Kansas Faces Iowa State for First Time in 2014

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas women’s basketball heads north to face Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. inside Hilton Coliseum. It marks the first of two meetings against the Cyclones in the final stretch of the conference slate before the Big 12 Championship (March 7-10). The Jayhawks (12-13, 5-8 Big 12) are looking to build on the momentum started with their recent win over TCU. KU leads the all-time series 45-30, but is 15-20 when playing the Cyclones (16-7, 5-7 Big 12) in Ames.    KANSAS FAST BREAKS 

• The Jayhawks are 45-30 overall against the Cyclones in the series that began in 1978. KU won one of the three contests in 2013 and is 15-20 against Iowa State in Ames.
• Kansas is fourth in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game (4.4) and has recorded four or more blocks in 16 games this season including the past three games.  
• The Jayhawks shot a season-high 53.8 percent from the three-point line against TCU (2/12) marking the seventh time this season that Kansas has shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc. 
• Junior guard Natalie Knight is heating up from the three-point line and has shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc in the last four games (15-23). Most recently, she shot 57.1 percent from behind the three-point line against TCU. She has made 50 percent of her three-point attempts in 10 games this season. Knight has the second-best career three-point percentage (.382) in Kansas women’s basketball history.
• Junior forward Chelsea Gardner has posted a Big 12-leading 10 double-doubles on the season and recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 22 games this year including the past 10 games.
• CeCe Harper is third in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists per game and is closing in on Kansas’ single-season top-10 list with 134 assists this year. She needs five more assists to move into the 10th spot.
• Gardner is shooting 57.8 percent from the field, which is second-best in the Big 12. It also marks the fourth-best career field goal percentage in Kansas women’s basketball history. The top career percentage from a Jayhawk is 61.8 by Carolyn Davis (2010-13) and Vickie Adkins (1983-86).

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS Kansas will look to carry momentum from Wednesday night’s win over TCU into the weekend as the Jayhawks travel to Iowa State for the first of two meetings in the closing weeks of Big 12 play. KU is averaging 66.5 points and 37.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.7 percent and 33.2 percent from the field and from behind the arc, respectively. Kansas is posting 4.4 blocks, 7.1 steals and 13.6 assists per contest this season. Junior guard Natalie Knight is on fire from the three-point line and is shooting 65.2 percent (15-23) from beyond the arc in the last four games.Knight has shot 50 percent or better from three-point range 10 times this season including the last four games. She is averaging 10.4 points per game and has the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference (2.6). Junior forward Chelsea Gardner continues to lead the Big 12 with 10 double-doubles and has posted a double-digit scoring effort 22 times in 2013-14, including the last 10 games. She is averaging 16.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.8 percent from the field. Her 57.8 field goal percentage is second in the Big 12 and the fourth-best career field goal percentage in KU women’s basketball history. Senior guard  CeCe Harper is third in the conference dishing out 5.4 assists per game. She is recording 9.9 points per contest and has posted 13 double-figure scoring efforts. Senior guard Markisha Hawkins moved into the starting line up on Jan. 28 and is averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She tied her season-high of 16 points against Oklahoma (2/9) after shooting 50 percent from the field. Freshman forward Jada Brown has started 11 games and appeared in 24 which is the most of the freshman class. She is averaging 1.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per contest. Junior guard Asia Boyd is the third Jayhawk to average double figures with 11.3 points per game. She has appeared in every game of the 2013-14 season while playing 26.9 minutes per game. Boyd is second on the team with 4.7 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez is shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 3.8 points per game in 23 appearances.  Freshman forward Caelynn Manning-Allen is second on the team with 15 blocks. She is averaging 1.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game after making 23 appearances. Manning-Allen grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds at Texas (1/15). Junior forward Bunny Williams is shooting 69.2 percent from the field while averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She has started nine games and appeared in 22 games in 2013-14. Sophomore Lamaria Cole is playing 10.8 minutes per contest and has appeared in 19 games. She is averaging 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds, while shooting 40.4 percent from the field. Freshman guard Dylan Gonzalez has appeared in nine games and is shooting 55.6 percent from the field. She has a total of 10 points and two rebounds on the season.  Freshman guard Keyla Morgan has missed the last five games after suffering a concussion during practice. KANSAS VS. IOWA STATE: THE SERIES The Jayhawks lead the overall series against Iowa State 45-30 and are looking to start the 2014 series off with a victory. The Cyclones have won two-straight contests over Kansas and four of the last six games. The series began in 1978 with KU defeating the Cyclones, 83-64, in Lawrence. The Jayhawks jumped out to a 14-2 advantage in the all-time series after the first 16 contests and had a 14-game winning streak from 1992-98. Kansas has a 15-20 mark against ISU in Ames and is 7-12 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson versus Iowa State.   SCOUTING THE CYCLONES The Jayhawks will head to Ames to face one of their toughest road tests of the season in Iowa State. The Cyclones are leading the Big 12 in average attendance, drawing nearly 7,000 fans per contest. ISU heads into Saturday’s contest against Kansas looking to snap a two-game losing streak. After starting out the season 14-0, Iowa State has won just two of its last nine games and sits just ahead of Kansas in the latest Big 12 standings at 16-7 (5-7 Big 12). The Cyclone offense is deadly from beyond the three-point line, leading the Big 12 with 215 made on the season, which is 64 makes higher than second-place West Virginia. ISU’s pin-point outside shooting and Big 12-leading 80.1 percent from the free throw line contribute to Cyclones averaging 74.9 points per game.  Iowa State is led by senior forward Hallie Christofferson, who is second in the Big 12 with 18.7 points per game. The Hamlin, Iowa, native also pulls down 7.4 rebounds per game for the Cyclones and is looking to add her name to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second year in a row. 

THREE’S COMPANY Junior guard Natalie Knight is among the top 10 three-point shooters in the Big 12. She is shooting 41.0 percent from beyond the arc, which is the fifth-best percentage in the league. She has shot 50 percent or better from the three-point line in the past four games and 10 times this season. Knight has the second-best three-point percentage in KU women’s basketball history at 38.2 percent. Freshmen Dakota Gonzalez and Keyla Morgan are  also shooting over 35 percent from the three-point arc at 36.0 and 47.1 percent, respectively. THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY Kansas is 4-5 when playing on Feb. 15 and 0-2 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson on the 15th day of February.  Feb. 15, 1997:  Tamecka Dixon led the Kansas Jayhawks past Colorado 72-60. Dixon scored a game-high 31 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. At the conclusion of the season, Dixon was named a Kodak All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year.
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