor. The last time the Jayhawks defeated a team ranked in the top-10 was March 20, 2012, when they defeated No. 7/8 Delaware in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Jayhawks defeated a top-10 team in the regular season was also against Baylor, when they defeated the No. 5/6 Lady Bears in Allen Fieldhouse on March 4, 2009.
• Junior forward Chelsea Gardner was named espnW National Player of the Week and Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week after recording 28 points and 13 rebounds in the upset over Baylor. Her performance against the Lady Bears was her fifth double-double of the year and 11th of her career.
•  Kansas heads into Wednesday’s match up having won two of its last three Big 12 contests. Both wins came inside Allen FIeldhouse as the Jayhawks are 8-3 at home in 2013-14. 
• KU has lost three-consecutive games to the Cowgirls, but leads the overall series 31-27. Kansas has a 13-11 advantage over Oklahoma State when playing in Allen Fieldhouse and is 9-6 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
• Defensively, Kansas has held four opponents under 35 percent from the field and 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting in 2013-14. KU has held Big 12 opponents under 40 percent shooting in four of six contests with the lowest being Texas Tech at 29.4 percent.
• The Jayhawks have outrebounded 12-of-18 opponents this season, including eight of the last 11 games and 9-of-11 games played in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas grabbed a season-best 52 boards against Texas Tech and outrebounded the Red Raiders by 27.
• In 2013-14, Kansas faces 12 opponents that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, five regular season league champions, five WNIT squads and 11 teams coming off 20-win campaigns.
• KU has a record of 121-53 (.704) in Allen Fieldhouse under Henrickson and an all-time home record of 398-153 (.723).
• Kansas’ all-time Big 12 record is 110-172, while KU is 53-101 in conference play under Henrickson.

 
KANSAS VS. Oklahoma State: THE SERIES
The Jayhawks enter Wednesday’s contest with a 31-27 advantage over Oklahoma State in the overall series. The Cowgirls have won the last three meetings between the two squads. Kansas owns a 13-11 record when playing OSU in Allen Fieldhouse and is 9-6 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson. KU enjoyed an eight-game winning streak over Oklahoma State from 1995-2000.
 
The Last Time Out
Kansas last faced the Cowgirls in Allen Fieldhouse during the 2012-13 regular season and Oklahoma State came away with the victory, 65-52. Forward Chelsea Gardner led the team with 14 points and nine rebounds, while OSU was led by Toni Young’s 15 points and 15 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE Cowgirls
Oklahoma State moved up two spots in the national polls this week and is No. 9 heading into the match up against Kansas. The Cowgirls are 16-1 on the season and have a conference mark of 5-1. OSU’s lone loss was to West Virginia, 71-67, on Jan. 4. Senior guard Tiffany Bias leads Oklahoma State with 14.3 points per game, while dishing out a league-best 6.8 assists per game.  Bias is one of four Cowgirls averaging double figures as Brittney Martin (13.4), Liz Donohue (12.4) and LaShawn Jones (10.0) average double-digits per game. Donohue leads OSU with 7.5 rebounds per game, while Jones has recorded a team-best 11 blocked shots. Donohue is tied with Kansas’ Chelsea Gardner for the league’s most double-doubles on the season with five.
 
BAylor LEFTOVERS

• Kansas’ win over Baylor snapped BU’s league-record 53-game Big 12 Conference winning streak, which was the longest active streak in the nation. The last time the Lady Bears lost a game in the Big 12 was Feb. 19, 2011, to Texas Tech.
• KU held the Lady Bears to just 30 percent from the field for the game. That made back-to-back games that Baylor had been held to 30 percent from the field, both resulted in losses.
• Kansas outrebounded Baylor, 51-47, who led the Big 12 in rebounding with 51.6 per game. KU has outrebounded 12-of-18 opponents in 2013-14.
• Chelsea Gardner was named espnW’s National Player of the Week and Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the week on Jan. 20 after scoring 28 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against the Lady Bears for her fifth double-double of the season.
• The Jayhawks scored 76 points in their win against Baylor. The Jayhawks have reached at least 70 points in eight of their nine wins this season and are 110-13 when they score at least 70 points under Henrickson.

 
Garner Named ESPNW National Player of the week
Kansas’ Chelsea Gardner was named espnW Player of the Week after leading the Jayhawks past No. 7 Baylor, 76-60.  It is the first national weekly accolade for the junior forward and marks the first time this season that a Jayhawk has earned a national weekly award. Gardner also earned her second Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honor for her efforts against the Lady Bears. The DeSoto, Texas native recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 11th of her career with 28 points and 13 rebounds against nationally-ranked Baylor.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 7-6 when playing on Jan. 22 and 2-1 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson on the 22nd day of January.
Jan. 22, 1983: The Jayhawks defeated the Cowgirls, 75-62, in Stillwater as KU went on to finish 9-5 in the Big Eight. Kansas shot 57.0 percent from the field and outrebounded Oklahoma State, 47-32, in the road victory. Philicia Allen led all scorers with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Angie Snider added 14 points. 
 
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