Rachel Seymour

Taylor McIntosh, freshman guard, rebounds the ball after a miss for the Jayhawks. McIntosh made 8 offensive rebounds and a total of 16 for the game against the Tigers last Saturday afternoon in Columbia, Mo. Kansas play Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., at 8 tonight.

A victory tonight would give the women’s basketball team something it has not enjoyed in four years.

At 10-10 (3-6 Big 12 Conference), a fourth conference triumph would seal the most successful Big 12 season since the 2000-01 campaign, when Kansas finished 5-11 in league play. A third road victory would also be the most in conference since the 2000-01 season.

The Cowgirls, 6-13 (1-8 Big 12), are tied for last place in conference with Missouri and present a good opportunity for the Jayhawks to pick up another road victory. Kansas is coming off a 60-42 victory against Missouri in Columbia.

Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said that although Oklahoma State owns the worst record in the Big 12, she expects a tough competition.

“Their record is tremendously deceiving,” Henrickson said. “We have broken them down on film, and have a lot of respect for how much better they have gotten.”

In Henrickson’s debut season, she said she credited her team’s relative success to the attitude of all players, whether they face a top-10 opponent or a last-place team.

Despite finishing 2-14 in the conference last season and starting this season with startling losses to Texas-Arlington and Washburn, the Jayhawks already have garnered three conference victories with seven league games left to play.

Despite the strides taken this year, Henrickson said her team’s rising stature within the Big 12 was only the beginning.

“We have work to do with this group, and also with recruiting,” Henrickson said. “But I think we have made tremendous progress.

One of the keys to the Jayhawks’ development as the season goes on is the vast improvement of freshman forward Taylor McIntosh.

Since the start of the year, McIntosh has established herself as a rebounding presence and has grown to dominate the boards. In last Saturday’s victory against Missouri, McIntosh grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, with eight coming on the offensive end.

The Wichita product leads all Big 12 freshmen in rebounding, snaring 7.1 per game, and is second overall in the conference with 3.55 offensive rebounds per outing.

“She has gained tremendous experience by being on the floor as much as she has, and she has handled the transition of being a freshman in this league as well as you can expect a kid to,” Henrickson said. McIntosh has also stepped up in scoring. In each of the last two games, McIntosh has scored 10 points.

The improvement has seen the freshman forward take a more aggressive role in the offense with more frequent drives and shots inside.

Adding the threat of McIntosh would greatly aid the Jayhawks on the offensive end, where the only other post scoring threat is junior forward Crystal Kemp, who is often double-teamed.