Kansas opens exhibition play with Fort Hays State

vs. Fort Hays State
  Oct. 28 // 2 p.m.
  Lawrence, Kansas
  Allen Fieldhouse
  ESPN+
  Jayhawk Radio Network
  Live Stats

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball begins exhibition action, the first of two matchups before the regular season tips off, against Fort Hays State on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas has won nine-straight games against FHSU since the teams started playing biannually in 2002.

Prior to the start of Sunday’s game, fans can trick-or-treat on the concourse and kids 13 and under are invited to participate in a halftime Halloween costume parade. The game will air on ESPN+ and the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
QUICK HITS

  • Kansas returns all five starters from the 2017-18 season, including All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection Christalah Lyons.
  • Lyons led Kansas in scoring with 14.8 points per game, notching double figures in 27 of KU’s 30 games last season.
  • KU returns two players who suffered knee injuries last season, including 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year guard Jessica Washington and center Brittany Franklin.
  • Kansas welcomes four newcomers to the roster, including two transfers and two freshmen. Juniors Mariane De Carvalho and Niccolly Ramalho join the Jayhawks from Highland Community College. Kansas also adds Aniya Thomas and Brooklyn Mitchell as the Jayhawks only two true freshmen.
  • Senior guard Kylee Kopatich is 21 points away from becoming the 29th Jayhawk to join the 1,000 point club.

 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Oct. 28: 0-0
Kansas women’s basketball will tipoff on this date for the first time in program history.
 
YEAR OF THE SENIOR
The Jayhawks return seven seniors to the 2018-19 roster, accounting for 46.6 percent of the total roster. Kansas has the largest senior class in the Big 12 Conference this season with the next closest Big 12 school having four seniors. The Jayhawks boast the largest senior class in KU history since the 2008-09 season when Kansas had eight seniors on the roster.
 
RELYING ON RETURNERS
Kansas is going to rely heavily on its experienced players this season with 10 players from a season ago returning to the Jayhawk roster. Additionally, Brittany Franklin will be back on the hardwood for the Jayhawks this season after spending her freshman season on the sidelines due to a knee injury. KU returns all five of their starters from the 2017-18 season in a lineup that includes four seniors, Christalah Lyons, Brianna Osorio, Kylee Kopatich and Austin Richardson and one junior, Tyler Johnson. The Jayhawks’ starting lineup has 183 combined starts between them. Kansas also returns 93.8 percent of scoring from the 2017-18 season as well as its leading scorers from the last two seasons with Lyons (14.8 ppg) from the 2017-18 season and Jessica Washington (17.1 ppg) from the 2016-17 season.
 
1,000 POINT CLUB
Senior guard Kylee Kopatich is quickly approaching the 1,000-point mark with 979 points through her first three seasons with the Jayhawks. Just 21 points shy of the accomplishment, Kopatich will become the 29th Jayhawk in Kansas women’s basketball history to join the 1,000 point club. Additionally, senior guard Jessica Washington is just 54 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her college basketball career. Washington scored 451 points at the University of North Carolina and has scored 495 points in just one season with the Jayhawks, bringing her collegiate total to 946 points.
 
PRESEASON HONORS
The Jayhawks had two players selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Senior guards Christalah Lyons and Jessica Washington were both selected to the preseason honorable mention team. Lyons was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in her debut season with the Jayhawks last year. Washington is returning from a knee injury that kept her sidelined last season. As a junior, Washington was named the 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude exhibition play against Washburn on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse. Following their final exhibition matchup, the Jayhawks will begin a five-game homestand to tip off nonconference play.
 
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