Baylor
Oklahoma State
No. 15 WBB Returns Home for First Time in Three Weeks
1/18/2022 4:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears host Cowgirls in Wednesday Night Showdown
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15/16 BAYLOR BEARS (11-4, 1-2) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (11-4, 1-2) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (6-8, 1-4) January 19, 2022 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris PBP), 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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OKLAHOMA STATE COWGIRLS (6-8, 1-4) Location: Stillwater, Okla. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Jim Littell (Southwestern, 1977) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Playing just its second home game in six weeks and first Big 12 home game in 10 months, 15th-ranked Baylor (11-4, 1-2) will host Oklahoma State (6-8, 1-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
"It'll just be good to be in a routine. I'm very routine-driven, admittedly," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen. "It's just nice to be back in here and be on that schedule where the game is at 7 and you know when you shoot, when you eat, all of that, without getting on an airplane with a parka to go somewhere."
Baylor had two home games postponed by health and safety protocols and lost road games at Kansas State and Oklahoma before scoring seven unanswered points in the last 14 seconds to defeat Kansas, 82-79, Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think the OU game was definitely a learning experience," said sophomore guard Sarah Andrews, who hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points. "I think since we had been in that position before, we came together as one and fought together till the end, because the game is not over until the clock hits zero."
After not being able to close out close games against Maryland, Michigan or Oklahoma, Collen said "there were huge strides in those late-game moments" against Kansas. Ja'Mee Asberry knocked down a second-chance 3-pointer to get the Bears within one, then hit a pair of free throws after stealing an inbounds pass.
"I think for us to finally get our first Big 12 win, that was a turning the page and a (new) chapter for us," said Andrews, who sealed it with a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left. "At the end of the day, we want to be playing our best basketball in March. We want to win a Big 12 championship, but we're going to play our best basketball in March."
Back at home for the first time since an 86-65 win over North Texas three weeks ago, the Bears face an Oklahoma State team that has lost two-straight and four of its last five.
The Cowgirls are led by 5-9 junior guard Lauren Fields (16.4 ppg) and 6-1 sophomore forward Taylen Collins (8.7 ppg, 6.8 rebounds). Sophomore guard Lexy Keys hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in a 57-55 win on the road at Texas Tech.
"Fields is a high-volume scorer, scores at all three levels. I think she has a lot of pressure on her as their only double-figure scorer," Collen said. "I think it's not letting them have a second scorer. Taylen Collins is really energetic and gets on the boards and can score around the rim."
This will be Asberry's first matchup against her former team. She played three years at OSU, averaging a career-best 17.0 points and 3.8 assists per game last season.
"I think Ja'Mee will come out like a firecracker. She'll be ready to play," Andrews said of Asberry, who has hit a team-best 37 3-pointers. "She's got a love for them, but at the end of the day she's a Baylor Bear now. She's going to want to beat them, and everybody is going to be behind her, ready to win."
Collen said Asberry helped with Monday's scouting report, sharing "the kinds of things that you know because you've been on the floor with them every day."
"It's those nuances that you can pick up on film, but aren't necessarily film-driven, especially with some of the players who haven't gotten as many minutes," Collen said. "She was like, 'No, she can shoot the 3. She hasn't, but she can.' I could tell there's definitely a little edge there, for sure."
Baylor will play its second-straight home game when the Bears face league-leading and seventh-ranked Iowa State (16-1, 5-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
"You can't stare at the standings, but you absolutely know that we can still control our destiny," Collen said. "We still have Iowa State twice, but you can't do that. You have to win the one in front of you before that even matters. So, it's about continuing to get better. It's about one game at a time. It's about winning the day each time you step out on the court."
Wednesday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball coach Jim Haller calling the action.
TIL THE CLOCK HITS ZERO
• Twenty seconds were left on the clock, and Kansas had a four-point lead inside Allen Fieldhouse. Jordan Lewis missed a runner, but Sarah Andrews corralled the offensive board and threw it to a wide open Ja'Mee Andrews on the perimeter who drained a 3-pointer to cut the KU lead to one with 12 seconds to go.
• Lewis then tipped KU's inbounds pass. Asberry intercepted it and was fouled. The junior didn't flinch at the line, hitting nothing but nylon to give the Bears a one-point lead with eight seconds left.
• Andrews took over on the defensive end and forced a miss by a Jayhawk. NaLyssa Smith went up and got the defensive board and threw it to Andrews who was fouled. The sophomore then went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe which gave BU a three-point lead.
• In Baylor's first Big 12 win of the season, the Bears assisted on 24 of 29 buckets - led by Lewis with 8 and Andrews with 6 - and scored 18 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.
• But it was the 14-for-29 display from the perimeter that stole the show. Baylor's 14 treys marked the second most in program history. Andrews and Asberry became the first BU teammates ever in program history to hit a minimum of six 3s each in the same game. Six makes for Asberry tied her career high, while Andrews set a new personal best with seven.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith is third in the country with 12 double-doubles on the season.
• Smith is tied for fifth in program history alongside Kalani Brown (2015-19) with 40 career double-doubles.
• The senior is averaging 20.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per game which ranks No. 13 and No. 4 in the country, respectively.
LET IT FLY
• 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). BU has done so three times this season.
• Prior to this year, only 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 that elite club this season. Andrews went 6-for-8 against Morehead State and from deep and Asberry fired off 6-of-8 against Alcorn State. Asberry then went 6-for-11 at Kansas, and Andrews set a career-high with a 7-for-10 mark.
• Andrews' seven 3s tied for third in program history. She is now one of six Bears in program history to hit a minimum of seven triples in a game.
• Andrews ranks 21st in the country with a 44.3 percentage from long range.
