No. 23 WBB Collects Ranked Road Win at No. 21 Kansas, 75-62

Saturday, January 7

Lawrence, Kan.

4 p.m.

Baylor

12-3,3-0Big 12

#21 Kansas

12-2,2-1Big 12

Baylor

Kansas

No. 23 WBB Collects Ranked Road Win at No. 21 Kansas, 75-62

1/7/2023 6:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

Andrews scores 14 of game-high 27 points in third quarter

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            LAWRENCE, Kan. – Going into a week when the 23^rd-ranked Baylor women were playing two top-25 teams on the road, second-year head coach Nicki Collen challenged the Bears "how we've got to get tougher."
            Challenge accepted.
            Facing a much taller Kansas team that was ranked seventh in the country in rebounding, Baylor dominated on the boards and consistently held the 21^st-ranked Jayhawks to one shot in a 75-62 victory Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
            "The fact that came in here and essentially led tip to finish says a lot about how tough we were," said Collen, whose team improved to 12-3 overall and atop the Big 12 standings at 3-0 with its second-straight top-25 road win. "To come in here and play six players and for all three of those guards to go the whole way, that's toughness."
            Following up on her career-high 30-point performance in Tuesday's win at Oklahoma, Baylor junior guard Sarah Andrews scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the third quarter when the Bears turned a five-point halftime lead into a nine-point cushion, 56-47, going into the fourth.
            "She should be National Player of the Week," Collen said of Andrews, who scored the last two buckets in a 7-0 run to end the quarter. "(Scoring) 30 and 27 in road games against two top-25 teams, 23 in the second half today. She also had four assists in the second half and we probably missed a couple that should have been assists."
            Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and senior Caitlin Bickle both recorded double-doubles to help Baylor finish with a 44-30 rebounding edge and hold the Jayhawks (12-2, 2-1) to just seven offensive boards. Littlepage-Buggs had 17 points and 13 rebounds for her team-high fifth double-double, while Bickle added 12 points and 12 boards.
            "(Kansas) is seventh in the country in rebounding and we're not," Collen said. "For us to win the rebounding battle by 14 tonight just kind of shows how tough we were, how much we took the box-out part of it and pursuing the ball."
            The Jayhawks hit five of their first nine shots and took a five-point lead midway through the opening quarter. But the Bears answered with a 10-0 run that included bookend 3-pointers by Bickle and Jaden Owens and a pair of layups to go up 16-11.
            Baylor's defense particularly limited 6-6 center Taiyanna Jackson. Averaging a double-double coming into the game, Jackson had eight points and eight rebounds and a season-low four shots before fouling out in the final minute.
            "That's Caitlin," Collen said, "because Caitlin had her the majority of the time. We only had to battle her with one of our freshmen for one or two possessions. Caitlin does a good job of using her lower-body strength. They got the lob a couple times on us, but for the most part we gave her one shot. She's been relentless (on the boards)."
            With Andrews making 5-of-5 shots in the third quarter, including 2-for-2 from outside the arc, Baylor pushed the lead to as many as 12 before Kansas scored six unanswered points to get it back to 49-47 on Zakiyah Franklin's 3-pointer with 2:27 left.
            The Bears closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by an Andrews jumper, as the Bears extended the lead to 56-47 going into the fourth.
            KU closed the gap to 65-61 on a bucket by Franklin with 2:43 left, but Andrews answered with a layup and Ja'Mee Asberry turned a steal into a three-point play with a layup and free throw that gave the Bears a nine-point lead.
            Andrews also got it done on the defensive end, blocking Holly Kersgieter's layup attempt off a steal in the final minute of the game.
            "Her rundown block of Holly on that steal on the sideline was as good as any play we had tonight," Collen said. "Maybe that wouldn't have given them life, but I can tell you that we had a 7-0 run to win the game in here last year when we pulled victory out of despair. You're just nervous until that buzzer goes off.
            Littlepage-Buggs carried the load in the first half, hitting 6-of-8 from the field and scoring 13 of her 17 points, to give Baylor a five-point cushion at the half, 32-27.
            Asberry also scored in double figures for the Bears with 11 points, while Wyvette Mayberry led Kansas with 19 points. Kersgieter and Chandler Prater added 11 points apiece for the Jayhawks.
            Baylor returns home to host Oklahoma State (11-4, 1-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center. The Cowgirls held on for an 86-82 win over Texas Saturday night to knock the Longhorns out of the ranks of undefeated teams in conference play.

NOTABLES

The No. 23 Baylor women's basketball team won its 18th-straight against Kansas with a 75-62 victory over the No. 21 Jayhawks on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
The game marked the first time the Bears have played back-to-back top-25 foes on the road since the 2009-10 campaign.
The pair of wins over Oklahoma and Kansas this week marked the first time in program history that Baylor has won consecutive games against top-25 opponents on the road.
For the third time in five years, the Bears have started conference play with an untouched 3-0 record.
Saturday's game marked the first time since 2019-20 that Baylor has won its first two true road games to start a season.
Junior Sarah Andrews reached double figures for a team-leading 11th time and third-straight game, finishing with 27. Her performance marked the seventh 20-plus point performance of her career and fourth of the season.
Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs led the way going into the locker room at half, sitting at game-high 13 points, going 6-for-8 from the floor, with six boards. The forward finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for her team-leading fifth double-double of the year. Her 13 boards were a rebound shy of matching a career high in the category.
Fifth-year Caitlin Bickle recorded her third double-double of the season, and second-straight, turning in 12 points and 12 rebounds, matching a career-high on the glass.
Kansas senior and reigning Big 12 Co-Player of the Week Taiyanna Jackson was held to just eight points and eight rebounds, ending her streak of double-doubles. The eight points and eight boards were the second fewest in a game by the center this season, while the four shots from the floor, which were the lowest allowed by an opponent.