Baylor
Morehead State
No. 5 WBB Returns Home to Host Morehead State
11/29/2021 5:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears coming off 3-0 showing in Cancun Challenge
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BAYLOR BEARS (6-1) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (6-1) vs. MOREHEAD STATE (1-4) November 30, 2021 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (pxp), Jim Haller (Analyst) LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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MOREHEAD STATE (1-4) Location: Morehead, Ky. Conference/Affiliation: OVC Head Coach: Cayla Petree (Texas Tech, 2004) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Coming off three-straight double-digit wins at the Cancun Challenge, the fifth-ranked Baylor women (6-1) will be back in the Ferrell Center to face Morehead State (1-4) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"Honestly, we're tired," first-year head coach Nicki Collen said. "I didn't even play, but I feel tired today. I like the fact that we're playing on Tuesday, can take a day off and have two good prep days for Missouri. . . . This is just one of those games where, regardless of the opponent, we've got to show up and compete on every possession and work to get better."
Since a 79-76 loss at third-ranked Maryland nine days ago, "we've grown a lot," said senior All-American forward NaLyssa Smith, who was named the Cancan Challenge Mayan Division MVP and Big 12 Player of the Week. Smith had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in Saturday's 74-58 win over Houston.
"We're finally starting to gel and realize the potential that we do have as a team," said Smith, who is averaging 20.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. "Our defense is getting better, the offense is getting better, passing into the post is more efficient, our guards are shooting the ball better. When you take a loss, you have to look at as a lesson and learn from all those mistakes we did have."
After missing all seven of her shots from the field in the first half against Houston, the 6-foot-4 senior forward scored 18 second-half points, making 6-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line.
"I feel like I just have to get out of my head," Smith said. "When I did see that I was 0-for-7, I was like, 'Nah, this isn't me.' I knew I had to turn it up, and I knew I couldn't finish a game like that. My parents were in the stands, so I heard them the whole time."
Similarly, 6-3 senior center Queen Egbo bounced back from an 0-for-9 shooting performance in a 68-45 win over Fordham to score in double-digits the next two games against Arizona State and Houston. Egbo gives the Bears a third double-digit scorer, averaging 10.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Collen, who met with Egbo for an hour after Baylor's opening game in Cancun, said she was trying to "get her to understand she can impact the game" on both ends of the floor.
"We're not going to stop throwing her the ball, even if she misses," Collen said. "She's a big part of what we're trying to do. But, she can impact the game at the defensive end. I've challenged her since I took the job, I firmly believe Queen could be the National Defensive Player of the Year, if she wants to be."
Egbo said the meeting was "just more so clarifying what she expects from me."
"Just hearing and seeing what she wants me to do kind of opened up my eyes and gave me a clearer thought and just a clearer focus," she said. "She was real honest and blunt and straightforward, and I needed that."
Grad transfer Jordan Lewis from Alabama has dished out a team-high 4.6 assists per game and is second in scoring at 14.3 while shooting 35.5% from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Sarah Andrews is averaging 9.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, while grad transfer Ja'Mee Asberry has hit a team-high 12 3-pointers and chips in with a 7.7-point scoring average.
"I just think it takes times for players to understand where their teammates want the ball and when they want it," Collen said. "I thought we did a good job against Houston of sustaining kind of a down half for NaLyssa, and did enough to take the lead going into halftime. And then, when (Smith) got it going, obviously, we were kind of rolling there in the third quarter."
On a roster loaded with transfers, Morehead State is led by redshirt junior Lauren Carter (13.3 ppg, 8.8 rebounds) and 5-7 senior guard Terri Smith (11.4 ppg), who transferred from Campbell and Southeast Missouri, respectively.
First-year head coach Cayla Petree, a former Texas Tech player who has amassed more than 250 victories at the junior college and Division II level, picked up her first win at Morehead State on Nov. 21 when the Eagles defeated Midway (Ky.), 72-53.
Tuesday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball head coach Jim Haller calling the action.
The Bears will host Missouri (7-0) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center, a game that will be televised nationally by ESPNU.
SUN. SAND ... AND HOOPS
• No. 6 Baylor went 3-0 in the Cancun Challenge, playing three games in three days over Thanksgiving break.
• NaLyssa Smith, Jordan Lewis and Queen Egbo were named to the 2021 Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team. Smith was also named the Division's MVP.
• BU trailed at the half to Fordham but came out of the break shooting 55 percent from the floor the rest of the way to take the 23-point win.
• The Bears got out to a better start against Arizona State, but the Sun Devils rallied in the fourth quarter. Baylor only took nine shots from the perimeter against ASU because the Bears found success attacking the basket, doubling up Arizona State in the paint (36-18).
• Houston held a three-point lead after the opening quarter in the final game of the Cancun Challenge, but Baylor's stifling defense propelled the Bears to a 19-0 run that spanned nearly 10 minutes. Smith nearly had a 20-20 game, finishing with 21 points and a career-best 19 rebounds. In the second half alone, Smith put up 18 points and 10 boards in 14 minutes.
• Since 1995, the Bears have played in 12 tournaments outside the continental US. Baylor has played in Hawaii three times, Puerto Rico once, Mexico twice, the Bahamas four times and the US Virgin Islands twice. In those tournaments, BU is a combined 25-4.
SMITH NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• NaLyssa Smith picked up Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Monday after averaging 19 points and 15.3 rebounds through three games in Mexico.
• Smith is one of four student-athletes in the country who is averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds on the season: Kansas State's Ayoka Lee (24.7 ppg/11.3 rpg), Michigan's Naz Hillmon (21.8 ppg/10.0 rpg), Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kittley (20.6 ppg/10.3 rpg) and Smith (20.6 ppg/13.4 rpg).
