WBB to Face West Texas A&M in Final Exhibition

Wednesday, November 3

Waco, Texas

7 PM

Baylor

West Texas A&M

WBB to Face West Texas A&M in Final Exhibition

11/2/2021 2:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Bears ready for final tune-up before Tuesday's season opener

	BAYLOR BEARS (0-0) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster \| Stats	BAYLOR (0-0) VS. WEST TEXAS A&M (0-0) November 3, 2021 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • The Ferrell Center (10,284) - EXHIBITION LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: N/A Talent: N/A LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (PBP), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:

	WEST TEXAS A&M LADY BUFFS (0-0) Location: Canyon, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Lone Star Head Coach: Josh Prock (Oklahoma, 2001) Roster \| Stats

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.

Trio of Bears Named to 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. 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 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 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.

New Faces
Nearly half the Baylor roster make their BU debut this season.

Transfers Lewis and Ja'Mee Asberry come in as sharpshooters from the perimeter after stellar careers at Alabama and Oklahoma State, respectively.

Freshman Kendra Gillispie will add some depth to the front court for the Bears, and freshman walk-on Andrea Katramados brings some offensive power of her own.

While senior Kamaria McDaniel was on the Baylor roster last season, the Penn State transfer missed the entire season due to injury. She is fully cleared and ready to add her All-Big Ten talent to the mix.

Let It Fly
Baylor has been toward the bottom in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting in years past. That won't be the case this season.

Keep track of Baylor's program records for 3-pointers made (210, 2016-17) and attempted (596, 2013-14) because those numbers are sure to fall.