The Kansas women’s basketball team is running out of time to build some positive momentum for the postseason.
Staying healthy certainly would help in that quest for Brandon Schneider’s Jayhawks, who will play host to Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Forced to play more than half of the season without three-year starter Ioanna Chatzileonti because of a foot injury, Kansas has changed its style of play pretty significantly to account for not having the junior forward.
Senior center Taiyanna Jackson has been dominant and al-most certainly will be named a first-team all-Big 12 selection and Big 12 defensive player of the year in the coming weeks. And veteran guards Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter have both had great moments and also both missed time. So, too, has transfer guard Wyvette Mayberry.
All of it has added up to an up-and-down stretch of conference games that has the Jayhawks at 16-10 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play heading into the homestretch.
The Jayhawks enter this one on a three-game losing streak. Like so many games leading up to that, two of the three losses were decided by just a possession or two.
Those close calls, along with a strong run through non-conference play, seem to have the Jayhawks safely in the NCAA Tournament, but they have fallen down the board in recent weeks. Once projected as a possible top-4 seed and first- and second-round hosts, the Jayhawks are currently projected as a No. 10 seed.
According to the latest women’s hoops Bracketology at ESPN.com, KU is one of the last four teams to receive a bye into the bracket.
Oklahoma State, meanwhile, has been one of the stories of the Big 12 season.
Under first-year head coach Jaycie Hoyt, OSU enters this one at 20-7 overall, 10-5 in conference play and on a six-game winning streak. Included in that stretch was a 73-68 home win over No. 20 Iowa State on Wednesday night. The win moved OSU into sole possession of third place in the conference standings.
OSU received votes in last week’s Associated Press poll and may be destined for a spot in the Top 25 next week.
Hoyt joined the OSU program after a successful stint at Kansas City and she added former KU assistant Jhasmin Player to her staff in Stillwater. Player spent last season at SMU following a two-season stint with the Jayhawks.
Kansas is 11-3 at home this season, including 4-3 in home conference games. After this one, the Jayhawks will close the regular season with a home date with Iowa State on March 1 and at TCU on March 4 before heading to Kansas City, Missouri for the Big 12 tournament, which will run March 9-12 at Municipal Auditorium.
Photo courtesy Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics
