Photo by Rachel Seymour

Crystal Kemp, junior forward, shoots over Nebraska’s Danielle Page during Saturday’s game in Lincoln, Neb. Kemp and the Jayhawks take on the Oklahoma Sooners tonight at Allen Fieldhouse.

After Saturday’s 59-48 defeat at Nebraska, coach Bonnie Henrickson admitted that her team had regressed a half step from its position entering the game.

The next challenge, a 7 p.m. home game against Oklahoma tonight, will provide an opportunity to get back in step and regain ground in the Big 12 Conference.

Kansas recovered from an 0-4 conference start by winning two consecutive games, at Colorado and vs. Missouri, before falling to Nebraska.

A victory against the Cornhuskers would have put the Jayhawks to sixth place in the conference, but the setback has left Kansas, 9-9 (2-5 Big 12), in eighth position. Instead of creating a sizable separation between it and the bottom third of the conference, Kansas again finds itself battling to establish a place in the middle.

With a victory against the Oklahoma, 11-7 (3-4), Kansas could take sole possession of seventh place in a conference that should place at least five teams in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Big 12 sent seven teams to the tournament and an additional two to the Women’s NIT.

Oklahoma is coming off a 73-60 home defeat to No. 17 Iowa State and also needs a conference victory.

“I think it’s a critical point of the season,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. “The season is a long way from over.”

For both teams, the establishment of an inside-outside combination will be integral to success in tonight’s match-up.

In the Nebraska game, junior forward Crystal Kemp was limited to 11 shots, 10 points, six rebounds and zero trips to the free-throw line. Inside scoring and dominance by Kemp has been the key for Kansas this season.

Oklahoma has defeated the Jayhawks in six-straight contests and will try to ride its high-low game to a seventh consecutive victory.

Kemp will be facing off with the Sooners’ leading scorer, sophomore Leah Rush. The 6-foot-1 forward leads Oklahoma in scoring with 14.4 points per game and gives the Sooners a threat inside and at the free-throw line.

On the perimeter, either junior guard Erica Hallman or junior guard Kaylee Brown will need to hit some shots to keep the heat off Kemp, who is constantly double-teamed down low.

In the first half against Nebraska, Brown and Kemp played off each other and both posted solid halves.

“When we have Crystal down low and they’re pinching her, things open up,” Brown said.

Brown nailed three three-point shots and combined with Kemp to score 19 points.

Hallman will have to find her shot again to keep pace with Oklahoma’s All-American candidate Dionnah Jackson.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard, who leads the Sooners in rebounding and is second in scoring, will try to build offense by penetration. Jackson leaves the long-range shooting duties to sophomore guard Erin Higgins, who hits more than 36 percent from behind the arc.

Tonight’s game pits the Jayhawks against an opponent in a similar situation. Both teams need to win to hang with the middle of the Big 12 pack.

Despite the Jayhawks recent ups and downs, Henrickson said her team is just trying to maintain an even keel.

“For us, it’s never as good as it seems or never as bad as it seems,” Henrickson said.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.

Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein