Baylor
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Kansas
No. 5 WBB Hosts Kansas
2/25/2022 2:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears topped the Jayhawks, 82-79, in Lawrence in January
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5/7 BAYLOR BEARS (22-5, 12-3) Location: Waco,Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (22-5, 12-3) vs. KANSAS (19-6, 10-5) February 26, 2022 • 2 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris, Danielle Crockrom-Fontenot (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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KANSAS JAYHAWKS (19-6, 10-5) Location: Lawrence, Kan. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995) Roster | Stats (PDF) | Game Notes (PDF) |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Two programs that have been on opposite ends of the spectrum for most of the last decade, fifth-ranked Baylor (22-5, 12-3) and Kansas (19-6, 10-5) are much closer to equal footing going into Saturday's 2 p.m. game at the Ferrell Center.
The Jayhawks, who haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and '13, won their one and only Big 12 title in the first year of the league in 1997. But going into this weekend, they are one of five teams still mathematically alive in this year's title race.
"I just think they're a high-execution team," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team has won a season-high seven -straight and 12 of their last 13 games to move into a first-place tie with ninth-ranked Iowa State (23-4, 12-3). KU is tied for third in the league with Oklahoma and 20th-ranked Texas.
"They're executing on offense and guarding the heck out of people. They've got depth, big guards, they rotate a lot of people in the post. So, they've got good balance."
Junior guards Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin lead the Jayhawks with 14.0 and 11.7 points, respectively, while 6-6 center Taiyanna "Twin" Jackson is averaging 8.9 points and 8.2 rebound and ranks fourth nationally with a Big 12-leading 3.1 blocks per game.
"Franklin is having a heck of a year for them at point, Kersgieter just makes shots for them and attacks and defends. She's long and gets steals," Collen said. "I just think they've been playing really well. They've got shot-blocking with 'Twin.' They just have a little bit of everything, and they've got really good synergy, really good chemistry."
Kansas had a seven-game winning streak snapped with Wednesday's 85-59 loss at home to Iowa State. Kersgieter hit her scoring average with 14 points, but was just 3-of-15 overall and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc, while redshirt sophomore guard Chandler Prater scored a team-high 17 points off the bench.
In a series, Baylor has dominated, 35-8, the Bears have won 16 in a row and are 17-2 against Kansas in Waco. Last month, though, the Jayhawks were on the verge of picking up their first win since 2014, taking a late four-point lead.
But, Ja'Mee Asberry buried a second-chance 3-pointer and knocked down two free throws after a steal by Jordan Lewis, then Sarah Andrews added two more free throws to seal the deal in a miraculous 82-79 comeback in Lawrence.
"I think (the players) needed that weight lifted more than I did, to be honest with you," Collen said of Baylor's first conference win of the year after getting off to a 2-0 start. "I think this team needed to be rewarded."
Since starting the season 10-4, the Bears have won 12 of their last 13, starting with that first Kansas game. In that stretch, Baylor increased its scoring average by 3.6 points per game (78.1), upped their assists by 2.8 (18.7) and limited their turnovers to 12.1 per game, two less than the first 14 games.
While 6-4 senior All-American NaLyssa Smith (21.2 ppg, 11.2 rebounds) has been consistent all year, Queen Egbo (11.1 ppg, 8.2 rebounds) and Andrews (12.4 ppg, 4.4 assists) have increased their scoring outputs by 3.3 and 2.9 points per game, respectively.
"When things weren't necessarily going our way, we continued to find reasons to stick with each other," said Egbo, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first game against Kansas. "And I felt like that Kansas game definitely brought us together. We realized what we can do, the potential our team has. We've been playing at another level since the start of the season."
Baylor is promoting a "White Out" for Saturday's game, which is the first of a doubleheader at the Ferrell Center. The 10th-ranked Baylor men (23-5, 11-4) host No. 5 Kansas (23-5, 12-2) at 7 p.m., while ESPN's College Gameday will broadcast their show from 10-11 a.m., with doors opening at 8:30.
Collen, who has worked to develop a student fanbase this year, said she hopes "that they're not in line for tickets to the men's game during our game."
"They make a difference. One student is like four fans because of how loud and how engaging and how involved they are," she said. "Not just at Baylor, but generally speaking, students tend to go with what's cool. . . . So, I'm trying to engage, trying to be cool. I really think our players deserve to be supported by other students. I think we put a good product on the floor."
Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of Bears" John Morris, former Baylor All-American Danielle Crockrom-Fontenot and Brooke Bednarz calling the action.
TURNING POINT
• Baylor was alone in last place of the Big 12 standings (0-2) heading into Lawrence on Jan. 16. After a gutsy comeback that featured a 7-0 run in the final 24 seconds of the game to clinch their first conference win of the season, the Bears have been playing a different level of ball.
• In the 14 (10-4) games before the KU game, BU averaged 74.5 points, 15.9 assists and 14.1 turnovers per game. Baylor assisted on 59.3 percent of its baskets. Since them, the Bears are averaging 78.1 points (+3.6), 18.7 assists (+2.8) and 12.1 turnovers (-2.0) per game. BU is assisting on 65.9 percent of its buckets.
• Individually, NaLyssa Smith continues to be the picture of consistency, averaging a double-double with better than 21 points either way. However, Queen Egbo and Sarah Andrews have stepped up their games as the season's progressed. Egbo is averaging 3.3 more points post-KU than she was before, and Andrews is averaging 2.9 more points in that span. While Jordan Lewis is on par when it comes to points per game pre/post-KU, she is shooting lights out from the perimeter after the Kansas game - 55.0 percent compared to 29.7.
SHARE THE SUGAR
• Baylor is No. 9 in the country - and third among Power 5 teams - with 63.2 percent of its buckets assisted on this season.
• Adding to that, the Bears are sixth in the country - and first in the Big 12 - in assist-to-turnover ratio.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith is eighth in the country with 18 double-doubles on the season. That mark ties her for fifth in BU history for double-doubles in a single season.
• Smith is fourth in program history with 46 career double-doubles. She's four away from tying Maggie Davis-Stinnett (1986-89, 1990-91)
• The senior is averaging 21.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game which ranks No. 11 and No. 15 in the country, respectively. She is the only player in the country who is averaging 21+ points and 11+ rebounds per game.
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 182 3s on the season - has the fourth-highest 3pointer total for a single season in program history.
