Jayhawks begin 2016-17 campaign with Lady Bears

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball tips off the 2016-17 season against Missouri State on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks begin the season looking to extend their season opener win streak to 12-straight victories.
 
AROUND THE GYM
Kansas will honor all active and retired military personnel with Salute to Service on Sunday.  All active and retired military personnel will receive $5 admission into the game against Missouri State.
 
FAST BREAKS

• Kansas owns a 38-10 mark in season openers and has won the first game of the year in each of the last 11 seasons.
• Under head coach Brandon Schneider, the Jayhawks are 1-0 in regular-season openers.
• In the month of November, KU is 122-43 all time and has won eight of its last 12 contests in the 11th month of the year.
• Kansas has a record of 410-176 (.705) in Allen Fieldhouse. Over the last five seasons, Kansas has posted a 65-40 mark on its home court.
• After completing the 2015-16 season with the youngest team in the Big 12, Kansas will enter this season with one of the conference’s most experienced squads. The 2016-17 Jayhawk roster will include 12 returning players, more than any other Big 12 team, and nine upperclassmen.
• The Jayhawks are the only squad in the Big 12 without a freshman on their roster.
• Redshirt junior Jessica Washington unofficially logged 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in her debut in the Crimson and Blue against Fort Hays State. She was two assists and two rebounds shy of a triple-double, which has only been achieved once in KU women’s basketball history. Angela Aycock recorded one during the 1994-95 season.
• Washington scored in double figures again during KU’s exhibition finale against Washburn with 21. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native averaged 18 points per game during exhibition action.

 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
A season ago, first-year head coach Brandon Schneider fielded one of the youngest squads in the Big 12 Conference with 10 underclassmen and no seniors, but 2016-17 is looking up for Schneider, as the Jayhawks will have one of the most experienced rosters in the league. With 10 upperclassmen on his roster, Schneider went from the youngest team to one of the most experienced with over 50 percent of his personnel being a junior or senior. In all, Kansas returns 12 Jayhawks that played for Schneider during his first season at the helm of KU women’s basketball.
 
While Schneider has 10 players on his roster with multiple seasons under their belt, he also has five sophomores who played enough minutes during the Big 12 Conference play last season to be considered upperclassmen. Four of five Jayhawks in the sophomore class appeared in every game last season with guard Kylee Kopatich leading the way, averaging 33 minutes per contest.
 
Five Jayhawks will be hitting the hardwood for the first time in the Crimson and Blue as a quintet of transfers will look to make an impact this season. In 2016-17, Jayhawk fans will finally be able to see redshirt junior Jessica Washington and redshirt sophomore McKenzie Calvert take the court. Both guards had to sit out the 2015-16 campaign to comply with NCAA transfer rules. Washington and Calvert were both highly recruited student-athletes out of high school and are eager to contribute this year.
 
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
After winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament last season, the Lady Bears were predicted to finish third in the conference in 2016-17 by the league’s head coaches, media and sports information directors.
 
MSU ended the 2015-16 campaign with a 24-10 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history. The Lady Bears return eight players from last year’s roster.  Missouri State head coach Kellie Harper enters her fourth season in Springfield and guided MSU to a top-three league finish in each of the last two seasons, combining for a 27-9 conference record during that time. Junior guard Liza Fruendt averaged 11 points per game last season, the most of the returners, and shot 38.6 percent from the field. Fruendt started six games and appeared in all 34.
 
Missouri State concluded its exhibition slate with a perfect 2-0 mark, a 72-62 win over Truman State and an 87-46 victory over Northeastern State. Fruendt averaged 15.5 points behind 56.5 percent shooting from the floor. Senior forward Rachel Swartz grabbed a team-best 9.5 rebounds per game in exhibition action. During the pair of preseason tune-up games, MSU shot 49.6 percent from the field while recording 79.5 points, 49 rebounds and 18 assists per game.
 
SEASON OPENER SUCCESS
Kansas is riding an 11-game winning streak in season openers heading into the first regular-season game of the 2016-17 campaign. The Jayhawks have a 38-10 mark in the first game of the year dating back to KU’s first year of varsity basketball in 1968.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Nov. 13: 2-0
Sunday’s game against Missouri State is just the third contest to be played on Nov. 13 in program history. The first meeting on Nov. 13 was in 2011 and Angel Goodrich scored nine of Kansas’ first 16 points to help the Jayhawks defeat Western Michigan, 76-64, in Allen Fieldhouse. Goodrich, who finished the game with 13 points, seven assists and five steals, was one of five Jayhawks in double-digits. The Jayhawks were led in scoring by Monica Engelman, who scored 17 points off 5-of-10 shooting.
 
EXHIBITION WRAP UP
Prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign, Kansas hosted a pair of exhibition games as a tune up to the first game of the season. The Jayhawks opened their exhibition slate with a 98-71 victory over Fort Hays State and concluded their preseason schedule with an 81-57 win over Washburn. KU shot 48.9 percent from the field in both games combined while Kansas had three double-figure scorers in each exhibition game. Redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington led the way for the Jayhawks against the Ichabods with 21 points. Against the Tigers, Washington was two rebounds and two assists shy of a triple double, which has only been done once in KU women’s basketball history. She averaged 18 points per game during the two games prior to the start of the season. Also contributing double-digit scoring efforts in exhibition action was junior guard Chayla Cheadle (18), redshirt sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert (18), sophomore guard Aisia Robertson (14) and sophomore guard Kylee Kopatich (12).
 
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks continue their four-game homestand to start the 2016-17 campaign on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against SMU at 7 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. The contest will air on the Jayhawk Television and Jayhawk Radio Networks. Wednesday’s game is social media night at Allen Fieldhouse. Fans who share their photos on social media using #KUwbb will be entered to win an autographed basketball.
 
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