Baylor
West Virginia
No. 10 WBB Hosts Annual Play4Kay Game vs. West Virginia
2/11/2022 5:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears are 9-1 at home vs. the Mountaineers
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10/11 BAYLOR BEARS (18-5, 8-3) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (18-5, 8-3) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (11-10, 4-7) February 12, 2022 • 5 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (pxp), Jim Haller (analyst), Brooke Bednarz (reporter) LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (11-10, 4-7) Location: Morgantown, W. Va. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mike Carey (Salem, 1980) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Coming off arguably their most complete game of the season, the 10th-ranked Baylor women (18-5, 8-3) host a West Virginia team (11-10, 4-7) that took No. 12 Oklahoma to double-overtime just seven days ago.
Until Wednesday's 95-50 drubbing of Kansas State, the Bears' best game under first-year head coach Nicki Collen might have been an 87-54 beatdown of West Virginia two weeks ago in Morgantown.
"When we played them up there, we got anything we wanted in transition, off our pick-and-rolls," said Collen, whose team will play the return game with the Mountaineers at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
"They tried to go zone, and we hit a 3, then we hit another 3, and they got out of their zone. We were just good from the beginning, set the tone and (KK) Deans went down."
Losing Deans in the first quarter of that Jan. 29 game in Morgantown was a tough blow for a West Virginia team that was already struggling this year. The junior guard was averaging a team-high 14.5 points and 3.7 assists before suffering the season-ending ACL injury.
"I think it's hurt them that KK Deans is out for the season. She was someone who could really create shots," Collen said. "It's put more pressure on (JJ) Quinerly, it's put more pressure on Madisen Smith. But, they're going to defend, they're really physical. And if they can turn you over, they can play with anybody."
The Mountaineers proved that last Saturday when they took OU to double-overtime on the road. Former Xavier transfer Ari Gray had 25 points, Smith and Jayla Hemingway each knocked down four 3-pointers and 6-1 senior forward Kari Niblack had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
"I think West Virginia has shown really good glimpses, even since Deans has gone down," Collen said. "They had the game won (against OU). I shouldn't say they had it won, but they had the lead and the ball in two different situations, and darn Taylor Robertson hit three free throws to put it into overtime and hit a 3 to put it into double-overtime."
In the first matchup against West Virginia, Baylor's inside duo of NaLyssa Smith (20.9 ppg, 11.2 rebounds) and Queen Egbo (10.3 ppg, 8.2 rebounds) combined to hit 19-of-22 from the floor and scored 20 points apiece.
"They're really physical on defense, so they're definitely going to be in our guards' shorts," Egbo said. "The posts are going to be bumping and hitting us and trying not to allow anything easy. But, we played really well up there offensively. It's definitely an opportunity to expand that and continue to play well offensively and build on our defense as well."
Hard to imagine that the Bears can improve on Wednesday's performance against K-State. After losing to the Wildcats in Manhattan (68-59), Baylor dominated the boards, 43-23, shot 57% from the field and hit 11-of-19 from outside the arc while holding K-State to 32.7% shooting.
Jordan Lewis (12.0 ppg, 5.3 assists) and Sarah Andrews (12.6 ppg, 4.0 assists) each hit five 3-pointers and scored 24 and 19 points, while Smith and Egbo combined for 41 points and 23 boards.
"I thought our balance was good. I thought our effort was really, really good," Collen said. "Our game plan was way better. With the physical situation we were in when we played up there, we couldn't have played the way we played today. Doesn't mean we couldn't have gone up there and won, but we couldn't play with that intensity, that on-ball pressure, denial and pace. We had no pace whatsoever at Kansas State."
Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, former Baylor men's basketball coach Jim Haller and Brooke Bednarz calling the action. The late game is part of a doubleheader with the 10th-ranked Baylor men, who host No. 20 Texas at 11 a.m.
SHARE THE SUGAR
• Baylor took down Kansas State by 45 points due to a total team effort on Wednesday night. The Bears assisted on 30 of 35 made field goals.
• The Bears nearly had four players log 20+ points in a game for the first time in program history - Jordan Lewis 24, NaLyssa Smith 22, Queen Egbo 19 and Sarah Andrews 19.
• Egbo had a monster performance with 16 boards in addition to her 19 points. The senior also played exceptional defense, helping hold K-State's leading scorer to only eight points.
TEXAS TWO STEP
• Baylor became the first team since 1999 to defeat a ranked opponent twice in three days as the Bears took down then-ranked No. 13 Texas, 75-63 (2/4) and 63-55 (2/6).
• NaLyssa Smith combined to put up 53 points off 21-of-30 (70%) shooting from the floor and a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the free-throw line as well as pull down 21 rebounds.
• BU never trailed in the first contest between the rivals on 2/4. The Bears started fast with an eight-point advantage after the first quarter and never looked back. Baylor scored 25 points off 20 Texas turnovers.
• It was a different beginning but the same result in the second game as the Bears got off to a sluggish start, only making seven field goals in the first half for 18 points. Baylor came out of the half and made their first 10 shots of the third quarter to come from as many as 10 points down in the third to secure the eight-point victory.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith is fifth in the country with 15 double-doubles on the season.
• Smith is fourth in program history with 43 career double-doubles. She's six away from tying Maggie Davis-Stinnett (1986-89, 1990-91)
• The senior is averaging 20.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game which ranks No. 11 and No. 14 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 five times this season.
• At Kansas, Baylor nearly set a record with a 14-for-29 display from the perimeter. BU's 14 treys marked the second most in program history.
• 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.
• Jordan Lewis joined the club with her 6-of-7 performance against Iowa State.
