Kansas is sizzling. Saint Louis is fizzling.

Consequently, the Jayhawks will be favored today when they meet the Billikens in women’s basketball. Or will KU suffer a letdown in the wake of last Tuesday’s 91-56 ambush of Creighton?

“I don’t think so,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “I’d be shocked if we didn’t grow on the momentum of that game.”

Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. Sunflower Broadband channel 6 will carry a live telecast.

Kansas (4-1) is off to a fast start for a couple of reasons. The Jayhawks are shooting 47 percent as a team after compiling a Big 12-worst 39 percent last season. At the same time, foes are making only 33 percent of their shots, compared to last year’s 43.2 percent.

Henrickson is, of course, pleased by both numbers, but by foes’ poor accuracy in particular.

“Our defensive field-goal percentage hasn’t been what we had hoped the last two years,” she said. “Our defense has definitely gotten better.”

Meanwhile, Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, both 5-foot-11 sophomores, have been the offensive catalysts by averaging 15.1 and 12.8 points a game, respectively. At this time a year ago, neither McCray nor Morris was a factor.

“Both have worked very hard, one to put on weight (Morris) and one to lose weight (McCray),” Henrickson said. “They’ve worked on their shots, their footwork. They’ve worked hard. It didn’t happen just because they got older.”

While the Jayhawks have won four of five, the Billikens have dropped five of their seven outings. On Thursday night, they fell at UMKC, 73-70 – a team KU clipped, 64-58, a couple of weeks ago. SLU has also fallen to Hampton at home and to Tennessee-Martin on the road.

Sophomore guard Katie Paganelli leads Saint Louis with a 15.9 scoring average, but it’s obvious the Bills miss Theresa Lisch, their points and assists leader from a year ago. Lisch, a 5-9 sophomore, hasn’t played since suffering a broken bone in her left hand in the preseason, and she isn’t expected to suit today.

Henrickson has used the same starting lineup in all five games, even though Porscha Weddington, her tallest starter at 6-1, has been nagged by an ankle injury. Weddington logged only 13 minutes against Creighton.

“She was fine in practice the other day, but it was sore the next morning,” Henrickson said of Weddington. “We’re hopeful she’ll be OK. We need her athleticism.”

Today is the second of five straight KU home games. The Jayhawks will play host to Marquette on Thursday, Indiana a week from today and UC Riverside on Dec. 16 before making a two-game swing to California.