Kansas Takes On Sooners for Second Time in Four Games

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball continues its road trip at Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The game marks the final of two meetings against the Sooners for the 2013-14 season, unless the two teams meet up in the Big 12 Championship (March 7-10).

The Jayhawks (12-14, 5-9 Big 12) are coming off a tough loss in the final seconds against Iowa State and are looking to get a win against Oklahoma (16-11, 7-7 Big 12) to keep their postseason hopes alive. KU trails the all-time series 32-29, and is looking to snap a streak of back-to-back wins by the Sooners.
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS

• Kansas is fourth in the Big 12 in blocked shots per game (4.4) and has recorded four or more blocks in 17 games this season including the past four games. 
• Junior forward Chelsea Gardner has posted a Big 12-leading 11 double-doubles on the season and recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 23 games this year, including the past 11 games. Gardner’s 11 double-doubles are the most by a Jayhawk in a single season since Carolyn Davis had nine in 2010-11.
• Gardner is shooting 57.2 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).    
• CeCe Harper dished out six assists against Iowa State and is third in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists per game. Harper’s six assists gave her 140 for the season and helped her crack the top-10 list at Kansas for a single season, where she sits at 10th, just two shy of Erica Hallman (142, 2005) for ninth.
• Asia Boyd has been a staple for the Jayhawks off the bench over the last seven games. In Kansas’ last game at Iowa State, Boyd scored 16 points and dished out five assists to tie her career-high. The Detroit, Mich., native has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games and is averaging 11.0 points per game in that span.
•  Natalie Knight has been Kansas’ most consistent threat from beyond the three-point line, making a team-high 49 shots from deep, connecting on 40.5 percent of her attempts, which is good for fourth in the Big 12. She has shot 50 percent or better in four of the last five games from beyond the arc.
• ·          Dakota Gonzalez recorded 11 points for the Jayhawks in Ames, marking her highest total since she scored 18 against Texas Southern (12/12) early on in the year.

 
KANSAS VS. OKLAHOMA: THE SERIES
The Sooners lead the overall series against Kansas 32-29 and are riding back-to-back wins over the Jayhawks. The series began in 1972 with OU defeating Kansas, 52-43, in Lawrence. The Jayhawks held an advantage in the series early on, thanks to a run from 1986-94, where they took 18 of the 20 meetings between the teams. The Sooners countered with 15-straight victories from 2000-12 before the Jayhawks ended their run with a, 83-77, win in Norman on March 4, 2012. Kansas has a 11-14 mark against OU in Norman and is 2-11 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson versus Oklahoma. 
 
SCOUTING THE SOONERS
The Jayhawks will head to Norman to face Oklahoma for the second time in four games. The Sooners boast one of the most efficeint offenses in the Big 12, averaging 77.0 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting from the field, which rank second and first in the Big 12, respectively. OU is also profficient from the free throw line, where it shoots 73.6 percent, which is the second-highest percentage in the conference.
 
Oklahoma is coming off a one-point win against rival Texas, where senior guard Morgan Hook capped off her near triple-double performance (15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists) with the game-winning free throws with 4.0 seconds left on the clock. The Sooners’ leading scorer Aaryn Ellenberg (18.0 points per game) sat out the game against the Longhorns after suffering a concussion in OU’s previous game.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Junior Chelsea Gardner has posted 11 double-doubles during the 2013-14 season to lead the Big 12. The DeSoto, Texas, native is the 14th Jayhawk in Kansas women’s basketball history to record 10 or more double-doubles in a single season. Gardner’s 11 double-doubles are the most by a Jayhawk in a single season since Vickie Adkins recorded 12 during the 1983-84 and are the ninth-most in a single season in Kansas history. Jayhawk legend Lynette Woodard holds the KU record with 36 double-doubles in 38 games during the 1978-79 season. 
 
CECE AND THE ASSIST FACTORY
In 2013-14, the Jayhawks’ offense runs through senior guard CeCe Harper and her assists per game average continues to rise with each game. It only took 13 games this season for Harper to surpass her 2012-13  mark of 62 assists. She has recorded 140 this season, is averaging 5.4 assists per game and broke into KU’s top-10 list for a single season with her six assists at Iowa State (2/15). She dished out a career-high 13 against Tulsa on Dec. 22. Prior to 2013-14, she averaged 1.4 assists per game and totaled 115 assists in three years. Harper has recorded two double-digit assist efforts this season and seven or more assists in 11 contests.
 
HOW THE JAYHAWKS STACK UP NATIONALLY
The national statistical rankings are out and as of Feb. 13 Kansas is in the top half in several categories. The Jayhawks are 49th in the country in blocked shots per game with 4.4 and 66th in field goal percentage (.428). Individually, Chelsea Gardner has the 16th-best field goal percentage in the country. She is shooting 57.2 percent (170-297) on the season. CeCe Harper ranks 39th in the nation in assists per game with 5.4 and junior Natalie Knight has the 17th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6).
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 8-4 when playing on Feb. 22 and 1-1 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson on the 22nd day of February.
Feb. 22, 2009: The Jayhawks’ last win on Feb. 22 came behind Danielle McCray’s career-high 16 rebounds and fifth double-double of the season, as the Kansas women’s basketball team upset No. 21 Iowa State, 58-47, in the Pink Zone game in Allen Fieldhouse that Sunday afternoon.
 
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