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No. 24 West Virginia Visits Kansas Wednesday
January 17, 2017 10:34 AM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The No. 24/23-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team begins a two-game road swing with a visit to Kansas on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT tipoff and will be live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
Dan Zangrilli and Meg Bulger will have the call on WMMN 920-AM in Morgantown/Fairmont, WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday app. Also, a free video stream will be provided at WVUsports.com.
West Virginia (14-4, 2-4) and Kansas (6-11, 0-6) meet for the 11th time on Wednesday. WVU holds a 6-4 edge in the all-time series and has won the last three meetings. Last season, WVU picked up a 65-45 win in Lawrence (Jan. 3) and a 72-35 win in Morgantown (Jan. 16).
Kansas has lost its first six Big 12 games, including a 92-43 loss at No. 2 Baylor on Sunday. The Jayhawks have dropped 24 consecutive Big 12 regular-season games. KU’s last league win came in a 68-64 win over Iowa State on March 2, 2015.
The Jayhawks are averaging 62.2 points per game and giving up 71.7 points per contest to their opponents. KU is shooting 33.5 percent (375-of-1118) compared to its opponents’ 42.2 (442-of-1048) percent and is second in the Big 12 in turnovers forced (19.1 topg) and third in turnover margin (+2.0).
Jessica Washington, the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week, is averaging 15.2 points. She leads the team with 48 assists and is second on the squad with 28 three-pointers. McKenzie Calvert is also averaging double-figures with 12.0 points per contest. Chayla Cheadle leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per contest.
“They need a win in the conference bad and we need a win in the conference bad,” coach Mike Carey said. “They are going to be ready to play. They’re deeper than we are, but they are not as big. Hopefully, we can get up the lanes and create some turnovers.”
West Virginia dropped a 73-63 contest to No. 16/17 Texas last Saturday. Senior Lanay Montgomery led WVU with her career-best seventh double-double this season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Teana Muldrow netted a season-high 22 points in the setback.
Through 18 games, Montgomery leads the nation with her 70.4 field goal percentage (95-of-135) and is fifth nationally with 3.4 blocks per game. Tynice Martin is second in the Big 12 with 17.6 points per game. Meanwhile, junior Chania Ray leads the league with 6.4 assists per contest and sophomore Alexis Brewer paces the conference with a 47.4 three-point field goal percentage (18-of-38).
The Mountaineers are seeking to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time in three seasons. Since Feb. 1, 2015, WVU is 5-0 in its next game when losing back-to-back games.
Following Wednesday’s contest, No. 24/23 WVU visits No. 2 Baylor on Saturday, Jan. 21. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT tipoff in Waco, Texas, and is televised on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh/FOX Sports Net.
West Virginia No. 23 in Coaches Poll
West Virginia fell four spots to No. 23 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers earned 80 votes in the poll. Other Big 12 Top 25 teams include No. 2 Baylor (734), No. 14 Texas (368) and No. 20 Oklahoma (143). Kansas State (21) and Oklahoma State (4) are in the others receiving votes category.
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