Kansas Ready for Road Bout with Northern Illinois

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball opens the SMU Thanksgiving Classic with Northern Illinois on Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m., inside Moody Coliseum. The match-up marks the first time the two programs will meet on the hardwood. The Jayhawks’ contest against Northern Illinois will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
FOLLOWING THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas’ match-up with Northern Illinois will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network, along with audio streaming via KUAthletics.com. For the most up-to-date information, follow Kansas women’s basketball on Twitter (@KUwbball).
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS

• Kansas faces Northern Illinois for the first time in program history and is the ninth team from the Mid America Conference that the Jayhawks have played.
• KU has a 9-2 record against programs from the Mid America Conference. Kansas has faced seven schools that are members of the MAC, and have a lead or even series against all seven.
• KU shot an even 50 percent from the field against the Tigers, a feat that was only accomplished just four times in 2014-15. The Jayhawks’ 50 percent effort (29-of-58 from the field) was Kansas’ highest mark since making 56 percent of its shots against Texas Tech on Jan. 21, 2015.
• When Brandon Schneider coached teams are leading with less than five minutes to play, his overall record is 348-12, and 2-0 at Kansas.
• In the month of November, the Jayhawks have an overall mark of 121-32 (.793). Kansas has won 24 of the last 28 games played in November dating back to the start of the 2010 season.
• Kansas has a record of 363-402 away from Allen Fieldhouse.
• Junio forward Caelynn Manning-Allen is 3-0 winning the opening tip this season, while Kansas is 2-1 when Manning-Allen claims possession on the opening tip.
• Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge has recorded double-figure scoring performance in all three of Kansas’ games so far this season. Manning-Allen has posted double-digit scoring efforts in two of KU’s three games this season. 

 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas continues its three-game road swing with two games at the SMU Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 27-28. The Jayhawks look to bounce back from their first road loss of the year and get back to their winning ways with Northern Illinois on Friday before facing either Cal State Fullerton or tournament-host SMU on Saturday. The Jayhawks saw their first road trip of the season result in their first loss of the year, as KU fell to 2-1 on the season Monday when KU lost to Arizona, 52-67.
 
Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge led the roster in scoring for the second time in three games with 14 points. The Marshfield, Missouri product is the only Jayhawk averaging double figures with 13.7 points per game. Freshman guard Kylee Kopatich is making an impact early in her Jayhawk career. The Olathe, Kansas native is averaging 9.7 points per game and led the squad in scoring against Memphis (11/19) with a career-best 14 points. At Arizona, junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen tied her career high of four blocks, while adding 11 points for her second double-figure scoring effort of the season. She leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 boards per contest. 
 
KU averages 65.3 points per game, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from beyond the arc. Kansas averages 39.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Three games into the 2015-16 season, Northern Illinois owns a 2-1 record, including a perfect 2-0 record at home. The Huskies were selected by the coaches of the Mid America Conference to finish in sixth place in the West Division under first-year head coach Lisa Carlsen.
 
NIU women’s basketball defeated Eastern Illinois, 79-63, before heading to the SMU Thanksgiving Classic. The Huskies shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the field and out rebounded the Panthers, 49-25, resulting in 46 points in the paint. Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Jazmine Harris’ 21-point performance, as she finished 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-11 at the charity stripe.
 
Offensively, four Huskies are averaging double figures with Kelly Smith leading the way. She is averaging 13.3 points per game behind 47.1 percent shooting from the field.  Ally Lehman has grabbed 12 boards per game in the first three games of the season.
 
Northern Illinois has posted 71.7 points per game behind 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent shooting from beyond the arc. NIU averages 45.3 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per contest.
 
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Kansas suffered its first loss of the season at Arizona, 67-52, on Monday afternoon. For the third game in a row, sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge led the squad with 14 points, while junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen contributed 11 points for her second double-figure scoring effort of the year. Turnovers and cold shooting plagued the Jayhawks in their first road contest of the season. KU turned the ball over 17 times and shot 32.2 percent from the field, including 20 percent from 3-point range.
 
THIS DAY IN KU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Nov. 27: 14-2
Kansas women’s basketball will face off for a game on Nov. 27 for the 17th time in program history. In 1994, Kansas defeated Hawai’i 73-68 to claim third place at the Wahine Classic. Charisse Sampson contributed a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds, which led all scorers.
 
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks continue their three-game road swing in Dallas, Texas for the SMU Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 27-28. Kansas will face either SMU or Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 28. Both games will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.