Kansas to Face K-State at Big 12 Championship

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas women’s basketball earned the No. 8 seed for the 2014 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will open the tournament against No. 9 seed Kansas State on Friday, March 7, at 6 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena. It marks the Jayhawks’ third meeting this season against the Wildcats, with the winner of Friday night’s game moving on to face No. 1 seed Baylor on Saturday and claim the 2014 series. The game will be broadcast on FOX College Sports and the Jayhawk Radio Network.    KANSAS FAST BREAKS 

• Since the inception of the Big 12 Championship in 1997, Kansas has recorded a 12-18 mark in conference postseason action. Dating back to 1983, the Jayhawks are 31-29 in league postseason play. KU played in the championship game in 1998, but lost to Texas Tech, 71-53. The last championship title that Kansas won was in 1993.
• The Jayhawks  are averaging 29.4 points in the paint and have scored 40 or more points in the paint on five occasions in 2013-14.  Kansas has tallied a high of 44 points in the paint twice. The last game KU reached the 40-point mark was against Baylor on Jan. 19.
• Kansas’ all-time record is 769-551 and has an all-time conference record of 236-249. Head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 328-215 all-time and 170-153 at KU. 
• KU has an overall record of 369-390 away from Allen Fieldhouse and during the Bonnie Henrickson-era, the Jayhawks are 46-93 when playing away from home. 
• Kansas’ all-time Big 12 record is 113-181, while KU is 56-110 in conference play under Henrickson. 
• Junior forward Chelsea Gardner has posted a Big 12-leading 13 double-doubles on the season and recorded double-digit scoring efforts in 27 games this year, including the past 15 games. Gardner’s 13 double-doubles are the most by a Jayhawk in a single season since Shyra Holden had 14 in 1978-79.
• Gardner is shooting 56.7 percent from the field, which is second-best in the Big 12 and 20th in the country. It also marks the fourth-best career field goal percentage in Kansas women’s basketball history. The top career percentage by a Jayhawk is 61.8 by Carolyn Davis (2010-13) and Vickie Adkins (1983-86).
• CeCe Harper has 164 assists on the season, which is the ninth-most in a single season by Jayhawk. She needs seven more to surpass Lynette Woodard for eighth place on KU’s single-season record list.
• Natalie Knight has been Kansas’ most consistent threat from beyond the three-point line, making a team-high 62 shots from deep, which is seventh-most in a season by a Jayhawk. Knight has connected on 42.5 percent of her attempts, which is good for second in the Big 12 and 18th in the nation. She has shot 50 percent or better in seven of the last nine games from beyond the arc. 

KANSAS VS. KANSAS STATE: THE SERIES The Jayhawks and Wildcats square off for the third time this season and 108th time in program history. Kansas State leads the all-time series 63-45 and snapped KU’s three-game winning streak by defeating Kansas, 76-68, inside Allen Fieldhouse to even the 2014 series 1-1. In the last meeting, KU erased a 21-point deficit in the second half, but the Wildcats held on to claim the victory. The last nine meetings between the in-state rivals have been decided by 10 points or less and KU has come away with the win in four of those nine contests. Kansas is 2-0 against the Wildcats in the last two games that were decided in overtime. Overall, four games have been decided in extra minutes with KU even at 2-2 in overtime games against K-State. SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kansas State heads to the Big 12 Championship as the No. 9 seed with an 11-18 overall record and 5-13 conference mark. The Wildcats lost four of their final five conference games. K-State is averaging 61.4 points per game, while shooting 38.3 percent from the field. After 29 games, Kansas State has shot 29.1 percent from the three-point line and averages 6.5 treys per contest. Defensively, the Wildcats average 2.9 blocks and 7.2 steals per game. Freshman Leticia Romero is involved in 50 percent of K-State’s points with 412 points and 140 assists on the season. She leads the team averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY Kansas is 5-6 when playing on March 7 and 0-3 under head coach Bonnie Henrickson on the seventh day of March.  March 7, 1993: In a three-point double overtime win over Colorado in the Big Eight Tournament, five Jayhawks contributed double figures. Angela Aycock led all Kansas scorers with 20 points, while Shannon Kite connected on three-of-four three point attempts. This was the seventh win of an eight-game win streak, that carried Jayhawks to the Big Eight Tournament Championship. 

HOW THE JAYHAWKS STACK UP NATIONALLY The national statistical rankings are out and as of March 3, Kansas is in the top half in several categories. The Jayhawks are 57th in the country in blocked shots per game with 4.3 and 58th in field goal percentage (.431). Individually, Chelsea Gardner has the 20th-best field goal percentage in the country. She is shooting 56.7 percent (191-337) on the season. Gardner is 38th in double-doubles with 13. CeCe Harper ranks 37th in the nation in assists per game with 5.5 and junior Natalie Knight has the 28th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4). She also has the 18th-best three-point field goal percentage in the country (42.5). DOUBLE TROUBLE Junior Chelsea Gardner has posted 13 double-doubles during the 2013-14 season, which is the most in the Big 12 and 38th in the nation. 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 13 double-doubles are the most by a Jayhawk in a single season since Shyra Holden recorded 14 during the 1978-79 season and are the eighth-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.   THREE’S COMPANY Junior guard Natalie Knight is among the top 10 three-point shooters in the Big 12. She is shooting 42.5 percent from beyond the arc, which is the second-best percentage in the league and 18th in the nation. She has shot 50 percent or better from the three-point line in seven of the last nine games and 13 times this season. In her career, Knight is shooting 39.4 percent, which is the second-best three-point average in KU women’s basketball history. The Jayhawks are third in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 34.1 percent. KUAthletics.com:  The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.