Baylor
Missouri
No. 5 WBB Readies for Big 12/SEC Challenge vs. Missouri
12/3/2021 4:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears face Mizzou for first time since 2012
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5/7 BAYLOR BEARS (7-1) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (7-1) vs. MISSOURI (8-0) December 4, 2021 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPNU Talent: Courtney Lyle (pxp), Carolyn Peck (analyst) LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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NR/NR MISSOURI TIGERS (8-0) Location: Columbia, Mo. Conference/Affiliation: SEC Head Coach: Robin Pingeton (St. Ambrose, 1990) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Looking through film on the Missouri Tigers (8-0), fifth-ranked Baylor's opponent for Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge, Nicki Collen found a team that she was "very familiar with what they do and what they're looking for."
That's because this year's Tigers under head coach Robin Pingeton look a lot like the Missouri teams Collen remembered facing as an assistant at Arkansas eight and nine years ago.
"They were always going to shoot 3's and run motion," said Collen, who went 4-0 versus Missouri as an assistant under her husband, then-Arkansas head coach Tom Collen. "Aijha Blackwell is just the wildcard in that she does a little bit of everything. But, they've always had a (Hayley) Frank, they've always had a (Lauren) Hansen, they've always had a (Haley) Troup."
In likely their best test since a 79-76 loss at then-No. 3 Maryland, the Bears (7-1) are facing a hot Missouri team that's off to its best start since winning its first 13 in 2015-16. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center, where Baylor has won 63-consecutive non-conference home games since falling to No. 1-ranked UConn, 66-55, on Jan. 13, 2014.
"They're coming in here confident because they're 8-0, so it's a good challenge for us," Collen said. "It's the first game like this we've gotten on our home court. Hopefully, we can get a big crowd and people get excited. It's an ESPNU game. I think it's going to be a good challenge. I just this team needs that. We needed to see where we are."
One thing Collen knows for sure is that Missouri will shoot 3-pointers from every position on the floor. In fact, the 6-1 Frank is the only forward listed in the Tigers' starting lineup and leads them with 20 made 3-pointers.
"They get going when they make 3's," said Collen, whose team is firing up 3-pointers as well, making 52-of-165. "They're going to get an offensive rebound and kick it out to the arc. They're best when they get to double-digit 3's. You have to make them take tough 2's, and you've got to take the 3-point line away from Missouri."
Ja'Mee Asberry, a grad transfer guard from Oklahoma State, said the key is to "close out on them."
"Shooters want to catch the ball, they want their feet set," she said. "But, if you get them out of that (it messes them up) unless you're Steph Curry. Then, you can shoot it falling down. But, other than that, you just have to get them out of rhythm."
Even Baylor's inside duo of NaLyssa Smith (19.3 ppg, 13.1 rebounds) and Queen Egbo (10.9 ppg, 8.3 rebounds) will have to defend 3-point shooters.
Sophomore guard Sarah Andrews (10.9 ppg, 4.4 assists) said Baylor's "bigs are mobile."
"You've seen our bigs be able to get out and guard from the past," Andrews said. "I have confidence that they can do that. I go against Lys and Queen every day in practice. I think we can guard anybody, honestly."
Through the first three days, the SEC leads the challenge, 4-0, with wins by Kentucky, Georgia, LSU and top-ranked South Carolina. Oklahoma faces Mississippi State on Saturday, while it wraps up with four games on Sunday – Florida-TCU, Oklahoma State-Auburn, Vanderbilt-Kansas and Texas versus Texas A&M.
Andrews hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points in Tuesday's 73-28 win over Morehead State, but said, "that was just a little bit of what I have to give."
"I've got to much more left in the bag," she said. "I'm more than just a shooter. I've got more to prove on Saturday. It's the Big 12/SEC Challenge, so I'm going to show up and show out."
Baylor dominated the series against Missouri when they were Big 12 Conference rivals, holding a 16-5 lead overall and 9-1 in Waco. But, they haven't played since 2012, when the Tigers moved to the SEC.
Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPNU, with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck calling the action.
BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE
• For the first time since 2012, No. 5 Baylor will take on Missouri. The old Big 12 foes square off at 7PM on ESPNU as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
• The Bears are 16-5 against the Tigers. BU has won six of the last seven meetings against Mizzou and is 9-1 at home.
• This is BU's sixth Big 12/SEC Challenge contest. The Bears are 4-1 in these games: 88-66 at Tennessee (12/4/16), 90-63 vs. Kentucky (11/30/17), 94-69 at South Carolina (12/2/18), 72-38 vs. Georgia (12/4/19) and 78-83 at Arkansas (12/6/20).
• This is the eighth Big 12/SEC Challenge and the sixth time there's been at least eight games in the event. The Big 12 won the Challenge in 2019, while the SEC won in 2016 and 2020. The conferences tied in the other four seasons. Since 2016, the format has consisted of 10 scheduled games with each conference having five home games.
HOME COURT DOMINANCE
• Baylor returned home for its first game in the Ferrell Center in more than two weeks and went to work.
• Sarah Andrews had a career-high 20 points. The sophomore guard started out 6-for-6 from the perimeter and finished 6-for-8 on the night, a career-high in 3-point makes.
• Queen Egbo recorded a career-high 16 rebounds and tied her career-best with four assists.
• Egbo (11 points, 16 rebounds) and NaLyssa Smith (10 points, 11 rebounds) became the first Baylor teammates to record double-doubles in the same game since March 24, 2021 when Egbo (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Moon Ursin (12 points, 10 rebounds) did so against West Virginia.
• For the first time since Dec. 19, 2020, Baylor held an opponent to under 30 total points (24, McNeese State). Tuesday also marked the first time since that game that BU held an opponent to four single-digit scoring quarters
• The Bears went 13-for-29 from the 3-point line. Both of those numbers are season highs, as was BU's 44.8 percentage from the perimeter.
• The total of 13 3-pointers is tied for second in program history for 3-pointers made and marks the first time since Jan. 3, 2018, that the Bears made at least 12 triples in a game.• BU held Morehead State to 20 percent shooting from the floor. That's the lowest field-goal percentage defense by the Bears since holding Texas to 24.6 percent on Feb. 14, 2021.
• For the second time this season, Baylor held an opponent to less than 20 points in the second half with 11 (18, New Orleans).
• For the first time since March 23, 2021, Baylor held an opponent to 20 points or fewer in the first half with 17 (20, Virginia Tech).
