Baylor
#19 Maryland
No. 17 WBB Hosts Maryland in Top-20 Matchup Sunday
11/19/2022 4:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sunday’s contest is first top-20 matchup in the Ferrell Center this season
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BAYLOR BEARS (3-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (2nd season) Roster | Game Notes (PDF) |
NO. 19 MARYLAND (3-1) vs. NO. 17 BAYLOR (3-0) November 20, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: Pete Sousa (PxP), Jim Haller (Analyst) LISTEN: Learfield / 104.9 FM in Central Texas and on the Varsity Network App. Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Sophia Young-Malcom (Analyst) |
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MARYLAND TERRAPINS (3-1) Location: College Park, Maryland Conference/Affiliation: Big Ten Head Coach: Brenda Frese (21st season) Roster | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor will take a big step up in competition when the 17th-ranked Bears (3-0) wrap up a four-game home stand with a matchup against No. 19 Maryland (3-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center.
After winning its first two games by a combined 67 points, Baylor hung on to beat SMU, 58-55, on Tuesday when freshman Bella Fontleroy drained a corner 3-pointer with 1:07 left.
A Sweet 16 team each of the last two years, Maryland has had a roster turnover with nine new players, including Ivy League Player of the Year Abby Meyers from Princeton, all-conference transfers Lavender Biggs from Florida and Eliza Pinzan from USF and Vanderbilt leading scorer Brinae Alexander.
"This is another baseline," second-year Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said. "SMU was a step up from Incarnate Word and Maryland is certainly a step up from SMU. You need challenges. . . . Our freshmen are going to be tested. One thing about their team is they're not playing any freshmen. Most of the guys that are playing for them are returnees for them or kids with a ton of experience."
A Preseason All-Big Ten pick, 6-3 senior guard Diamond Miller is averaging a team-high 17.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She sat out last week's 81-56 loss to No. 1-ranked South Carolina after offseason knee surgery, but had 22 and 19 points, respectively, in wins over Fordham and Davidson.
The Terrapins basically run a five-guard lineup, but like Miller, most of their guards are 6-foot or taller other than the 5-8 Pinzan.
Despite a significant size disadvantage, 5-8 senior guard Jaden Owens said the Bears have to just "play our game."
"We're not as big overall as we were last year," said Owens, who is averaging 8.0 points and a Big 12-best 7.7 assists per game. "Just focusing on, if there's a switch situation, making sure that we know how to guard a bigger person. Each person brings something different every night, but size is our uncontrollable."
The Bears suffered a blow in Tuesday's game when Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell suffered an apparent leg injury. Blackwell was averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds through the first three games.
Collen said it will take a "group effort," depending on matchups to try to fill Blackwell's shoes.
"I don't think you replace 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds with one player," she said. "(Thursday) was Caitlin (Bickle's) first practice back, so kind of bittersweet. I was looking forward to playing those two together. But, I think she'll take the lion's share of her minutes as she works her way back."
Sarah Andrews (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rebounds) and Fontlery (11.0) are both averaging double-figure scoring. But as a whole, the Bears shot a dismal 28.0% from 3-point range (7-for-25) and 32.4% overall from the floor against SMU.
"There are going to be nights when we don't hit shots," Andrews said. "This just happened to be a night that we didn't hit shots."
Sunday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Pete Sousa and former Baylor men's basketball head coach Jim Haller calling the action.
Next up for the Bears is a trip to Estero, Fla., for the Gulf Coast Showcase, where they will face Saint Louis at 10 a.m. Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
Baylor broke a 13-game losing skid to SMU on Tuesday night with a 58-55 victory inside the Ferrell Center. The meeting was the first between the two programs since the 1995-96 season and just the third-ever game played between the two inside the Ferrell Center.
Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs finished with a career- and game-high 14 rebounds, including 12 defensive boards and 10 rebounds in the first half. She became the first Bear to secure 14 boards in a single game since Queen Egbo grabbed the same amount in last year's loss to South Dakota (3/20/22).
Junior Sarah Andrews reached double-figure scoring for the 21st time in her career, finishing with a team-high 13 points, while senior Jaden Owens continued to dish it out, recording a game-high seven assists to bring her season total to 23. Nationally, Owens ranks 10th in total assists while leading the Big 12 in the category. Additionally, her eight steals are tied for the second most in the conference.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Bella Fontleroy was tabbed the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday (Nov. 14) after averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and shooting 61.1% from the floor as the Bears picked up a pair of wins to start the year.
After a big performance in her debut, Fontleroy earned her first career start against Incarnate Word, finishing in double-digit scoring with 11 points, becoming the first Big 12 rookie to post back-to-back double-digit scoring games this season.
In Tuesday's win over SMU, the Springfield, Missouri, native sank a 3-pointer in the corner to give BU a five-point cushion with a minute to play as the Bears sealed the win.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland enters Sunday's contest with a 3-1 record after topping Davidson at home on Wednesday, 70-52, and Sunday's game starts a series of five road contests for the Terrapins.
The Terps are led by Brenda Frese, who is in her 21st season at Maryland. Current Baylor assistant coach Chloe Pavlech was a four-year letterwinner at Maryland from 2012-16, making two NCAA Final Four appearances with the Terps in 2014 and 2015.
Nine new players highlight the 2022-23 roster, including AP Honorable Mention All-American Abby Meyers (Princeton), All-SEC transfer Lavender Briggs (Florida), All-AAC transfer Elisa Pinzan (USF), SEC graduate transfer Brinae Alexander (Vanderbilt) and All-CAA transfer Allie Kubek (Towson). Briggs is 15 points away from reaching the 1,000-career points mark heading into Sunday's contest.
PROMOTIONS
The women's basketball team has partnered with South Waco Elementary for a coat drive this fall. Beginning with the Bears' season opener against Lamar, fans can bring a new or lightly used coat for kids, ages 5-13, to the marketing table on the concourse during home games from Nov. 7 to Dec. 7.
Tickets for Sunday's game are available at BaylorBears.com.
