Baylor
Oklahoma State
No. 5 WBB Hits the Road to Face Oklahoma State
2/22/2022 2:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears are 46-11 vs. the Cowgirls
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5/7 BAYLOR BEARS (21-5, 11-3) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (21-5, 11-3) at OKLAHOMA STATE (8-15, 3-11) February 23, 2022 • 6:30 p.m. CT Stillwater, Okla. • Gallagher Iba Arena LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: Mike Wolfe (pxp), Bryndon Manzer (analyst), Jessica Morrey (reporter) LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas, BaylorBears.com Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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OKLAHOMA STATE COWGIRLS (8-15, 3-11) 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
As the wins keep piling up and the Baylor women keep climbing up in the national polls, Queen Egbo believes "it just puts a bigger target on our back."
First-year head coach Nicki Collen, though, thinks that target has been "squarely on our back since the first day I stepped foot on campus here."
"I just think when you put Baylor across your chest, and the success this program has had, we always have a target on our back," said Collen, whose fifth-ranked Bears (21-5, 11-3) have won six in a row and 11 of their last 12 going into Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. game at Oklahoma State (8-15, 3-11).
"At this point, at the end of the season – whether it's to improve seeding or just pride, for that matter – we're going to get everybody's best effort. . . . whether we're at the top of the standings or the bottom."
Since an 0-2 start in league play, the Bears turned things turned around with an 82-79, come-from-behind road win over Kansas and moved from last to a tie for first with ninth-ranked Iowa State (22-4, 11-3) in a stretch that included back-to-back victories over then-No. 13 Texas and TCU.
"There's a different belief when you get used to winning, when you get used to being in close situations and getting over the hump," Collen said. "I think we just have a different belief in who we are and what we're doing."
Baylor ranks second in the league and 21st nationally with 12.8 turnovers per game and has had single-digit turnovers in each of the last three games.
"We're taking care of the basketball, that's what's separating us right now," Collen said. "From an offensive perspective, it doesn't always come down to that you're the most efficient team. But, if you get the most shots, that matters. We're not giving the other team points and doing a good job of getting shots on goal."
Another key has been the consistent play of Egbo (11.0 ppg, 8.7 rebounds), who has recorded four-straight double-doubles and had a combined 36 points and 25 rebounds in last week's wins over TCU.
"Obviously, we're a better team when we get the best version of Queen, when she stays out of foul trouble," Collen said. "It's not always scoring, but it's her defensive presence, it's her rebounding presence, which oftentimes goes hand in hand with her confidence at the offensive end. I think the better she is, the better we are."
Egbo has fouled out of three games this season and picked up technical fouls in both games against TCU, when she had emotional responses after blocked shots.
"I definitely have to control my emotions a little bit," Egbo said. "I think I was a little frustrated before that because of how they were playing me. And I feel like the refs don't protect the posts in that situation. They see what they're doing, but they don't really say anything. When I got that block, I was like, 'Aaaaagh!'''
In a 67-49 win over Oklahoma State five weeks ago, Egbo and 6-4 senior All-American NaLyssa Smith (21.3 ppg, 11.0 rebounds) combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds and helped the Bears outscore the Cowgirls, 32-14, in the paint.
OSU's leading scorer, Lauren Fields (16.5), missed the first meeting because of COVID health and safety protocols. She has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games this season and had 25 points in a 76-47 win over TCU.
"She's the head of the snake in terms of attacking," Collen said of Fields. "She's a player that can go get her own shot. Analytically, she's going to try to score at all three levels. She's streaky from 3, but can have big games from there. She's also one of their best defenders in terms of speed and physicality."
Wednesday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Mike Wolfe, Bryndon Manzer and Jessica Morrey calling the action.
Baylor closes out the regular season with home games against Kansas on Saturday and Texas Tech the following Sunday, March 6, with a road trip to Iowa State sandwiched between on Monday, Feb. 28, in Ames.
"We know what we're good at and we stick to it," Egbo said. "We don't try to play out of our character. We have guards who can score, posts who can score. We have posts who can defend, guards who can defend. So, pieces are really starting to come together for us."
DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Baylor's NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo have been on a tear the last six games. The duo has combined for 226 points while shooting 58.7 percent during that stretch.
• Smith is averaging 24.7 points these last six games to go with 9.7 rebounds and a 63.2 shooting percentage. The senior forward has also stretch her range with a 2-for-4 mark from 3.
• Egbo has a double-double in each of the last four games. During that time, she's averaging 17 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest.
SHARE THE SUGAR
• Baylor is No. 6 in the country - and second among Power 5 teams - with 64.3 percent of its buckets assisted on this season.
• Adding to that, the Bears are sixth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. The past three games, BU has committed eight or fewer turnovers.
• In Baylor's Big 12 wins this season, BU assists on 69.8 percent of its buckets. In their league losses, the Bears assist on 54.8 percent.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith is eighth in the country with 17 double-doubles on the season. That mark ties her for sixth in BU history for double-doubles in a single season.
• Smith is fourth in program history with 45 career double-doubles. She's four 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.
• Baylor - with 179 3s on the season - has the fourth-highest 3pointer total for a single season in program history.
