15/16 BAYLOR BEARS (12-4, 2-2) Location: Waco,Texas  Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)	BAYLOR (12-4, 2-2) vs. IOWA STATE (16-2, 5-1) January 23, 2022 • 2 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN2 Talent: Beth Mowins (pxp), Deb Antonelli (analyst) LISTEN: ESPN 1660AM, 92.3FM, BaylorBears.com  Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:
	7/7 IOWA STATE CYCLONES (16-2, 5-1) Location: Ames, Iowa Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Bill Fennelly (William Penn, 1979) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider 
            Just a few years back, there was crazy talk about a "new sheriff in town" while Baylor was in the midst of winning 11-consecutive Big 12 championships. 
            Now, the 15^th-ranked Bears (12-4, 2-2) actually find themselves in the rare position of underdogs when they host seventh-ranked Iowa State (16-2, 5-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center. 
            The Cyclones were off to their best start in school history before Wednesday's 66-48 loss to No. 14/15 Texas when sisters Ashley and Aubrey Joens were both out for Big 12 health and safety protocols. They have already knocked off two ranked teams on the road, including an 81-71 win at Oklahoma that is still the Sooners' only conference loss. 
            "Besides (Lexi) Donarski and (Emily) Ryan and a couple of those freshmen, they've had that squad for a really long time," said Baylor senior forward Caitlin Bickle, who is averaging a career-high 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.
            "Obviously, when you have that consistency throughout four years, there's no choice but to get better every single year. So, I'm not shocked at all considering the way they finished last year in the tournament and how they've come out this year. They're definitely solid."
            Bickle has also seen Iowa State win two of the last three meetings with Baylor, including last year's 75-71 upset in Waco. The Bears still lead the all-time series, 31-9, and have won 16 of 18 matchups in the Ferrell Center. 
            "We've been going up against them for four years, so I know a lot of the girls on the team," Bickle said. "You always want to win, as simple as that. It's not like we don't like each other or anything like that, but you always want to go out there and win and prove that you're the better team."
            A two-time unanimous All-Big 12 pick, Ashley Joens ranks in the top three in the league in scoring (20.3) and rebounds (9.5). In last year's two games against Baylor, she scored a combined 52 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and was 17-of-20 from the line. 
            Collen said one of the keys in containing the Cyclones is to get them in "jump-shot mode" and going "two-by-two-by-two" and "not them get hot from the 3." Donarski (15.6 ppg) and Ryan (11.2 ppg) both average double-digit points and sophomore guard Aubrey Joens (9.4 ppg) is third on the team in 3-pointers made with 46. 
            "People don't respect the fact that one of the things they do best, and they did really well against Baylor last year, is they put their head down and go," Collen said. "In the midst of covering up the perimeter and worrying about screens and flares, Emily Ryan's going to straight-line drive you to the rim and spin off you. . . . You don't want to give up 3's, but you certainly don't want to give up layups all night."
            After opening league play with back-to-back losses, Baylor has bounced back to win its last two, including beating Oklahoma State, 67-49, on Wednesday night in its first conference home game of the year and just the second home game in six weeks. 
            Two games back of league leaders Iowa State and Oklahoma (16-2, 5-1), Collen said the Bears have to "control what's in front of us" and go into every game with a 1-0 mentality. 
            "We just have to go and do what we need to do to beat Iowa State," she said. "After that, you start preparing for the next game, and the standings will take care of themselves. Whether they're first or last in the standings, we've got to go 1-0. The thing is, anyone can beat anyone in this league. So, we're not taking the last-place team (for granted), because a week ago we were the last-place team. And I'm pretty sure nobody took us lightly."
            Already shorthanded, Baylor is down to eight scholarship players and a nine-player roster after former Penn State transfer Kamaria McDaniel left the program this week. She averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game and hadn't played significant minutes since a 68-59 loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 opener. 
            Collen said junior guard Jaden Owens (1.5 ppg, 1.5 rebounds) will have to take on a bigger role as "the one guard off the bench that has played in some of these games." 
            "I don't think it changes what our rotation ahs been the last few games," Collen said, "but certainly disappointed (McDaniel) didn't feel like this was the right place for her and wish her well, with whatever decision she chooses to make going forward."
            Sunday's game will be broadcast by ESPN2 with Beth Mowins and Deb Antonelli calling the action. 
 

WELCOME HOME
• Baylor played its first home game in three weeks on Wednesday and picked up an 18-point victory over the visiting Cowgirls.
• Queen Egbo led the way with 19 points as she became the 39th member of Baylor's 1,000-career point club. 
• NaLyssa Smith put up a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
• After a 3-point barrage at Kansas, the Bears showed they wouldn't live or die by the 3. Instead, they took what the defense gave them as BU scored nearly half of its points in the paint (32).
• Jordan Lewis took over in the second half, attacking the rim off ball screens. The senior put up 13 points to go with seven assists.
• Ja'Mee Asberry, who transferred from Oklahoma State, was honored prior to tipoff on Wednesday for joining the 1,000-point club.

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 Asberry 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 second in the country with 13 double-doubles on the season. 
• Smith is fifth in program history with 41 career double-doubles.
• The senior is averaging 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game which ranks No. 16 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.

QUICK HITS
• With its win over Missouri on Saturday, Baylor is 5-1 in Big 12/SEC Challenge games.
• For the first time since Dec. 19, 2020, Baylor held an opponent to under 30 total points (24, McNeese State) against Morehead State. It also marked the first time since that game that BU held an opponent to four single-digit scoring quarters.
• Jordan Lewis and NaLyssa Smith, along with 28 others, were named candidates for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes a senior NCAA Division I player who demonstrates excellence in the community, the classroom, character and competition.
• Smith was named the Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 19 points and 15.3 points per game through three games in Mexico.
• Baylor went 3-0 in the Cancun Challenge, playing three games in three days over Thanksgiving break. Smith, Lewis and Queen Egbo were named to the 2021 Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team. Smith was also named the Division's MVP.
• No. 6 Baylor had a shot to send the game to overtime in the final seconds, but the 3-pointer from the left wing barely missed to give No. 3 Maryland the 79-76 win. The Terps led, 76-65, with 2:45 left in the game. Lewis answered with six-straight points, and Smith added a bucket with 1:30 to play. Then it was Lewis again with 38 seconds remaining with a 3-pointer to cut Maryland's lead to three. Baylor's defense got the stop without fouling on the other end to set up the chance for the tie.
• A second-half surge propelled the Bears to a 27-point win on the road over UT Arlington for BU's second game in three days to open the season. Baylor led the Lady Mavs by six at the half before holding the home team to a total of 22 points in the second half. Smith became the first Big 12 player of the season to record a 20/10 performance that game, while Ja'Mee Asberry hit five triples. Caitlin Bickle had an all-around game for Baylor as she finished with seven points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a couple of charges.
• BU opened the Nicki Collen era with a win over Texas State. 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.