Preview: Women's Basketball Seeks Second-Straight Victory Against Power Five Opponent

Season Highlights

Kansas City remains in town for its only non-Swinney Center home game of the year, playing Kansas State in Municipal Auditorium.
The Roos will be looking for their second victory over a Power Five opponent in as many games after knocking off 2019 NCAA Tournament Second Round qualifying Missouri last Sunday.
The last time Kansas City beat two 'Power Five' teams in one season was in 1991-92, when the Roos took down Oklahoma State twice, Missouri, Kansas State, and Iowa State, all of the Big Eight, en route to a 24-7 record.
Kansas City has begun the season tit for tat, coming into the game with an even 5-5 record. The Roos have yet to win back-to-back games.
After posting a Top-25 scoring offense last season, the Roos are averaging 67.3 ppg to begin this season, which puts them 11.5 points out of the top 25.
Kansas City has failed to surpass 60 points in each of its last three games for the first time since a stretch during conference play of the 2017-18 season.
The Roos are currently fourth in the WAC in field goal percentage and fifth in points per game, averaging 67.3 points on 40.8% shooting.
Ericka Mattingly is currently averaging 17.0 points per game, second in the WAC and 79th in the nation.
Kansas City leads the WAC and are 36th nationally in blocks per game (4.8), and four Roos currently rank top 10 in the WAC in blocks per game. This is unchartered territory for the Roos, as last year the team finished fifth in the conference, averaging 2.7.

History vs. Kansas State

The Roos hold a 3-10 all-time record against the Wildcats, who have won the past five meetings in a row.
The good news for the Roos coming into this game is that all three of the program's wins against Kansas State have come in home games, happening in 1987, '89 and '92.
The Roos' largest margin of victory over the Wildcats came on Jan. 8, 1992, a 72-48 victory for the Brian Agler-led Roos.
Kansas City's largest margin of defeat against Kansas State came on Dec. 11, 2004, when the Wildcats won in a 63-31 decision.
The Roos have only faced off with the Wildcats once in the Jacie Hoyt era, last season's 61-50 defeat at the hands of the 'Cats.
The Wildcats won that game wire-to-wire, but went into the half with just a two-point lead. They used a 14-7 third quarter to create the separation that they needed to win.
Taylor Larson scored a career-high 13 points on 4-of-6 three point shooting in that game. She has yet to attempt a three point shot this season.
The Wildcats were led by Kali Jones (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Peyton Williams (13 points, 10 rebounds) in that game.
Ericka Mattingly was held to just five points on 1-of-14 shooting against Kansas State last year, her second-lowest scoring total of the season.
Kansas City has connections with the Wildcats: Head Coach Jacie Hoyt was an assistant coach under Coach Mitte from 2014-17, while Assistant Coach Kindred Orpin was a four-year player for the Wildcats and currently sits fifth in program history in three-pointers made with 264.

Kansas State Scouting Report

Kansas State returns 10 players from last year's NCAA Tournament qualifying team, including leading scorer and rebounder Peyton Williams.
After starting the season 3-0, the Wildcats have dropped four of their last five to enter this game at 4-4.
The Roos and Wildcats have one previous opponent in common so far this season: Omaha. The Wildcats defeated the Mavericks 73-48 on Nov. 8, while Kansas City fell 57-53 in a Dec. 4 meeting.
Williams is back at it again this year, averaging 14.3 points per game and a NCAA DI leading 12.9 rebounds per game.
Freshman Ayoka Lee has stood out for the Wildcats so far this year, leading the team with 15.1 points per game and pulling down 10.8 rebounds per game, 20th in the nation.
Besides Williams and Lee, Christianna Carr and Rachel Ranke both score in the double digits, averaging 13.9 and 11.6 points per game, respectively.
Averaging 6.8 per game, Kansas State ranks third in the nation as a team in blocks.
The Wildcats are ninth in the nation in rebounding margin, pulling down 13.1 more rebounds per game than their opponents. The Roos average rebound margin sits at -4.1.

University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics