Kansan file photo

Kansas guard Larisha Graves tried to break away from Missouri’s Evan Unrau during last year’s game against Missouri. The Tigers make their next visit at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Allen Fieldhouse.

In a bitter rivalry where both teams are riding four-game losing streaks, something has to give.

For Kansas, 7-8 (0-4 Big 12), the end result of Saturday’s game against Missouri could be the Kansas Women’s basketball team first Big 12 Conference victory. The home contest against the Tigers, 7-9 (1-4), at 7 p.m. tonight seems to be the most promising chance yet for the Jayhawks to snare that elusive victory.

The rivalry against the Tigers should bring an emotional factor to a Kansas team that is coming off a stinging loss at Texas A&M.;

Had the Jayhawks avoided that tough road defeat, the victory would have boosted the confidence of a Kansas team that now holds a 1-4 record in road games. Instead of riding a wave of confidence into the Border Showdown, the question remains how the Jayhawks will respond to back-to-back thrillers.

Against the Aggies, the Jayhawks fought back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game at the one-minute mark. On the last A&M; possession of the game, Aggie freshman A’quonesia Franklin hit a fade-away jumper with only on second left on the clock to take away a 62-60 victory.

“I think we will respond well,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We need to get momentum early and build on that.”

Standing in the way are the Tigers, who are led by sophomore guard Tiffany Brooks. In her first semester of action with the team after transferring from Kansas State last winter, she has started each of her eight games and averaged a team-high 14.3 points per game. She averages 33.5 minutes per game and is a 70 percent foul shooter.

Besides Brooks, the Tigers have two other viable scoring options. Junior guard LeToya Bond and junior center Christelle N’Garsanet both average more than 12 points per game. Bond, who plays a team-high 34 minutes per game, also averages four assists per contest. N’Garsanet grabs a team high 6.3 rebounds a game and has a team high 28 blocks. She is one of four Tigers who stand 6-foot-3. That size concerns coach Henrickson.

“We go from playing one of the smallest teams in the conference in A&M; to playing one of the biggest teams in the conference in Missouri,” Henrickson said. “They are huge.”

To win, Kansas will have to rebound better than it has in previous games. Against a team with the size of Missouri, boxing out is the key, Henrickson said.

“We need to rebound with more effort,” she said. “We need to box out better. It’s all about effort and intensity, and we need to step it up in both of those areas.”

In the all-time series, Kansas remains ahead of Missouri 34-31 and holds a 15-10 edge in Lawrence. Last season, both teams stole road victories with the Jayhawks’ 55-52 victory in Columbia, Mo. and a 76-49 loss at home.

Besides the storied intensity of the rivalry and the importance of the key conference match-up, the contest is worth 1.5 points in the third annual Kansas/Missouri Border Showdown. Kansas currently leads this season’s edition by a count of 7.5 to 5.5.