No. 23 WBB Set for Top-25 Matchup at Kansas Saturday

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            When the 23^rd-ranked Baylor women pulled out an 81-70 road win at Oklahoma Tuesday night despite having three players foul out, assistant coach Tony Greene said it felt like Nicki Collen was "at the park drawing up plays in the dirt."
            Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.
            All those adjustments the Bears (11-3, 2-0) had to make on the fly could come in handy when they go back on the road to face No. 21/25 Kansas (12-1, 2-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.
            "We had (junior forward Catarina Ferreira) at the 4 (power forward), and she's never run the 4 for us," Collen said. "I was just trying to move people around and get people who could shoot in spots where they might get a shot and get people who could pass. We did enough defensively and just enough offensively to pull out a really good road win."
            Now, the challenge is to do it again.
            Kansas is 2-0 in Big 12 play for the first time in 10 years and the fourth time overall in the 27-year history of the league. The Jayhawks came back from a double-digit first-half deficit to win on the road at Oklahoma State, 80-65, before blowing out Texas Tech, 77-59, on Wednesday to remain unbeaten at home (8-0).
            "I think they're hard to beat anywhere right now just because of their system and their personnel," Collen said. "They looked pretty comfortable in Tucson (77-50 road win at then-No. 12 Arizona). They are a team that has all their key components back from last year. They believe in what they do."
            Ten days after KU blew out Arizona in Tucson, Baylor lost to the Wildcats, 75-54, in a neutral-site matchup at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
            The Jayhawks feature three of the league's top seven scorers in guards Zakiyah Franklin (15.5 ppg, 3.1 assists) and Holly Kersgieter (14.5 ppg, 6.5 rebounds) and 6-6 senior center Taiyanna Jackson (15.8 ppg), who leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 12.6 rebounds per game.
            "Last year, at times, Jackson took possessions off," Collen said of Jackson, who's averaged 19.3 rebounds in her last three games. "I showed about a two-minute highlight clip before we played Arizona, of how (Jackson) pursued the ball off the rim on offensive rebounds against a really good rebounding team in Arizona. That's going to be a huge challenge for us, because she doesn't take a lot of possessions off this year."
            KU is ranked seventh nationally in rebounds per game (46.15), which is one spot ahead of an Oklahoma team (46.38) that outrebounded the Bears, 42-36.
            Without a true post player like they had last year in Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith, the Bears have to "outwork you, maybe have to out-think you and out-execute you," Collen said. Baylor is fifth in the league in rebounding margin at plus-8.4.
            "At least I feel like we have the pieces to be able to do that," Collen said. "I don't think we're just out there hoping and praying that we have enough. I think we're good enough at our jobs, and I think we are going to instill confidence in game plans in our players that we can give them the tools and tricks to help them win basketball games."
            What helped on Tuesday night was getting a career-high 30-point night from junior guard Sarah Andrews, who hit 5-of-12 from outside the arc and added four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes.
            "There's just something about when you see one go in, and then two, I think the hoop just got bigger," said Andrews, who's averaging 14.4 points and 4.6 assists while shooting 34.4% from 3-point range. "The last one I shot, I really didn't even look at the rim, I just felt like it was going to go in."
            Collen said Andrews has to "feel every game out," because there are times when "the best thing she can do is get a paint touch for us."
            "I think by nature of their zone and the things that (OU was) doing, and the ball being in her hands late in shot clocks, there's always going to be that ability to be creative," Collen said. "Being a good offensive team comes down to executing and getting the ball to the most-open person."
            Whether she scores 30 or zero, Andrews said, "I'm going to do whatever I need to do that night."
            "I'm Batman when I need to be," she said. "Tuesday night, I felt like I had to have 30 for us to win. But no matter what I've got to do for us to win, I'm going to do it."
            With freshman forwards Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and senior guard Jaden Owens fouling out, and Caitlin Bickle strapped with three first-half fouls, seldom-used Illinois transfer Erika Porter had a big fourth quarter with five points and three offensive boards.
            "It feels great, because in the past I wasn't getting a lot of minutes," Porter said. "It's just remembering what we go over in practice and just watching my teammates, watching what they're doing and what they're not doing, and seeing what I can do to help when I get called in."
            Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Brenda VanLengen and Jill Dorsey Hall calling the action.

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 23 Baylor women's basketball team remains on the road for a meeting with No. 21 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The contest between the Bears (11-3, 2-0 Big 12) and the Jayhawks (12-1, 2-0 Big 12) is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and a live radio broadcast is also available for fans on ESPN Central Texas (104.9 FM). Live in-game updates will also be provided via Twitter or live stats.

LAST TIME OUT
Baylor picked up its second top-25 win of the season on Tuesday, powering past No. 17 Oklahoma, 81-70, in its first true road game in 2022-23. The Bears held the No. 4 scoring offense in the country to 18 points below their season average, as the Sooners' 70 points were the second-lowest scoring output in a game this year.

Junior Sarah Andrews poured in a career-high 30 points with zero turnovers, while fifth-year Caitlin Bickle notched her second double-double of the season with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Senior Jaden Owens led the team with six assists, while turning in a career high six steals to become the first Bear since 2020 to record as many in a game.

CONFIDENCE IN CONFERENCE
Dating back to last season, the Bears have won 12-straight regular-season Big 12 games and are 17-1 in their last 18 Big 12 outings. After Tuesday's win at Oklahoma, head coach Nicki Collen has now beaten each of the other nine Big 12 schools in the regular season after the Sooners swept the series last year.

Through two games, Sarah Andrews ranks second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals per game (4.00), third in scoring (22.0 ppg) and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (38.1%). Her 30-point performance against the Sooners marked the fifth 30-point game in the league this season and first by anyone during Big 12 play.

Graduate Ja'Mee Asberry sits just outside the top five in the conference in field goal percentage (54.5%) while leading the league in minutes per game (38.13).

SCOUTING KANSAS AND THE SERIES
Baylor leads the all-time series with Kansas, 37-8, and has won the last 17 meetings dating back to the 2013-14 season. The last loss by the Bears was a 76-60 decision in Lawrence, where BU is 14-5 against the Jayhawks.

Saturday's matchup will mark the first women's basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse between two ranked teams since Kansas lost to then-No. 1 Baylor, 82-60, in January 2013.

The Big 12 Co-Player of the Week, Taiyanna Jackson, recorded her ninth double-double of the year in a win over Texas Tech on Wednesday, helping Kansas improve to 2-0 in Big 12 play for only the fourth time since the formation of the conference and first time since the 2012-13 season. The Jayhawks have three players averaging double figures, led by Jackson, who is also averaging 12.6 rebounds per game.

- BaylorBears.com -

No. 23 WBB Set for Top-25 Matchup at Kansas Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Andrews

Ja'Mee Asberry

Caitlin Bickle

Queen Egbo

Catarina Ferreira

Bella Fontleroy

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs

Jaden Owens

Erika Porter

NaLyssa Smith

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