WBB Travels to Face Texas Tech

Saturday, January 28

Lubbock, Texas

2 p.m.

Baylor

Texas Tech

WBB Travels to Face Texas Tech

1/27/2023 11:18:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Baylor Game Notes

The Bears carry a 26-game win streak against the Lady Raiders into Lubbock Saturday

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor and Texas Tech, the two teams that have had a monopoly on the Big 12 Freshman of the Week awards this year, will square off at 2 p.m. Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
            Between them, Baylor's Dariana Littlepage-Buggs (3) and Bella Fontleroy (2) and Texas Tech's Jasmine Shavers (3) and Bailey Maupin (2) have won 10 of the 11 Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors and are the leading candidates for Freshman of the Year honors.
            "I'm pretty good friends with Bailey Maupin, too, so I'm excited to get to play her," said Fontleroy, who is averaging 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds while coming off the bench in all but two games. "But they're really talented, we're really talented. So, it'll be a good freshman matchup, but overall matchup for the whole team, too."
            While 5-11 senior guard Bre'Amber Scott (16.9 ppg) is easily Tech's most consistent offensive threat, averaging a league-high 23.6 points in conference-only games, Maupin (10.6 ppg) and Shavers (9.3 ppg) both rank among the Big 12's top freshmen.
            "They're really versatile, depends on the game," Collen said. "They can go big and really try to play ball-side triangle action and try to play inside. They can play five guards . . . and really try to stretch you out and attack you off the bounce. They run a million different sets. One minute, Bryn Gerlich is basically playing (point guard), and then next minute she's playing the 4 or 5. They really move people around."
            In Baylor's 68-55 loss at home on Sunday, the Bears only had a pair of double-figure scorers with Sarah Andrews and Ja'Mee Asberry at 19 and 13 points, respectively. They have to get more production from senior guard Jaden Owens, who has seen her average dip from 12.1 to 8.6 with zero points in each of the last two games.
            "Obviously, we've lost three of four, and she hasn't impacted us very much in any of those games offensively," Collen said. "She doesn't have to get 20, but getting eight or six and being aggressive, not playing sideways but truly playing north and south and making good decisions – you can't fear turning the basketball over."
            Andrews (15.8 ppg, 4.4 assists), Asberry (11.2 ppg) and senior forward Caitlin Bickle (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rebounds) are the Bears' only double-figure scorers. Although she only scored three points in a road loss at West Virginia, Asberry has become more consistent, scoring in double digits seven times in the last eight games.
            "I think for us to be good in general, we've got to stay consistent on the perimeter," Collen said. "Outside of Caitlin, we get the most veteran-ness from our guards. Ja'Mee has to be able to stretch the floor and make 3's. We've got to get Jaden back to being a little more of an offensive option."
            In one of its toughest stretches of the season, Baylor has home games against Kansas and 14^th-ranked Oklahoma sandwiched around a road test at No. 18 Iowa State.
            Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Ron Thulin and Brandi Poole calling the action.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Baylor women's basketball team returns to action when it travels to face Texas Tech at 2 p.m. on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena.

The contest between the Bears (13-6, 4-3 Big 12) and the Lady Raiders (15-5, 3-4 Big 12) is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and a live radio broadcast is also available for fans. Live in-game updates will also be provided via Twitter or live stats.

LAST TIME OUT
Baylor was unable to overcome Texas last Sunday, falling 68-55 inside the Ferrell Center. The Bears scored 22 points off the Longhorns' 19 turnovers, marking the fifth time in Big 12 play BU has forced its opponent to turn the ball over at least 15 times.

Ja'Mee Asberry and Sarah Andrews finished with 13 and 19 points, respectively, while Caitlin Bickle grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

FEELING FRESH
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs is coming off her third Big 12 Freshman of the Week award heading into the Texas Tech game. She is just one of two rookies in the league to earn the award three times this season, and the first Bear since the 2016-17 campaign to be recognized at least three times when Lauren Cox earned the award four times that year.

Littlepage-Buggs averaged 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last week, ranking fifth in the league in scoring. She was one of just three freshmen in the conference to average at least 10.0 points per game, leading all Big 12 rookies.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH AND THE SERIES
Baylor holds the slim 51-47 advantage in the all-time series with Texas Tech. The Bears have won 26-straight meetings with the Lady Raiders dating back to the 2010-11 season, and Baylor has fallen to Texas Tech just twice since 2005.

Winners of three of its last five, Texas Tech enters Saturday's contest with a 15-5 overall record and 3-4 ledger in Big 12 action. The Lady Raiders have a pair averaging double figures in Bre'Amber Scott (16.9) and Bailey Maupin (10.6).

The rookie duo of Maupin and Jasmine Shavers, alongside BU's Littlepage-Buggs and Bella Fontleroy, have combined for 11 of the 12 Big 12 Freshman of the Week awards this season.

- BaylorBears.com -