WBB Travels to Stillwater for Saturday Matchup with Oklahoma State

Saturday, February 11

Stillwater, OK

2 PM

Baylor

Oklahoma State

WBB Travels to Stillwater for Saturday Matchup with Oklahoma State

2/10/2023 12:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Baylor Game Notes

The Bears are 16-9 all-time on the road against the Cowgirls

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            In a weird way, the Baylor women have been better on the road than at home, especially in conference play.
            Having already won four league games on the road, including two against ranked teams, the Bears (17-6, 7-4) will try to continue that success with a matchup against Oklahoma State (17-7, 7-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
            "We've played against bigger crowds where we had to focus and really be like, 'Hey, it's about us,''' said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team is only 3-3 in conference home games, falling to 16^th-ranked Oklahoma, 98-92, in overtime on Wednesday.
            "It's about us communicating. We're not getting any, quote, energy from anyone but ourselves. And then, I think we're more focused. There are less distractions on the road. You're in a hotel room, there's not a ton to do. So, I think we're really focused on what's in front of us."
            The Bears handed Oklahoma its only home-court loss of the season, 81-70; beat Kansas, 75-62, in front of the Jayhawks' biggest home crowd of the season; defeated Texas Tech, 79-59, before a crowd of 8,235 on a night when the Lady Raiders were celebrating their 1993 national championship team; and upset then-No. 12 Iowa State, 76-70, last Saturday in game when the Cyclones attracted 11,788 fans at Hilton Coliseum.
            "(Iowa State) always draw, but obviously playing against Baylor is a big deal," Collen said. "We've played in front of really big crowds that have forced us to really focus on being communicative. I think that's a big part of it, focus and communication."
            On Saturday, Baylor gets a chance to avenge one of those three home losses in conference play. In the first round of league play, Oklahoma State defeated the Bears, 70-65, when Naomie Alnatas hit a clutch 3-pointer in the last minute.
            Baylor had won 14-straight against the Cowgirls and was off to a 3-0 start in conference, but the then-No. 18 Bears fell behind by nine in the first six minutes of the game and never led after an early 11-0 run by OSU.
            "It was, by far, the worst game we've played as a team," Collen said. "From an effort perspective, from just following a game plan . . . I don't know if we were just riding too high off of being 3-0 or didn't handle success well enough. We may have gotten smoked by Arizona, but as far as just showing up not ready to do what we're supposed to do, and never really getting there, it was as bad as we've played."
            Missing 11 of her first 13 shots, Sarah Andrews (16.5 ppg, 4.5 assists) had just four points through the first three quarters and finished 4-of-16 from the floor.
            "They were really aggressive on Sarah and tried to limit her touches," Collen said of OSU's defense the first time around. "They really didn't come out of the lane on (freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs). I thought Bella (Fontleroy gave us as good a lift as anyone in that game. I thought her energy of the bench was pretty good. We just made a lot of late-game poor decisions defensively more so than offensively."
            OSU is one of the most-balanced offenses in the Big 12, with six players averaging at least 9.7 points per game. Alnatas, a transfer from Kansas City, leads the way with 13.9 points and 4.0 assists per game.
            Second-year coach Jacie Hoyt used the transfer portal to flip her roster, bringing in Alnatas and Landry Williams from Kansas City, Claire Chastain (10.7 ppg, 4.8 rebounds) and Terryn Milton (10.3 ppg, 5.2 rebounds) from UT Arlington, Anna Gret Asi (6.9 ppg) from Arizona and Lior Garzon (11.3 ppg) from Arizona.
            "They, to me, are a legit seven (deep), and I think they've gotten really good minutes from (Kassidy) De Lapp," Collen said. "If they're going to bring Asi and Garzon off the bench and De Lapp . . . they have a probing guard that can shoot it off the bench, they've got a big threat they can go to, to bang; and then they have Garzon, who's as good a shooter as anyone in the country. Their eight are really, really good."
            Equally balanced, Baylor counters with six players averaging at least 8.6 points. Caitlin Bickle (12.6 ppg, 7.4 rebounds) and Littlepage-Buggs (10.2 ppg, 9.5 rebounds) are both double-double threats, while Ja'Mee Asberry (11.0 ppg) and Jaden Owens (8.6 ppg, 6.1 assists) are both outside threats that can also attack the rim.
            "We're at our best when we're sharing the basketball and when everybody's guarding the people on the floor," Andrews said. "When we're playing team defense and we're locked-in, we're a different type of team. We just have to be locked-in from tip to the end, till the clock hits zero."
            Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Mike Wolfe and Bryndon Manzer calling the action.

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Baylor women's basketball team returns to the road for a matchup with Oklahoma State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The contest between the Bears (16-7, 7-4 Big 12) and the Cowgirls (17-7, 7-5 Big 12) is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A live radio broadcast is also available for fans on the Varsity Network App or locally on 104.9 FM. Additionally, live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter or live stats.

LAST TIME OUT
In the first overtime game of the season, and just second in the Nicki Collen era, No. 16 Oklahoma squeaked out the 98-92 win inside the Ferrell Center Tuesday night. Additionally, it marked the first league game to go to OT this year.

Caitlin Bickle finished with a career-high 30 points marking the second 30-point outpouring by a Bear this season. She also connected from range a career-high four times and went a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. In her third-straight 20-plus point game, and eighth of the season, Sarah Andrews turned in 20 to reach double figures for the 11th-straight game.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs posted her fourth-straight double-double and 11th of the season, finishing with 14 points and a career- and high 17 rebounds. Ja'Mee Asberry was the fourth Bear to reach double figures, tallying 11 in the outing. She has reached double figures in all but three league games this season. For the second-straight game and 15th time this season, Jaden Owens led the Bears with a career-high 14 assists, matching an individual high on the year by a Bear.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE AND THE SERIES
Baylor holds the 48-12 advantage in the all-time series with Oklahoma State and a 16-9 mark in Stillwater. The Bears have won the last five meetings on the road against the Cowgirls, dating back to the 2015-16 campaign.

Oklahoma State ended a 13-game win streak by Baylor in the first meeting this season, edging the Bears 70-65 at the Ferrell Center on Jan. 11. The Cowgirls carry a three-game win streak into Saturday's contest and are 12-2 at home this year.

Oklahoma State has four players in double figures led by Naomie Alnatas' 13.9 points per game, while Taylen Collins leads the Cowgirls on the boards at 8.9 rebounds per game.

- BaylorBears.com -