Kansas-Oklahoma women’s basketball preview

By Staff     Dec 30, 2015

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma

Who: No. 18 Oklahoma

Series: Oklahoma leads 34-30

Slow starters: Tonight’s game marks the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. Historically, that should give the Sooners an edge as the Jayhawks are just 5-13 all-time since the inception of the Big 12 Conference (1997) in Big 12 openers. That record includes a 3-7 mark on the road, and KU is looking to snap a two-game losing streak in conference openers. While the Jayhawks sit eight games below .500 in Big 12 openers, they’ve never tried their luck against the Sooners.

Paint by numbers: Kansas is averaging 31.6 points per game in the paint, which is the program’s highest scoring average in the lane since the 2012-13 season, when KU averaged 35.2 points per game in the paint. The Jayhawks have recorded 30 or more points in the paint on seven occasions this season, including a season-high 48 against Oral Roberts on Dec. 22.

Five-minute mark: Despite an up-and-down non-conference stretch, the Jayhawks did prove one thing during the first 11 games of the year — they’re pretty good at closing. KU is 5-0 this season when leading with less than five minutes to play, and that mark could be the result of late-game emphasis by first-year coach Brandon Schneider, who owns a career record of 351-12 when his teams have led in the final five minutes.

Streaking: KU freshman Jayde Christopher has dished a team-best 31 assists to just eight turnovers. She is coming off of her second career start and is averaging 3.5 points per game. Christopher finished with eight points and four assists in 19 minutes during last week’s loss to Oral Roberts.

Slumping: Sophomore point guard Lauren Aldridge leads the Jayhawks in scoring (13 points per game) but has found difficulty knocking down shots so far this season. Aldridge enters tonight coming off of a 1-of-8 shooting performance against Oral Roberts and has shot 50 percent or better from the field just one time in the past five games. Still, she has found a way to reach double digits in nine of KU’s 11 games this season but is coming off of a season-low four-point performance the last time out.

Probable starters

Kansas (5-6)

G — Lauren Aldridge, 5-7, so.

G — Jayde Christopher, 5-8, fr.

G — Kylee Kopatich, 5-10, fr.

G — Chayla Cheadle, 6-0, so.

F — Caelynn Manning-Allen, 6-4, jr.

Oklahoma (9-2)

G — Gabbi Ortiz, 5-9, so.

G — Derica Wyatt, 5-10, jr.

G — Peyton Little, 5-11, jr.

G — Maddie Manning, 6-2, jr.

F — Kaylon Williams, 6-3, sr.

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