Baylor
Oklahoma
No. 14 WBB Returns to Action with a Top-25 Matchup at No. 23 Oklahoma
1/11/2022 5:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears to play first game in 10 days
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14/13 BAYLOR BEARS (10-3, 0-1) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (10-3, 0-1) at OKLAHOMA (13-2, 2-1) January 12, 2022 • 6 p.m. CT Norman, Okla. • Lloyd Noble Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma Talent: Chad McKee (pxp), Dan Hughes (analyst) LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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23/25 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (13-2, 2-1) Location: Norman, Okla. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Jennie Baranczyk (Iowa, 2004) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Maybe the toughest thing about 14th-ranked Baylor's COVID pause is the fact that the Bears (10-3, 0-1) have been sitting with a loss for the last 10 days.
"That's all I thought about most of the quarantine was just what we could change, watching film and trying to help us go on," said senior All-American forward NaLyssa Smith (20.4 ppg, 12.6 rebounds), who's third in scoring and first in rebounds in the Big 12 going into Wednesday's 6 p.m. game at No. 23 Oklahoma (13-2, 2-1).
For first-year head coach Nicki Collen, who also "stewed over" a 74-68 overtime loss to Michigan going into a 10-day Christmas break, the positive of the COVID pause following a 68-59 loss at Kansas State was "at least everyone got it at the same time."
"It's not this situation where you lose two this day and three this day," Collen said, "because going to K-State with seven (players) was really difficult mentally when you're putting seven on the plane. We had more managers than players, and some of those players not feeling well."
Baylor doesn't exactly get to ease back in, either. In their first game in 10 days, the Bears face an Oklahoma team that is ranked second nationally in scoring (87.9 ppg) and has one of the most prolific duos in the country in 5-11 seniors Taylor Robertson (19.1 ppg, 3.6 assists) and Madi Williams (18.4 ppg, 8.4 rebounds).
"People are going to say they're offensively driven, and they certainly are," Collen said. "Top five in the country in scoring, top five in the country in pace. They want to outscore you. . . . If you're going to play with great pace and create a lot of possessions, then you can't establish a points-per-game marker. They're holding teams to 39% shooting. A lot of that is because, if you play their pace, you take shots that are sometimes out of rhythm."
Much like Collen following Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey, first-year OU coach Jennie Baranczyk steps in for Sherri Coale, a Hall of Fame coach who led the Sooners to 17-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and three Final Fours in a 25-year run.
A former Big 12 assistant at Kansas State and Colorado, Baranczyk won 192 games and made six postseason appearances in a nine-year stint as the head coach at Drake.
"They're a team with a new coach that is playing a style that they're having fun with," Collen said.
With a new coach and five new players on a shorthanded 10-player roster, Baylor is still trying to connect better as a team. While senior All-American forward NaLyssa Smith ranks in the top three in the Big 12 in scoring and rebounding, Collen is still trying to get more consistent production from guards Jordan Lewis (12.5 ppg), Sarah Andrews (11.0 ppg) and Ja'Mee Asberry (9.3 ppg).
"When you have the best player in the country on your team, sometimes you get too uber-focused on making sure she gets touches," Collen said. "We've got to make the right play. And the right play may very well be to go to NaLyssa early and often. But, there's a reason why Ja'Mee scored 17 points a game last year in the Big 12, and it wasn't a lack of confidence. There's a reason why Jordan is in the record books at Alabama."
When Smith was held to 12 points in the loss at K-State, hitting just 4-of-12 from the field, the guards couldn't pick up the slack.
"I think it's finding that chemistry between all of us," said Lewis, who averaged a career-high 17.0 points last year at Alabama. "Coach Nicki said it every day: 'I don't think we've had our best game yet.' We have one person shoot the ball well, or Lys will have a big game, or somebody else will have a big game. But, I don't think we've collectively put together our best show yet."
In the loss to K-State, Smith said the Wildcats caught them off guard with a zone defense.
"Now we know what to do when the zone comes, so I'm thankful for that loss. It taught us a lot of things," she said. "The show goes on. We've got to keep going from here. You can't dwell on a loss, because it's just going to make things worse. We've got to find things to fix and keep moving on. We've got to keep playing."
With last week's home games against TCU and Texas postponed, Baylor will start league play with three-straight road games, playing Kansas (10-2, 1-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Lawrence.
In a schedule released Tuesday by the conference office, the Bears will make up the two home games with matchups against Texas on Feb. 4 and TCU on Feb. 16.
"I think the pause just takes you back to reality for a second, like there's bigger things going on in the world," Lewis said. "Speaking for myself, you just reflect on that you have to give your all every day. The first day that we got back to practice, we were all so excited to be back and just see each other smile again."
BACK AT IT
• After a COVID pause last week, the Bears return to play this week at No. 23 Oklahoma.
• The last time out, BU dropped its Big 12 opener on the road at Kansas State, 68-59.
• Tuesday afternoon, the Big 12 announced schedule adjustments for Baylor women's basketball with three home games in February. BU will face Texas on Friday, Feb. 4, Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 9, and TCU on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith leads the country with 11 double-doubles on the season. Keep in mind, the Bears have only played 13 games. The senior recorded 11-straight double-doubles.
• During the streak, Smith has five games with a minimum of 15 rebounds. She leads the Big 12 in rebounds per game (12.6).
• Smith is tied for seventh in Baylor history with 34 career double-doubles alongside Lauren Cox (2016-20) and LaNita Luckey (1988-92).
LET IT FLY
• The calendar hadn't even flipped to December yet before the Bears tied for second in program history with 13 3-pointers made in their blowout win over Morehead State (11/30).
• Baylor's program record for triples made came on Dec. 18, 2019 against Arkansas State when Juicy Landrum caught fire and set an NCAA record with 14 triples. Besides that record-setting performance, BU hadn't drained more than a dozen shots from deep since 2011.
• BU's record for 3-point attempts in a season came in 2013-14 when the Bears attempted 596 3s.
• From that season to 2020-21, Baylor made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game only five times across a total of 281 games (1.78 percent).
• This season alone - in Nicki Collen's new offensive system - the Bears are letting it fly from the perimeter.
• Prior to this season, ony 14 Bears had made six or more 3s in a game. Two of them had done it multiple times (Makenzie Robertson, 2012, 2014) and Jennifer King (1990, 1991, 1993).
• Sarah Andrews and Ja'Mee Asberry have already joined the club this season. Andrews went 6-for-8 against Morehead State from deep and Asberry fired off 6-of-8 against Alcorn State.
CLUB 17K
• Jordan Lewis surpassed the 1,700 career-points mark in Baylor's win over Alcorn State. The sixth-year graduate transfer left Alabama as the Crimson Tide's fifth all-time leader in assists (510) and ninth all-time leader with 1,581 points.
• Lewis is No. 16 among active players for most points scored in her career with 1,743. She's third among active players with 574 career assists.
