Kansas faces Cowgirls in Big 12 Championship

GAME 30
 

Date March 3, 2017
Time 8:30 p.m. (CT)
Location Oklahoma City, Okla.
Notes Game Notes

LIVE COVERAGE
TV FCS Central
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Audio Audio Stream 

 HOW THEY COMPARE

 LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball opens the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship against Oklahoma State on Friday, March 3, at 8:30 p.m. The third meeting of the season between the Jayhawks and Cowgirls will be broadcast on FCS Central and the Jayhawk Radio Network. 

Following the Jayhawks
Kansas’ game against Oklahoma State will air on FCS Central and the Jayhawk Radio Network, while live stats will also be available through the Big 12’s website, big12sports.com Additionally, fans can follow the Jayhawks on twitter at @KUwbball.

Fast Breaks

• Since the inception of the Big 12 Championship in 1997, Kansas has recorded a 14-20 mark in conference postseason action. Dating back to 1983, the Jayhawks are 33-31 in league postseason play. 
• KU played in the championship game in 1998, but lost to Texas Tech, 71-53. The last championship title that Kansas won was in 1993.
• In Friday’s opening-round matchup, Kansas and Oklahoma State meet for the third time in 2017 having split the season series, 1-1. With a victory in the second meeting, the Jayhawks snapped a 10-game losing skid to the Cowgirls. 
• Oklahoma State has a 34-32 advantage in the all-time series, which began in 1976. KU owns a 3-2 record against OSU when playing in the Big 12 Championship. 
• Six of Kansas’ first seven Big 12 Conference games of 2017 were against nationally-ranked opponents. Kansas is 0-8 against teams ranked in the top 25 this season.
• The Jayhawks own a 121-227 all-time record against Big 12 Conference foes. 
• When Brandon Schneider-coached teams are leading with less than five minutes to play, his overall record is 357-12, and 11-0 at Kansas.
• Kansas has played four overtime games in 2016-17 and is 3-1 on the season in extended games. Under Schneider, the Jayhawks are 4-1 in overtime games.
• The Jayhawks are averaging 13.6 offensive rebounds per game, good for the third-best average in the Big 12.
• KU forced Texas (1/4) to turn the ball over 31 times, a season-high mark for the Jayhawks’ defense. Kansas leads the league in turnovers forced with 18.7 per game.
• Kansas has forced 20 or more turnovers in nine of 18 Big 12 contests this season. 

About the Jayhawks
Kansas enters the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as the No. 10 seed and will play Oklahoma State for the third time this season. KU  and OSU split the season series and Kansas looks to make it two-straight wins over the Cowgirls with a first-round victory. The Jayhawks are 8-21 on the year and finished league action with a 2-16 mark. 

The Jayhawks are averaging 61.5 points per game with a scoring margin of -10.6. KU is making 33.6 percent of its shots from the field, while converting 30.0 percent of its attempts from the 3-point line. Kansas is averaging 37.7 boards per game. The Jayhawks have also swiped 9.4 steals per contest, good for the second-most by any team in the conference. 

Redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington has stormed onto the hardwood and paced KU’s offense in 2016-17. Washington leads the league in scoring in conference play with 19.3 points per game. She had a career-high night against Iowa State (2/21) after pouring in 36 points behind a 12-for-19 effort from the field. Washington is third in the Big 12 in scoring on the season with 17.0 points per game. She has netted double figures in 22 games this season, including 16 of her 18 outings in conference play. 

Senior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen highlighted KU’s Senior Day on Saturday with a career-high 21 points, her first game to net over 20 points in her career as a Jayhawk. Manning-Allen wasn’t the only Jayhawk to have a career day against K-State (2/25), as junior guard Chayla Cheadle pulled down a personal-best 16 rebounds, the most by a Jayhawk since Chelsea Gardner grabbed 20 against West Virginia in 2015. 

Scouting the Cowgirls
Entering the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma State has won three of its last five games and earned the No. 7 seed. OSU’s 88-70 victory over TCU (2/15) ended a five-game losing streak that included a loss to the Jayhawks. The Cowgirls are 16-13 overall in 2017 and 6-12 in league play.

The Cowgirls are averaging 66.3 points per game heading into Friday night’s contest against the Jayhawks and have a +1.8 scoring margin. OSU is connecting on 40.8 percent of its shots from the field and 31.8 percent from long range. Defensively, Oklahoma State is averaging 40.8 rebounds, 6.2 steals and 3.9 blocks per game.

Junior center Kaylee Jensen is pacing OSU’s offense with a team-high 18.3 points per game. Jensen is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and grabbing 10.6 boards per game. She also leads the team with 48 blocks in 2017. Sophomore guard Karli Wheeler is averaging 11.8 points per game, while shooting 35.3 percent from the field, including 33.6 percent from long range. Junior center Mandy Coleman is the final Cowgirl scoring double figures in 2017 with 12.4 points per game.

This Day in Kansas Women’s Basketball History
Record on March 3: 3-4
Friday’s contest is the eighth time in program history that Kansas has played on March 3. On this day in 1999, Kansas defeated Oklahoma State in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, 59-53. Jaclyn Johnson led the Jayhawks with 15 points, while grabbing seven rebounds. 

New Kid on the Block
After sitting out a year to comply with NCAA transfer rules, redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington has made her presence known around the league and was named the 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, as announced by the league office on Wednesday. She became the first Jayhawk to earn the honor and the first KU player to take a top conference honor since 1997 when Tamecka Dixon was named Big 12 Player of the Year.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma native is averaging 17.0 points, third-most in the Big 12, behind a 34.9 shooting percentage from the floor. In Big 12 Conference action, Washington leads the conference with 19.3 points per game. She has shot 40 percent or better in eight of her 18 league outings this season, including a 71.4 percent mark at Kansas State (1/11). Washington scored a career-best 36 points against Iowa State (2/21), the most by a Jayhawk since 2011. She has recorded 22 double-digit scoring efforts, 10 of which she recorded 20 or more points this season. 

Rising in the Ranks
After recording four blocks at Oklahoma State (1/25), senior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen moved into ninth place all-time in Kansas’ record book for career blocks. Manning-Allen has swatted away 113 blocks in her career and needs just one more to move into eighth place. Senior Timeka O’Neal has a career 3-point field goal average of 38.9 (88-of-226), which is the second-best shooting percentage from long range. She surpassed her former teammate Natalie Knight’s mark of 38.2 percent and sits behind Sandy Shaw’s 43.6 career average.

Up Next
Kansas heads to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship March 3-6, inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. 

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