Kansas Ready for Second Chance Against Texas

Junior Natalie Knight grabbed a career-best eight rebounds and scored 10 points against K-State on Jan. 25.
Game 21: Kansas vs. Texas
Time 7 p.m.
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Texas leads, 16-10
Television Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3
Leif Lisec (Play-by-Play)
Brenda VanLengen (Color Analyst)
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Affiliate List
Online: Jayhawk Digital Passport
Live Stats Kansas Live Stats
Notes Kansas
Texas
Big 12
Stats at a Glance KU UT
Record 10-10 13-6
Rankings NR NR
Points/GM 66.6 69.8
Points Allowed/GM 65.2 55.9
FG% 43.0 43.7
Rebounds/GM 37.3 45.2
Assists/GM 13.5 15.2
Blocks/GM 4.5 3.8
Steals/GM 7.3 6.9

Kansas Game Notes

LAWRENCE, Kan. – After a tough stretch that included a rivalry game and two contests against teams ranked in the top 10, Kansas women’s basketball is ready for a second chance against Texas on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse. It was just two weeks ago that the Jayhawks (10-10, 3-5 Big 12) fell to the Longhorns (13-6, 4-3 Big 12), 70-58, on the road. The game will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Television Network and the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse to host Texas on Tuesday, Jan. 28, after winning the Sunflower Showdown over Kansas State, 71-64, in Manhattan on Jan. 25. KU is averaging 66.6 points per game, while shooting 43.0 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc.  The Jayhawks have shot 50 percent or better from the three-point line twice in 2013-14. Kansas averages 37.3 rebounds per game and has outrebounded 13-of-20 opponents. Kansas’ bench is scoring 19.1 points per game and has reached the 20-point mark in 10 games this season.
 
Junior Chelsea Gardner posted her third double-double in as many games after a 21-point, 10-rebound effort against Kansas State (1/25). The forward leads the Big 12 with seven double-doubles this season and has 12 in her career. She is shooting 59 percent from the field for the second-best  field goal percentage in the conference and 14th-best in the country. Gardner leads the team with 16.5 points per game, has recorded five-straight double-digit scoring efforts and 17 total in 2013-14. Senior CeCe Harper  has knocked in double figures in five of the last seven games and is second in the league in Big 12-only games with 5.4 assists. Harper is 53rd in country in assists per game with 5.1 on the year. Junior Natalie Knight recorded her fourth double-figure scoring effort in the last six games and has 11 double-figure scoring performances this season. Knight is averaging 9.1 points per game and is shooting 40.5 percent (64-158) from the field.
 
Newcomer Jada Brown scored a career-best 10 points at Texas (1/15) for her first double-figure scoring effort. The freshman forward has started six games and appeared in 19, while averaging 1.8 points and 2.2 rebounds a contest on the year. 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 5.2 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent (8-17) from behind the three-point line. Junior guard Asia Boyd is averaging double figures with 11.6 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 2013-14 game, playing 27.3 minutes a contest and grabbing 5.4 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 recorded two blocked shots against No. 8 Oklahoma State and has the second-most on the team with 15. Manning-Allen scored a career-high six points against Texas (1/15) and grabbed a career-best 10 boards against Texas Tech (1/11). Freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez recorded 10 points against the ranked Cowgirls for her second double-figure scoring effort. On the season, she is shooting 39.1 percent from the three-point line and averaging 4.4 points a contest. Senior guard Markisha Hawkins scored 10 points at Kansas State (1/25) for her third double-digit scoring effort of the year. She is averaging 4.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 13.3 minutes a contest.
 
Sophomore guard Lamaria Cole is averaging 3.1 points and 1.4 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.
 
SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
Texas is tied for fourth place in the conference standings with a 4-3 Big 12 record and is 13-6 overall on the season. The Longhorns lost to TCU, 54-48, and defeated West Virginia, 66-63, since hosting KU on Jan. 15. UT is averaging 69.8 points per game, while shooting 43.7 percent from the field. The Longhorns average 45.2 rebounds, 6.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game, but turn the ball over an average of 19.7 per contest. Junior forward Nneka Enemkpali leads the Longhorns with 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore center Imani McGee-Stafford is the second Longhorn to average double figures with 10.3 points per game. She leads the team with 32 blocked shots.
 
KANSAS VS. TEXAS: THE SERIES
Texas leads the overall series 16-10 and has won the last two contests. However, Kansas has won three of the last five meetings between the programs. The Jayhawks own a 6-6 mark against the Longhorns when playing in Allen Fieldhouse and are 5-7 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson. UT won the last time around, 70-58, on Jan. 15. Junior Chelsea Gardner led KU with 11 points, while freshmen Jada Brown recorded a career-best 10 points and Caelynn Manning-Allen scored a career-high six points. Sophomore center Imani McGee-Stafford recorded a career-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for her third double-double of the 2013-14 season for Texas.
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS

  • The Jayhawks have lost two-straight contests to the Longhorns. Prior to those two games, Kansas had won three-consecutive games. Texas has a 16-10 advantage over KU in the overall series, while the Jayhawks are 5-7 against UT under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
  •  Kansas has won two of its last three games that included two top-10 ranked teams (Baylor and Oklahoma State) and a rivalry game (Kansas State).
  • Junior Chelsea Gardner has recorded a double-double in each of the last three games and scored in double figures in the last five contests. She has seven double-doubles on the season, which leads the Big 12, and 12 in her career.
  • Five KU players finished the game at Kansas State (1/25) with double-figure points, marking the first time it’s happened during the 2013-14 season. The last time five Jayhawks finished in double-digits was last season in the NCAA Tournament against Colorado (3/23/13). 
  • 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 76-60 upset over Baylor.
  • 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 4-of-8 contests with the lowest being Texas Tech at 29.4 percent. On average, KU’s opponents are shooting 39.6 percent from the field.
  • The Jayhawks have outrebounded 13-of-20 opponents this season, including nine of the last 13 games and 9-of-12 games played in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas grabbed a season-best 52 boards against Texas Tech (1/11) 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 123-54 (.704) in Allen Fieldhouse under Henrickson and an all-time home record of 395-156 (.723).

 
KANSAS STATE LEFTOVERS

  • Five KU players finished the game in double-figure points, marking the first time that has happened during the 2013-14 season. The last time five Jayhawks finished in double-digits was last season in the NCAA Tournament against Colorado (3/23/13). 
  • The Jayhawks scored 71 points in their victory over the Wildcats. Kansas is 8-0 when they score at least 70 points during the 2013-14 season and 111-13 under Henrickson when reaching 70 points.
  • Junior Chelsea Gardner scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and  blocked two shots for her seventh double-double of the 2013-14 season and 12th of her career.
  • Senior CeCe Harper and junior Natalie Knight each grabbed a career-best eight rebounds against the Wildcats. Both surpassed their previous career-high of seveb rebounds.

 
CHELSEA LATELY
Junior forward Chelsea Gardner has stepped up to the challenge of filling the scoring void left by graduating three 1,000 point scorers at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. Gardner has scored in double figures in 17-of-20 games this season and is averaging 16.5 points per game. On the season, she is shooting 59 percent from the field, which is the second-best field goal percentage in the Big 12. She scored a career-high 30 points against Texas Southern on Dec. 12. Gardner has recorded seven double-doubles this year and 12 in her career. She has 762 career points and is on pace to reach 1,000 points by the end of her Jayhawk career. After grabbing 10 boards against K-State, Gardner became the 16th Jayhawk in program history to record 500 or more rebounds. She has exactly 500 in her career.
 
A KNIGHT’S TALE
Junior Natalie Knight made her return to the hardwood on Oct. 30 in an exhibition contest against Pittsburg State after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2012-13. The Olathe, Kan., native picked up where she left by being the most consistent Jayhawk on the court. The guard has the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 2.3. Knight is averaging a team-high 33.2 minutes per game and has turned the ball over just 27 times in 20 appearances. Knight is scoring 9.1 points per game and recorded double-digit points in 12 games. She scored a season-high 20 points behind a career-best six three-pointers on the road against TCU on Jan. 8.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 4-6 when playing on Jan. 28 and 0-2 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson on the 28th day of January.
Jan. 28, 1996: The Jayhawks claimed a 51-38 victory over rival Kansas State in Manhattan. Kansas sank 16-of-24 free throws en route to winning its 12th game of the season. Tamecka Dixon and Angie Halbleib finished the game scoring double figures.
 
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