Baylor
UT Arlington
No. 7 WBB Readies for UT Arlington
11/10/2021 3:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears head to Arlington for second game in three days
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BAYLOR BEARS (1-0) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (1-0) AT UT ARLINGTON (0-0) November 11, 2021 • 6 p.m. CT Arlington, Texas • College Park Center (7,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN+ Talent: Ron Thulin (pxp), Fred Miller (analyst) LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (PBP), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) SIRIUS XM: Channel 375 Baylor Social Media:    |
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UT ARLINGTON LADY MAVERICKS (0-0) Location: Arlington, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Sun Belt Head Coach: Shereka Wright (Purdue, 2004) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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SEASON-OPENING WIN
Baylor began the Nicki Collen era with a win over Texas State on Tuesday. Three Bears finished in double figures - NaLyssa Smith (23 points), Queen Egbo (16 points) and Jordan Lewis (14 points). Egbo also brought down 11 rebounds, and Lewis dished out seven assists.
After the first exhibition, Collen mentioned the difference with this year's group of guards and how their size plays into the rebounding numbers. After pulling down one rebound in the opening exhibition, Sarah Andrews was second on the team on Tuesday with eight rebounds.
NEW BEGINNINGS
Nicki Collen was announced as the fifth head coach in Baylor women's basketball history on May 3, 2021. Collen came to Baylor from the WNBA's Atlanta franchise, where she spent the last three seasons at the helm for the Dream. Her first year in Atlanta resulted in a 23-11 season in 2018, where she earned WNBA Coach of the Year honors and helped the team to the WNBA Playoff Semifinals.
Collen's collegiate coaching career spanned for nine seasons prior to her WNBA arrival. She spent two seasons as an assistant at Colorado State (2000-02), one season at Ball State (2002-03), one at Louisville (2003-04), three at Arkansas (2011-14) and two at Florida Gulf Coast (2014-16).
Her teams combined record in nine seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant was 214-74. As an assistant, Collen guided four different squads to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round in three of those seasons.
PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
Jordan Lewis, NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo received national accolades before the start of the season.
Lewis, a graduate transfer from Alabama, was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Preseason Watch List and the Wooden Award Top 50. She was also named the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. The 5-6 guard put up career numbers for the Crimson Tide a year ago as she averaged career-bests with 17.0 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Smith, named the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, was named to the Katrina McClain Award Preseason Watch List, the "Wade Watch" list, the Wooden Award Top 50 and the Naismith Preseason Watch List. The senior forward won the award a season ago, in addition to taking home the Wade Trophy as the WBCA's National Player of the Year. Smith also garnered All-American honors by five different entities after averaging 18.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Egbo, a Preseason All-Big 12 Team member, was named to the Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List, the Wooden Award Top 50 and the Naismith Preseason Watch List. The senior center made it to the Final Five for the award last season after averaging 11.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Egbo moved to ninth all-time on Baylor's career list for blocks (120) with 56 as a junior.
