No. 7 WBB Tramples New Orleans

Monday, November 15

Waco, Texas

7 PM

Baylor

3-0,0-0Big 12

New Orleans

0-2,0-0Southland

New Orleans

Baylor

No. 7 WBB Tramples New Orleans

11/15/2021 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears defeat Privateers 78-39 on Monday night in Ferrell

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            With an undersized New Orleans team starting only one player taller than 6-foot, Baylor's post duo of Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith had their way.
            The 6-3 Egbo missed just one shot and recorded her second double-double of the season with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while the 6-4 Smith chipped in with 13 points and 10 boards to lift the sixth-ranked Bears (3-0) to a 78-39 victory Monday night at the Ferrell Center.
            "My guards made it very easy for me in the paint to get easy baskets," said Egbo, who set a career-best 11-of-12 from the floor. "Definitely can't take anything away from them, they made my life a lot better tonight. So, all credit to my guards."
            Sophomore guard Sarah Andrews, who joined Egbo in the postgame press conference, responded quickly, "I appreciate it."
            "Obviously, Nalyssa was a focus. There were three people around her most of the night," first-year head coach Nicki Collen said of the reigning Wade Trophy winner. "There are times when you have to manufacture points. I thought there were times when we weren't really able to post and get the ball inside, and other times where they collapsed and we needed to step up and make shots."
            Despite being double-teamed, and even triple-teamed at times, Smith still had her second-straight double-double. Baylor's inside dominance produced a 42-8 edge in points in the paint and a 35-24 rebounding advantage, scoring second-chance points against the Privateers (0-2).
            "Our coach has been emphasizing paint touches and getting the ball into the paint when we're open," Egbo said. "I definitely feel like our guards came into this game more open-minded, and they just understood that we do have the advantage in the post. And if we do get double-teamed, like we were tonight, we'll kick it back out to the guards."
            Baylor shot 54% overall, hitting 30-of-56 from the floor overall and 6-of-22 from outside the 3-point arc.
            Up by just two 7 ½ minutes into the game, Baylor finished the first quarter with six-straight points by Smith to take a 23-15 lead and extended that to 40-21 at the half. The Bears held the Privateers to six points in the second and third quarters and held them to 33% shooting for the game (13-of-40).
            "This was just one of those games where we have to be better coming out of the gate," Collen said. "We didn't start the game with enough energy. It sounds crazy, but (New Orleans' 15 first-quarter points) is a lot. I felt like we didn't impose our will early enough."
            After giving up 15 points in the first 7 ½ minutes, the Bears allowed just 24 combined over the last 32-plus minutes and scored 27 points off the Privateers' 25 turnovers.
            Andrews turned in a highlight-reel moment late in the third quarter, when she grabbed a defensive rebound, ran the floor and threw a perfect bounce pass to Alabama grad transfer Jordan Lewis for a fast-break layup. That was part of a 10-0 run over the last six minutes of the period that pushed Baylor's lead to 59-27.
            "I think I know where a lot of our team wants the ball," said Andrews, who is averaging 11.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. "I'm growing as a point guard, and I'm always thinking a play ahead. I'm thinking about how I can get the next person an open shot."
            Brianna Ellis and Jomyra Mathis had 16 and 14 points, respectively, combining to score 30 of New Orleans' 39 points. The Privateers have been outscored, 209-75, in their first two games, opening with a 131-36 loss at Texas last Tuesday.
            Senior forward Caitlin Bickle came off the bench to score 10 points and grab five rebounds for the Bears. Ja'Mee Asberry, a grad transfer from Oklahoma State, missed her first seven shots before hitting a floater in the lane and a 3-pointer from the wing to finish with five points, three assists and two steals.
            Collen said Asberry didn't catch it "ready to shoot it at all."
            "I think as a point guard, I have to find her in the right spots just to get her going," Andrews said of Asberry, who has shot 29.2% from 3-point range (7-of-24). "This was just an off night. But overall, I know the next game, she's going to come back on fire."
            In the first real test of the season, Baylor goes on the road to face third-ranked Maryland (3-0) at noon CST Sunday in College Park, Maryland, in a game that will be streamed by the Big Ten Network.