Jayhawks Ready for No. 18 Purdue

Freshman Dakota Gonzalez and the Jayhawks return to the Hardwood to face their second ranked opponent of the season on Sunday afternoon.
Game 10: Kansas vs. No. 18 Purdue
Time 2 p.m.
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Purdue leads, 2-1
Television Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3
Nate Bukaty (Play-by-Play)
Brenda VanLengen (Analyst)
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Affiliate List
Online: Jayhawk Digital Passport
Live Stats Kansas Sidearm Stats
Notes Kansas
Purdue
Stats at a Glance Kansas Purdue
Record 5-4 6-2
Rankings NR 18/23
Points/GM 68.2 76.1
Points Allowed/GM 66.2 70.1
FG% 42.4 42.7
Rebounds/GM 35.2 35.0
Assists/GM 13.6 17.0
Blocks/GM 4.0 4.3
Steals/GM 8.2 9.3

LAWRENCE, Kan. – After its best offense performance of the season, Kansas women’s basketball returns to the hardwood to face No. 18 Purdue on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Boilermakers are the second ranked team the Jayhawks have played this season after facing No. 2 Duke earlier this year in the Virgin Islands. The game is also marks the halfway point in the six-game homestand. The game will air live on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 and Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS
• The Jayhawks boast a 328-152 (.686) record all-time versus non-conference opponents and are 91-26 in non-conference play under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
• KU has a record of 117-50 (.704) in Allen Fieldhouse under Henrickson and an all-time home record of 393-151 (.723).
• In the month of December, the Jayhawks boast an overall mark of 179-78 (.695) and are 45-17 (.737) during the Bonnie Henrickson era in the final month of the year.
• Kansas halted its three-game losing streak in record-breaking fashion against Texas Southern. Four Jayhawks recorded career-high performances, while a fifth set a season-best mark against the Lady Tigers.
• Junior forward Chelsea Gardner and junior guard/forward Asia Boyd paced the Jayhawks’ offense with career-high 30 and 25 points, respectively. Freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez also notched a career performance with 18 points against TSU. Senior guard CeCe Harper added a career best 11 assists in KU’s win. Junior guard Natalie Knight scored a season-high 14 points.
• Freshman Keyla Morgan earned her first start in the Crimson and Blue against Texas Southern. She is the first freshman of the five-member class to start for the Jayhawks this season.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas (5-4) continues its six-game homestand with No. 18 Purdue. The Jayhawks conclude 2013 with five-straight games in Allen Fieldhouse and kick off 2014 with their Big 12-opener against West Virginia on Jan. 2 to end the homestand. After nine games, KU averages 68.2 points per game, while shooting 42.4 percent from the field. Kansas averages 35.2 rebounds per game and has outrebounded opponents in six of nine games.
 
Junior forward Chelsea Gardner reached the 30-point mark for the first time in her career against Texas Southern (12/12). After nine starts, she leads the team with 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Gardner has also recorded a team-best 14 blocks. Junior guard/forward Asia Boyd had a career-best performance of her own against the Lady Tigers after knocking in 25 points. She is averaging 12.2 points per game in six starts. Senior guard CeCe Harper delivered 11 assists, a career-high, against TSU. She is averaging 9.8 points a game and leads the team with 35 assists.
 
Freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez was the fourth Jayhawk to have a career night against Texas Southern. She scored a career-best 18 points in the second half. She is averaging 4.6 points per game, which is second most among the freshman class. Keyla Morgan became the first freshman to earn a starting nod from head coach Bonnie Henrickson. She leads the freshmen with 6.0 points per game and has collected 10 rebounds in five appearances. Junior guard Natalie Knight scored a season-high 14 points against TSU. She is second on the team in assists with 28 and has grabbed a team-high 14 steals. Freshman forward Caelynn Manning-Allen recorded another block in her last appearance against Texas Southern. She is second on the team with eight and is averaging 1.9 points per game.
 
Senior guard Markisha Hawkins is averaging 18 minutes and 5.8 points per game. She has also contributed 1.7 rebounds per game. Junior forward Bunny Williams has started eight games, scoring 2.2 points per game and has grabbed a total of 25 rebounds. Freshman forward Jada Brown is averaging 11.2 minutes per game and has collected 14 rebounds in nine appearances. Freshman Dylan Gonzalez is shooting 60.0 percent after four appearances. The guard has made 3-of-5 from the field and is averaging 3.3 minutes per game. Sophomore Lamaria Cole has 11 steals in eight appearances and is averaging 4.3 points per game.
 
KANSAS VS. Purdue: THE SERIES
The Jayhawks and Boilermakers have met three times in program history with Purdue leading the overall series 2-1. The first meeting was in 1995 and Purdue came away with a 80-72 victory. The last meeting was in 1999 and KU lost 55-41. Kansas is 1-0 against the Boilermakers in Allen Fieldhouse, having beat Purdue 71-61 in 1996. Sunday’s match-up is the second contest between the two programs in Lawrence.
 
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue enters Sunday’s game ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press Poll with an overall record of 6-2 but has lost two of its last four games. The Boilermakers are 3-2 away from Mackey Arena and 2-1 in true road games. Purdue has three senior starters returning to the lineup for the 2013-14 season. Among those senior returners is KK Houser, a redshirt senior guard, who leads the team in points (14.6), assists (4.8) and steals (3.0) per game. She is shooting 33.7 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from beyond the arc. Junior forward Liza Clemons leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game and has a total of 49 in 2013-14. The Boilermakers are making 42.7 percent of their shots and scoring 76.1 points per game, while allowing 70.1 points per game.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Kansas is 4-0 when playing on Dec. 15. The first time that KU women’s basketball played on the 15th day of December was in 1984 and the last time in 1990. On Dec. 15, 1990, the Jayhawks downed UMKC, 63 42, inside Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas shot 45.8 percent, while UMKC shot 22.4 percent from the field. KU was led by Terrilyn Johnson, who scored 10 points.
 
KANSAS’ BENCH MARKS THE SPOT
The Jayhawks’ bench added an extra spark averaging 20.2 points per game and scoring a season-high 26 points against Texas Southern on Dec. 12. KU’s bench has scored in double figures in all nine games and reached the 20-point mark in six games. Seniors CeCe Harper and Markisha Hawkins came off the bench and have led the team in scoring on two different occasions. Harper delivered 17 points on the road against Minnesota (11/20), while Hawkins scored 16 against CMU. Freshman Keyla Morgan recorded a career-best 11 points off the bench against No. 2 Duke. Freshman Dakota Gonzalez knocked in a career best 18 points off the bench against Texas Southern (12/12).
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.