A season-worst five-game losing streak may be bringing down the Kansas University women’s basketball team, but you won’t hear such comments from the Jayhawks.
“You have to remain positive, man,” said KU’s Tamara Ransburg, who has led the Jayhawks in scoring the past two games since she requested to come off the bench.
When asked whether the Jayhawks could win one of their last four games, Ransburg paused, smiled and simply said Kansas could win all four.
While that might seem like a lofty task for a team that has only two victories in a dozen Big 12 Conference games, Kansas (9-14 overall) might have an opportunity to break its losing skid when it plays host to Texas A&M at 8:05 tonight in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Aggies (8-16, 1-12) are the only team below the Jayhawks in the conference standings.
“If we can show the effort from start to finish like we did at the end of the game, we got a good shot at being victorious,” KU interim head coach Lynette Woodard said after KU’s 73-58 loss to Iowa State on Tuesday.
In eight meetings, Kansas has only dropped one to Texas A&M.
However, it was the two team’s last meeting in Allen Fieldhouse that A&M emerged with a 58-51 victory. Last season Kansas won 64-57 in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies are mired in a four-game slide of their own. Senior Guard Toccara Williams leads the Aggies with 15.9 points per game, but is the only Texas A&M player averaging in double digits.
Ransburg said with seemingly winnable games with Iowa State and Nebraska, and a road trip to Colorado, the Jayhawks might be able to put a winning streak together if they can pick up a victory against the Aggies.
“Communication is the key,” Ransburg said. “If we can stay focused throughout an entire 40 minutes, there’s no reason we can’t win.”
The Jayhawks, however, might be forced to go the rest of the season without the return of coach Marian Washington.
Washington announced Jan. 29 she would take an indefinite leave of absence. While it was thought Washington would be gone two or three weeks, KU officials and Woodard said earlier this week they had no new information on Washington. This past Thursday marked the third week that Washington has been gone.