photo by: Damon Young/Photo courtesy of KU Athletics

Kansas forward Tina Stephens loos for a teammate while dribbling against Oklahoma State on Jan. 30, 2021, at Allen Fieldhouse.

Coming off their largest defeat of the season, a 24-point home loss on Saturday, Kansas women’s basketball players are facing the unique challenge of turning around and facing their victors again.

The same Oklahoma State team that crushed KU, 75-51, awaits the Jayhawks in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday night, thanks to some reshuffling of the schedule caused by a postponement earlier in January.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been a a part of it,” Schneider said of a quick in-season rematch. “So this will be a new experience for our staff and for our players. It’s not common.”

Schneider said the Jayhawks, who have lost five of their past six games, had Sunday off before watching game footage and practicing on Monday.

“Obviously we’ll try to make some adjustments that will enable us to play better in Stillwater,” Schneider said.

KU last faced the same team in back-to-back games late in the 2015-16 season, Schneider’s first year with the program. That year, KU closed the regular season with a 55-52 road loss to TCU. Four days later the Jayhawks beat the Horned Frogs, 81-64, in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament.

“I don’t know that either team has a lot of time to reinvent themselves on a short turnaround like that,” Schneider said of KU and OSU playing again, three days after OSU cruised in the second half in Allen Fieldhouse.

What: Kansas (6-7 overall, 2-5 Big 12) at Oklahoma State (12-5, 8-3)

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN+

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena

Quick Note: While Schneider obviously wasn’t pleased with KU’s play down the stretch during the home loss to OSU, the Jayhawks had some positives in the first half defensively.

KU only trailed 22-20 at the break, after limiting OSU to 23.7% shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes.

“I thought we were pretty good. I thought both teams guarded pretty hard,” Schneider said of the opening half. “I thought we made (OSU senior Natasha) Mack work for her touches. And when we did double I thought we were there early and aggressive. And I thought we made (junior Ja’Mee) Asberry work.”

Streaking: Mack is Oklahoma State’s Wooden Award nominee and a force inside. But junior OSU guard Asberry has been key to the team’s success, too.

Asberry’s 15 points at KU marked her fifth game in a row scoring double figures. During that stretch her 3-point shooting has complemented Mack’s play in the paint.

In Lawrence on Saturday Asberry shot 3-for-3 from long range, making her 16-for-33 (48.4%) in the past five games.

OSU has won three in a row since losing to Baylor.

Slumping: The Jayhawks have been turning the ball over more often than they’re dishing assists.

KU’s home loss to OSU marked the third time in the past four games in which the Jayhawks finished with fewer assists than giveaways.

The difference was glaring versus OSU, as KU totaled nine assists and 19 turnovers. KU also had an 11:13 assist to turnover ratio at Oklahoma, and a 10:17 ratio against Texas Tech.

On the season, the Jayhawks are averaging 13.2 assists, compared to 15.5 turnovers.

Last game’s starters

Kansas

G — Zakiyah Franklin, 5-7, so.

G — Aniya Thomas, 5-7, jr.

G — Julie Brosseau, 5-9, gr.

F — Tina Stephens, 6-2, sr.

C — Chisom Ajekwu, 6-3, so.

Oklahoma State

G — Ja’Mee Asberry, 5-5, jr.

G — Lauren Fields, 5-9, so.

G — Lexy Keys, 5-7, fr.

F — Taylen Collins, 6-2, fr.

F — Natasha Mack, 6-4, sr.