When: 1 p.m. today
Where: Allen Fieldhouse
Who: Navy, Patriot League
Series: First-ever meeting
Crunch Time: At 4-4 and with the always-nasty Big 12 Conference schedule nearing, the Jayhawks have started to feel the urgency of putting the pieces together and becoming a more complete and consistent team. Thursday’s 47-44 home loss to UMKC was one of the season’s low points thus far, and sophomore point guard Lauren Aldridge said it was important for KU to learn from the disappointment it felt that night instead of sulking about it.
“We talked in practice the other day about crunch time,” Aldridge said. “Every possession for us is crunch time, and every game for us is crunch time. And we have to be able to step up to the challenge.”
Slow Starters: Thursday’s 1-for-19 shooting struggle to open the UMKC loss, which included Kansas scoring just two points in the opening quarter, was the third straight game in which KU came out of the gate slowly.
“I would say that that’s a trend,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said. “And I feel like a lot of that starts with the defensive end. We’ve been much more consistent offensively than defensively. When we’re playing man, we foul entirely too much. It’s obvious to me that we’re gonna have to get quite a bit better at zones and maybe multiple zones because we have difficulty defending the paint and we foul too much on the perimeter.”
Perfect Day: Kansas is 5-0 all-time on Dec. 13, with its first Dec. 13-victory coming in 1986 against Pitt State. The most recent time KU played on this date was in 2009, when KU faced Pittsburgh. And the most memorable Dec. 13 game in school history came in 2001, when the Jayhawks, led by 18 points from Selena Scott, topped Wichita State, 82-66, to snap a three-game losing skid. Today is also Jay Days inside Allen Fieldhouse, where hot dogs and popcorn are just $2 and fudge bars $1 at the AFH concession stands.
Streaking: KU freshman Jayde Christopher has recorded three or more assists in four of KU’s past five games and five times altogether through the first eight games of the season. The reserve guard from Federal Way, Washington, led KU with three assists in the loss to UMKC, and she will look to keep her role as a friendly helper going today against Navy.
Slumping: Plagued by foul trouble and an off night on the offensive end, KU junior Caelynn Manning-Allen was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in the Jayhawks’ loss to the Roos. The 6-foot-4 forward finished with just one point, one turnover and five rebounds in 19 frustrating minutes. It marked the first time this season that she played fewer than 20 minutes in a game and just the third time that she failed to reach double figures in points.
Probable starters
Kansas (4-4)
G — Lauren Aldridge, 5-7, so.
G — Aisia Robertson, 5-7, fr.
G — Kylee Kopatich, 5-10, fr.
G — Chayla Cheadle, 6-0, so.
F — Caelynn Manning-Allen, 6-4, jr.
Navy (5-4)
G — Justice Swett, 5-8, jr.
G — Sarita Condie, 5-7, jr.
G — Taylor Dunham, 5-4, so.
F — Ashanti Kennedy, 5-8, jr.
F — Peri Curtis, 5-11, sr.
