The KU women’s basketball team believes and has shown that it can play with any team in the Big 12 Conference.
In order to reach the NCAA Tournament, though, they’re going to have to beat a bunch of them in a row.
So far, so good – at least this week, as the Jayhawks capped off an important and productive week at home with back-to-back impressive wins over BYU (Wednesday) and Cincinnati (Saturday).
Neither the Cougars nor the Bearcats are the types of teams that land you on SportsCenter when you beat them. But KU can’t worry about who they’re playing or how it looks right now. They simply have to win.
They get that. And they’re playing like it.
“It's a little bit of both,” senior Sania Copeland said of the balancing act that exists between each day and the big picture. “Obviously, you want to go far and make the tournament, so we obviously have to think about that. But regardless, we're going to take a game by game, possession by possession.”
The way KU coach Brandon Schneider put it after Saturday night’s 80-71 win over Cincinnati at Allen Fieldhouse, the do-or-die times have already begun.
“Let’s be honest, we’re in playoff basketball right now,” Schneider said. “So, when you’re in those situations, you better focus on the possession at hand and do your best to win that possession.”
Saturday’s win moved the Jayhawks to 15-10 overall and 5-8 in Big 12 play. They’re just a couple of possessions away from being above .500 in the Big 12 and were on the brink of wins against nationally-ranked foes Iowa State and TCU.
They didn’t get either of those, but they still have a chance to get a couple down the stretch, with two games against No. 18 Texas Tech coming in the next couple of weeks along with the regular-season finale at Oklahoma State, which was receiving votes in the latest AP poll.
The Jayhawks were listed in the "Next Four Out" category in the latest version of the NCAA Tournament Bracketology on ESPN.com, but if they could add a few more wins to this winning streak, things could get interesting in a hurry, especially with them still having the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City (March 4-8) to bolster their resume.
Rather than worrying about the challenge that exists within the five remaining games on their schedule, the Jayhawks are looking forward to it.
“I think we've stayed up with our confidence,” Copeland said. “Regardless of our record, we know that we can compete with anybody in this conference.”
Added Schneider, when asked if he thinks this team believes what Copeland had stated: “Well, I hope so. I think we have examples of that. And sometimes you have to lean on ‘em.”
This week’s wins over BYU and Cincinnati were important because they represent the start of some momentum.
Now?
“It's really important for us to maintain this,” said freshman Jaliya Davis. “I mean, the season is coming to a close soon, so just being able to keep building on wins is really important.”
To that end, the Jayhawks are expecting some more close games. And that’s why winning Saturday’s game with Cincinnati mattered so much.
“We’ve been in close games how many times this year,” asked KU senior Lilly Meister. “We know how to play in close games. We’re no stranger to that. But it felt really good to win one.”
Next up, the Jayhawks will travel to Texas Tech for a Tuesday night clash with the Red Raiders. After that, they’ll return home for a game against Houston at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 14, followed by Round 2 of the Sunflower Showdown against K-State in Manhattan on Feb. 21.
No matter who they play or when or where, the Jayhawks are focused on one thing the rest of the way.
“We’re not looking beyond anything other than preparing for Tech,” Schneider said.
After that, the same thing will be true about the next opponent and every possession within each game.
Tipoff on Tuesday is slated for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
