Kansas Welcomes UMKC to Allen Fieldhouse

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball continues its homestand with UMKC on Thursday, Dec. 10. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks (4-3) look to extend their winning streak over the ‘Roos (1-6) to seven-straight games Thursday night. The contest will air on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 and the Jayhawk Radio Network.

AROUND THE GYM
Kansas fans will receive a three-point card upon entrance to Allen Fieldhouse, while supplies last. Fans that show a ticket stub from the men’s basketball game against Holy Cross will receive admission to the women’s game against UMKC for $5. Anyone who purchases a bottled drink will receive free popcorn.

KANSAS FAST BREAKS
• Kansas leads the overall series against UMKC, 15-3. The Jayhawks have won the last six contests against the ‘Roos.
• KU has a 16-5 record against programs from the Western Athletic Conference.
• When Brandon Schneider-coached teams are leading with less than five minutes to play, his overall record is 350-12, and 4-0 at Kansas.
• In the month of December, the Jayhawks own an overall mark of 186-82 (.696). During the 2019-10 season, Kansas went 7-0 in the final month of the calendar year.
• Kansas has a record of 409-167 (.715) in Allen Fieldhouse. Over the last five seasons, Kansas has posted a 64-30 mark on its home court. This season, Kansas owns a 3-1 mark at home.
• Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge has recorded double-figure scoring performances in six of seven games so far this season. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen has posted double-digit scoring efforts on four occasions, including the first double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) against Northern Illinois (11/27).
• Manning-Allen is 6-1 winning the opening tip this season, while Kansas is 4-2 when Manning-Allen claims possession on the opening tip.
• Freshman guard Jayde Christopher has dished out three or more assists on four occasions, including a career-high mark of six against Northern Illinois (11/27). The Federal Way, Washington native has tallied three or more assists in three of the last four Kansas games.
• The Jayhawks have racked up eight charges on the season. Redshirt junior Timeka O’Neal leads the team with half KU’s charges, with four to her credit.
• Manning-Allen has swatted away a team-high 15 blocks this season, averaging 2.1 per game. She is on pace to rank among the top-5 blocks for juniors and KU’s top-10 season records. She needs 37 more to crack Kansas’ top-10 season list and 26 to etch her name into the junior record.

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks’ (4-3) perfect record inside Allen Fieldhouse for the year came to an end Sunday against St. John’s. The 86-71 loss to the Red Storm dropped KU to 3-1 at home in 2015-16. Kansas continues its homestand with Navy on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. KU has four non-conference games remaining before the start of Big 12 Conference action on Dec. 30 at Oklahoma.

Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich averaged 12.5 points per game last week behind an impressive 60 percent (9-of-15) shooting from the field, including 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from beyond the arc. On the season, Kopatich is one of three Jayhawks averaging double figures with 10.6 points per contest. The Olathe, Kansas native posted double-digit scoring efforts against Creighton (12/2) and St. John’s (12/6), which extended her streak of netting double figures to four games. Kopatich led the Jayhawks in rebounds in both games last week, averaging seven boards per game.

Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge leads the squad and is 11th in the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 13.9 points per game. She has connected on 45.3 percent of her shot attempts from the field. She has dished out 181 career assists during her young career, and needs 129 more to crack the top-10 in Kansas women’s basketball history. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.0 points per game behind a team-best 54.5 shooting percentage from the floor. The Chicago, Illinois native also leads KU’s roster with 7.0 boards per game. Manning-Allen netted a personal-best 15 points against St. John’s (12/6), while freshman guard Jayde Christopher recorded a career-high eight points against the Red Storm.

KU averages 66.3 points per game, while shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Kansas has recorded 36.3 rebounds, 7.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per contest.

SCOUTING THE ‘ROOS
UMKC snapped its six-game losing streak with its first win of the season over Stephens College, 76-46, on Sunday, Dec. 6. The ‘Roos were voted to finished seventh in the Western Athletic Conference in both the coaches’ and media polls prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.

UMKC returns eight letterwinners from last year’s team that concluded the 2014-15 campaign with a 6-24 mark, including the ‘Roos’ leading scorer, sophomore guard Aries Washington. Washington is averaging 11.4 points per game and connecting on 45.1 percent of her shots from the field. Sophomore forward Kiana Law has grabbed a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game, while grabbing a team-high six steals on the year.

The ‘Roos have not won a game away from Kansas City this season, as they are 0-3 on the road. Collectively, UMKC is shooting 38 percent from the field and 27.5 percent from beyond the arc, while netting 55.9 points per game. Defensively, the ‘Roos average 34.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 5.3 steals per contest.

SERIES BREAKDOWN
Record
Kansas owns a 13-5 record against UMKC, including six-straight victories.

Overview
The Jayhawks and ‘Roos square off on the hardwood for the 18th time in program history. The series began in 1988 with a 95-71 win for KU. Kansas has won the last six meetings and 14 of the last 16 contests against UMKC. The Jayhawks have a 10-1 mark against the ‘Roos when playing inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Last Time Out
Carolyn Davis scored a team-high 18 points and added nine rebounds as Kansas defeated UMKC, 77-52. The Jayhawks outshot UMKC 50.8 percent to 37.7 percent from the field. Aisiah Sutherland, Monica Engelman and Angel Goodrich all reached double-digits in points during the contest. Sutherland had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Engelman finished with 14.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Kansas women’s basketball lost its first home game of the 2015-16 season to St. John’s on Sunday, Dec. 6, inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Red Storm shot 57 percent from the field to claim the 86-71 victory. Kansas couldn’t slow down Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s, who put up a career-best 33 points on 16-of 25 shooting Sunday afternoon. Despite three different Jayhawks recording double-figure scoring, the Red Storm got out to an early lead and never looked back.

THIS DAY IN KU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Dec. 10: 4-3
Kansas women’s basketball will play on the 10th day of December for the eighth time in program history. The first meeting on Dec. 10 was in 1983 against Drake, while the last time the Jayhawks faced a team on Dec. 10 was in 2009 against UMKC. In a 17-point victory over Creighton in 1994, Kansas recorded 17 steals while the Bluejays swiped nine. Charisse Sampson led all scorers with 21 points in KU’s 101-84 win.

UP NEXT
Kansas continues its six-game homestand to close out the 2015-16 non-conference slate when the Jayhawks host Navy on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 and the Jayhawk Radio Network.

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