When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Allen Fieldhouse
Who: Memphis
Series: KU leads, 2-0
Keep firing: In its first game of the season, a seven-point home win over Texas Southern, Kansas University’s women’s basketball team took 73 shots from the floor, as the Jayhawks’ tried to establish a quick pace. However, KU only scored 72 points after making 41.1 percent of its field goals.
Fast start: Sophomore point guard Lauren Aldridge opened the year by showing off both her shooting and ability to facilitate new coach Brandon Schneider’s offense. Aldridge knocked in 6 of her 9 field-goal attempts, scored 17 points and distributed 7 assists (with just 1 turnover) in 35 minutes against Texas Southern.
New guard: Schneider thinks very highly of freshman guard Kylee Kopatich, who like Aldridge a year ago, became a starter as soon as she arrived at KU. Kopatich hit just 1 of her 5 three-point tries in her debut and shot 4-for-14 from the field (28.6 percent). The freshman found other ways to contribute, though, and led KU with eight rebounds in the opener. Kopatich will try to bounce back with a better shooting performance versus Memphis.
Probable starters
Kansas (1-0)
G — Lauren Aldridge, 5-7, so.
G — Aisia Robertson, 5-7, fr.
G — Kylee Kopatich, 5-10, fr.
G — Chayla Cheadle, 6-0, so.
G — Caelynn Manning-Allen, 6-4, jr.
Memphis (2-0)
G — Ariel Hearn, 5-8, sr.
G — Mooriah Rowser, 5-9, jr.
G — Loysha Morris, 5-9, jr.
F — Asianna Fuqua-Bey, 6-1, sr.
F — Brianna Wright, 6-1, sr.
