On Wednesday, the West Virginia women’s basketball team will head west to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse at 8 p.m.
West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12), is coming off three straight conference wins, with the latest coming against No. 18 Baylor on Saturday.
Against the Bears, the Mountaineers had four players reach double figures, with JJ Quinerly leading the way with 18 points. Jayla Hemingway recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Madisen Smith and Kylee Blacksten each netted 16 points.
“Our young ladies are getting better,” head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said after the win over the Bears. “We have some toughness and made some plays and that was really fun to see.”
Awaiting the red-hot Mountaineers now are the Kansas Jayhawks (12-4). Despite the same record as the Mountaineers, the Jayhawks are only 2-3 in Big 12 conference play to this point. After taking down Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to start league play, Kansas has dropped three straight games, coming up short against Baylor, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Kansas has experience in the backcourt, as senior guards Zakiyah Franklin and Holly Kersgieter returned to lead the Jayhawks for another season. Franklin, the 5-foot-8 Florida native, is currently averaging 14.5 points and nearly four rebounds per game.
In Kansas’s win over Texas Tech, both Franklin and Kersgieter registered 26 points in the effort over the Red Raiders, and Kersgieter has eclipsed 20 points three times in her last five games. Franklin and Kersgieter are no strangers to the Mountaineers, as Franklin scored a combined 42 points in two victories over WVU last season, while Kersgieter registered 26 in the two games.
West Virginia’s back court has led the team many times this season, and on Wednesday, the defense of the back court will need to come up big in order to slow Franklin and Kersgieter down.
The Mountaineer defense will need to be ready to move their feet, as Kansas can stretch things out on offense and shoot the three ball, as Franklin is shooting 45% from beyond the arc, while Kersgieter is a career 35% three-point shooter.
The back court of Smith, Quinerly, and Hemingway have combined for 84 steals this season, so a good effort in full court pressure can very well tame the duo of Franklin and Kersgieter and not allow them to get into a rhythm.
West Virginia and Kansas will meet on Wednesday, January 18 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the action can be viewed on ESPN+.
