Kansas faces Nebraska in midweek tilt

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas women’s basketball takes its undefeated record on the road to face Nebraska on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. 

The Jayhawks are 1-0 away from Allen Fieldhouse coming off a victory at LSU during the 2018 SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The game will be on Big Ten Plus and the Jayhawk Radio Network. 

QUICK HITS

• With a 6-0 start to the season for the second-straight year, Kansas is the only program in the nation with undefeated women’s and men’s basketball programs.
• KU is one of just four Big 12 teams who own an undefeated record along with No. 10/10 Texas, No. 4/5 Baylor and Oklahoma State.
• For the eighth time in program history, Kansas has opened a season with a six-game win streak.
• The Jayhawks have been getting out to a fast start, outscoring their opponents 130-67 in the first quarter. 
• Kansas posted a season-high 12 3-pointers at LSU, nearly tying a program record (13). Seven different Jayhawks contributed long range buckets against the Tigers, including five players who scored two threes each.
• Senior Christalah Lyons leads the league in assist/turnover ratio at 3.5, dishing out 21 assists with just six turnovers on the season.
• Sixth year Jessica Washington has recorded double-digit scoring efforts in the each of the four games she’s appeared in this season, leading the Jayhawks in scoring with 17.8 points.
• Washington leads the team with 12 threes on the season along with a team-high 50 percent 3-point shooting percentage.
• Redshirt-freshman Brittany Franklin has recorded seven rebounds in three-straight games.

THIS DAY IN KU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Dec. 5: 5-3
On Dec. 5, 1986, Kansas defeated Tulsa, 97-45, dominating on both defense and offense. Kansas combined for 55.4 percent shooting from the field, while snagging 26 steals. Seven Jayhawks notched double-figure scoring efforts in the victory.

SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
Nebraska, like Kansas, also received votes in the preseason polls, earning votes in the AP Poll. Despite a 2-5 record to start the season, the Huskers have been playing well against some of the nation’s top competition. Nebraska’s four losses come against three ranked opponents, including at home against then-receiving votes Drake, at then-No. 22/24 Miami and at No. 5/4 Louisville. Five Huskers are averaging eight points or more for a balanced and spread-out offense. Freshman Sam Haiby is leading the way with 12.3 points and 15 assists. Sophomore Kate Cain, who was named to the Lisa Leslie Award watch list for the top center in the nation, leads Nebraska’s defensive effort, averaging 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Collectively, the Huskers average 75.1 points per game, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field. On the defensive end, the Huskers have forced 16.3 turnovers, snagged 6.6 steals and blocked 4.1 shots per game.

UNDEFEATED
Kansas has started the 2018-19 campaign undefeated for the second-straight season, marking the first back-to-back 6-0 starts since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. The Jayhawks are one of four teams in the Big 12 with an undefeated record after opening the season 6-0. Additionally, Kansas is the only school in the nation to boast both undefeated women’s and men’s basketball programs with a combined record of 12-0.

LIGHTS OUT FROM LONG RANGE
The Jayhawks were lights out from beyond the arc at LSU (11/29), connecting on 12 of their 21 attempts from long range. Kansas’ 12 3-pointers are the second-most triples made in a single game in Kansas program history and were just one 3-pointer shy of tying the program record (13). Seven different Jayhawks scored from beyond the arc against the Tigers, including five players who notched two 3-pointers. Collectively, Kansas is fourth in both 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals made in the Big 12 Conference, connecting on 36.8 percent of its attempts and averaging 7.2 threes per game. Jessica Washington leads the Jayhawks from the 3-point line, shooting a team-best 50 percent from long range with 12 3-pointers to date.

COMEBACK KID
Coming off a season-ending injury, sixth year Jessica Washington is averaging a team-leading 17.8 points, while also recording 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in just four games. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors in week three after posting her third career 30-point performance against George Mason (11/21) including four-straight 3-pointers to start the game. Washington has netted double figures in every game she’s appeared in this season.

THE FLOOR GENERAL
Coming off of an impressive junior campaign where she garnered All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors, senior guard Christalah Lyons has settled into a groove leading the Kansas offense this season. Lyons is averaging 9.0 points, while dishing out 3.5 assists per game so far this season. The Dallas native has just six turnovers thus far, while dishing out 21 assists, for the best assist to turnover ratio in the Big 12 Conference. 

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY
With sophomore Bailey Helgren leading Kansas’ defensive efforts, the Jayhawks are fourth in the Big 12 with 4.7 blocked shots per game. Helgren along with redshirt-freshman Brittany Franklin rank among the top-10 rim protectors in the league. Averaging 1.7 blocks, Helgren is fourth in the Big 12, while Franklin (9th) is averaging 1.4. 

D-D-D-DEFENSE
Kansas has put on stifling defensive performances game in and game out thus far in the 2018-19 season. The Jayhawks boast the third-best 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 26.1 percent from long range. Three Jayhawks rank among the top-15 in steals, while KU is fourth as a team in the steals category. Brianna Osorio (T-6th), Kylee Kopatich (9th) and Christalah Lyons (T-13th) are all averaging over 1.5 steals per game.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks return to Allen Fieldhouse following their two-game road swing to host Grambling State on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. The game can be watched via the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN+ or listened to on the Jayhawk Radio Network.