Jayhawks, Wildcats to meet in Big 12 women’s opener

There may be no better way to ease the frustration of a disappointing season than by beating a bitter rival.

Kansas and Kansas State will get that chance when they meet at 6 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament in Oklahoma City.

The reward for the winner? A matchup against top-seeded and ninth-ranked Baylor in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

But both No. 8 Kansas, 12-18, and No. 9 Kansas State, 11-18, would love the opportunity to face the Bears. Friday’s winner will win the season series between the two Sunflower State rivals, who will be meeting for the 109th time.

The Wildcats and Jayhawks have won on each other’s floors this season with Kansas winning 71-64 at Manhattan on Jan. 25 and Kansas State returning the favor in a bizarre 76-68 victory on Feb. 26 in Lawrence.

In that game, the Wildcats jumped to a 21-0 lead before Kansas chipped away and eventually moved to within two points on two occasions, including 53-51 with 8:22 to play. But Kansas State, led by unanimous Big 12 all-freshman selection Leticia Romero, prevailed.

Romero, one of three freshmen in the starting lineup, leads a young Kansas State team with a 14.2-point average and 4.8 assists per game. She is the first freshman in K-State history — and the only freshman in NCAA Division I this season — to score at least 400 points, grab 100 rebounds, record 100 assists and make at least 50 steals.

Romero’s fellow freshman guard, Kindred Wesemann of Pleasant Hill, has come on strong in the past 10 games, recording all six of her double-figure scoring efforts in that time, including a career-best 15 points against Kansas.

Kansas State has advanced at least one round 13 times in the history of the Big 12 women’s tournament, including an active streak of five straight seasons.

Kansas, meanwhile, is coming off consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, but has struggled replacing all-everything guard Angel Goodrich.

The Jayhawks enter the Big 12 tournament on a five-game losing streak and with losses in seven of their previous eight games, with the lone win an upset of Baylor.

Junior forward Chelsea Gardner, an all-Big 12 selection, has been a bright spot. Gardner leads the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles, the most by a Jayhawk since Shyra Holden had 14 in 1978-79. Gardner is averaging 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and she is shooting 56.7 percent from the field, second in the Big 12 and 20th in the country.

The last time Kansas and Kansas State met in the Big 12 tournament was in 2006, when the Wildcats won 72-52 in Dallas.

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Regular-season champions Baylor and West Virginia swept individual honors announced Thursday.

West Virginia coach Mike Carey was selected Big 12 Coach of the Year in the Mountaineers’ second season in the conference, while senior guard Taylor Palmer received the Sixth Man Award.

Baylor senior guard Odyssey Simms was voted both the Big 12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year while Bears forward Nina Davis was picked Freshman of the Year.

This story was originally published March 6, 2014 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Jayhawks, Wildcats to meet in Big 12 women’s opener ."