Jayhawks set for Rematch with Iowa State

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball returns to Allen Fieldhouse after two games away for a rematch with Iowa State on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. The Jayhawks look to even the 2016 series as the Cyclones won the first meeting, 65-49. The game will air on the Jayhawk Television Network and the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
Around the fieldhouse
Tuesday night is student fandemonium inside Allen Fieldhouse. All KU students in attendance will be entered to win prizes, including Xbox, TVs and more. All fans will receive a K flag upon entrance, while supplies last, and concessions will be offering hot dogs for $1.
 
Kansas FastBreaks

• Kansas is 48-32 against Iowa State since the inception of the series in 1978. KU is 27-9 when hosting the Cyclones in Allen Fieldhouse.
• The Jayhawks have won two of the last three meetings against Iowa State.
• KU owns a 119-203 all-time record against Big 12 Conference foes.
• Kansas has a record of 410-174 (.705) in Allen Fieldhouse. Over the last five seasons, Kansas has posted a 65-38 mark on its home court. This season, Kansas owns a 4-9 mark at home.
• KU connected on a season-high 45.5 percent (5-of-11) of its shots from the three-point arc at Iowa State (1/9). The Jayhawks have shot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc six times in 2015-16.
• When Brandon Schneider-coached teams are leading with less than five minutes to play, his overall record is 351-12, and 5-0 at Kansas.
• During her career, sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge has hit 35.4 percent of her attempts from behind the arc, which is closing in on Kansas’ all-time three-point field percentage top 10.
• Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich is averaging 32.8 minutes per game during her rookie season. Her minutes per game rank sixth in the Big 12 and are the highest among freshmen in the league.
• Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen has swatted away a team-high 32 blocks this season, averaging 1.5 per game, for 74 blocks in her career. She needs 21 more to crack Kansas’ top-10 season list and 10 to etch her name into the junior record.
• Freshman guard Jayde Christopher has dished out three or more assists on seven occasions, including a career-high mark of six against Northern Illinois (11/27).  She is second on the team in dishing out assists with 40 on the year. Aldridge leads the squad with 47 and tallied six against Texas Tech (1/30), for her second five-assist effort this season.

 
About the Jayhawks
In their last outing, Kansas (5-16, 0-10 Big 12) went searching for its first road victory of the season, but came up short against Texas Tech, 54-44. Kansas drained more field goals, collected more rebounds and held the Lady Raiders to a season-low 44 field goal attempts, but could not break through to find the win. The Jayhawks now look to end a 12-game losing streak and earn their first conference victory this season.
 
The Kansas bench outscored Texas Tech’s reserves 15-4 on Saturday, and most of that production came from freshman forward Tyler Johnson. The Leavenworth, Kansas native tallied a career-high 12 points to lead the scoring effort for the Jayhawks. Johnson’s 6-of-9 shooting was also a team-best shooting performance.
 
Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle reached double-figure scoring for the third time this season with 11 points. Her effort marked the first time this season to post double-digit points but not lead the team in scoring. Cheadle also pulled down four offensive boards, tying her season high.
 
Saturday’s contest marked the sixth time this season that a freshman led the Jayhawks in scoring. Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich was responsible for the previous five occasions. Johnson’s team-best performance was also just the second time this year that a post player led the offensive effort for Kansas, and the second time a Jayhawk came off the bench to post a team-high scoring mark.
 
Kansas has claimed victory in four of the last five meetings with the Cyclones in Allen Fieldhouse. Last season, the Jayhawks took down Iowa State at home in their regular-season finale, sending the seniors out in style with a 68-64 win.
 
Scouting the Cyclones
Iowa State is 11-9 on the season, and 3-6 in the Big 12 after falling to No. 21 Oklahoma, 77-71. The Cyclones are winless in their last five games since defeating the Jayhawks in Ames on Jan. 9 by a score of 65-49. After enduring back-to-back overtime losses on the road to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, Iowa State has dropped its last three contests at home. Iowa State enters Tuesday’s contest with a 33-47 all-time record against the Jayhawks, and a 9-27 record in Allen Fieldhouse.
 
The Cyclones are picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 by the coaches’ preseason poll after a fifth-place finish and trip to the NCAA Tournament last season. Iowa State earned a No. 10 seed, and fell in the first round to seventh-seed Dayton by a score of 66-78. Nine players return from last year’s squad and a three-player freshman class includes a top-50 prospect, Minnesota’s top recruit and the top prospect out of Canada.
 
Junior guard Seanna Johnson is one of only three conference players to currently average a double-double. The Big 12’s leading rebounder last season, Johnson is posting 16.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game this season, and both marks are second-best in the conference. The bulk of the Iowa State offense runs through Johnson, who leads the Cyclones in field goal attempts, field goals made, free throw attempts and free throws made.
 
Freshman guard Bridget Carleton is behind Johnson with 13.1 points per contest, helping the Cyclones to the fifth-best scoring offense in the Big 12. Carleton has hit more threes than any other Cyclone this season, averaging 2.4 makes per game. The top recruit out of Canada is living up to expectations, with the best scoring average (13.6 points per game) in the conference among freshmen.
 
Iowa State is allowing 66.4 points per game by opponents this season, currently ranking last in the Big 12. Tuesday’s contest may turn into a battle of long-range shooting, as the Cyclones and Jayhawks sit ninth and 10th in three-point defense, respectively. Iowa State and Kansas are the only two teams in the conference with a negative turnover margin, and the winning team on Tuesday might be whichever squad can hold onto the rock the best.
 
This Day in KU Women’s Basketball History
Record on Feb. 2: 12-4
Kansas women’s basketball will play on the second day of February for the 17th time in program history. The last meeting on Feb. 2 came in 2013 and resulted in a 89-80 overtime win against in-state rival Kansas State. In 1997, Tamecka Dixon’s 24 points were enough to lead the Jayhawks past Texas Tech in a 69-52 victory. Nakia Sanford contributed to the team’s effort with nine points and 10 rebounds. Lynn Pride was second in scoring on the team as she poured in 11 points.
 
Tough and Together
First-year head coach Brandon Schneider has brought a “tough and together” culture to Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas women’s basketball. The Jayhawks begin end every practice with t and t, which is short for tough and together. Schneider has vowed that his squads will compete and play together every day. Whether the Jayhawks are hitting the floor, flying over the scorers’ table or passing to a teammate, they will play tough and together.
 
One – Two – Three!
On the season, Kansas is connecting on 30.2 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. Both redshirt junior guard Timeka O’Neal and sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge are shooting above average, making 37.5 and 36.0 percent of their long-range shots, respectively. Both Jayhawks rank among the top 11 in the Big 12 and Aldridge’s career mark of 35.4 nears the all-time KU three-point field goal percentage, where the No. 10 spot is 35.9 percent held by Monica Engelman.
 
Up Next
The Jayhawks head south for the third game over the last four in the Lone Star State. Kansas travels to No. 4 Baylor to wrap up the 2016 series with the Lady Bears on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., inside the Ferrell Center. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest and the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
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