WBB Hosts Texas Tech Saturday

Saturday, February 25

Waco, Texas

5 p.m.

Baylor

Texas Tech

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WBB Hosts Texas Tech Saturday

2/24/2023 5:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Baylor Game Notes

The Bears will go for the series sweep of the Lady Raiders

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Part of four-straight Big 12 regular-season championship teams, Baylor senior forward Caitlin Bickle is in unchartered territory.
            With Baylor's unprecedented run of 12-consecutive conference championships ending with a four-game losing streak, the Bears (17-10, 8-7) will host Texas Tech (17-11, 5-10) at 5 p.m. Saturday with little on the line beyond seeding for the Big 12 Championship and NCAA Tournament.
            "Obviously, a lot of things have hit us this year where we haven't met certain goals, we haven't played how we wanted or expected to play," said Bickle, who's averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. "But it hasn't stopped us. We're not sitting around going, 'Oh no, we can't do this, we can't do that.'
            "No, we still have three more games in the regular season, we can still win a Big 12 Championship at the tournament, we could still go to the NCAA Tournament and surprise people. . . . That's not something we're worried about. We are just worried about the next game ahead of us."
            That's the same approach second-year head coach Nicki Collen is taking. Other than "looking ahead to make sure my dog has a place to go when we're on the road," she doesn't look past the next game.
            "It's hard for me to know more than one game who we even play," said Collen, whose team snapped the four-game losing streak with Wednesday's 67-57 win on the road at TCU. "When you get into the weeds of the season, all you're looking at is a game in front of you and maybe the one after that."
            And even though the Bears aren't in a title chase coming down to the wire, Collen said the focus in practice and game prep hasn't changed. Last year, Baylor clinched the outright league title with an 82-57 rout of Texas Tech behind a 35-point performance by All-American NaLyssa Smith on Senior Day.
            Sitting in fifth place with three games to play, Baylor could finish as high as third by sweeping its last three games and getting some outside help. The regular-season championship could be all but decided when 19^th-ranked Texas (21-7, 12-3) plays at No. 13 Oklahoma (22-4, 12-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
            "I think right now, it's just about how do we gain momentum going into the Big 12 Tournament to give ourselves the best chance to win it?" Collen said. "And I think every team in our league has a chance to go win that thing. So, I think it's about getting yourself in the right mental state, being as healthy as you can so that you can (win it), and then you take away any doubt what people may think."
            Down to seven players practicing earlier this week, the Bears should be closer to full strength with guards Sarah Andrews (15.4 ppg, 4.4 assists) and Jana Van Gytenbeek coming back from illnesses. Andrews actually played in the game at TCU, finishing with 12 points, three assists and a steal in 28 minutes.
            "Sarah didn't even get to practice with us leading up to the game, so it wasn't like I was surprised," Bickle said of a lineup that included freshman forwards Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (10.4 ppg, 9.5 rebounds) and Bella Fontleroy (9.4 ppg, 5.1 rebounds) starting together for only the second time.
            "We've had so many different lineups this year that it was like, 'Oh, okay.' . . . We were just glad to even have Sarah there and playing, just considering how she was feeling the days leading up to that game."
            Andrews will likely be back in the lineup with Bickle, fellow guards Ja'Mee Asberry (11.1 ppg) and Jaden Owens (8.1 ppg, 6.0 assists) and either Buggs or Fontleroy.
            "You kind of just do what you can do with what you have," Bickle said. "It's not like we haven't played with each other or anything like that. We've done bigger lineups like that in practice before. We just got a lot more reps with each other leading up to that game."
            Baylor is facing a Texas Tech team that is coming off a 69-68 double-overtime win at home over West Virginia. Tied for eighth in the league with Kansas State (16-12, 5-10), the Lady Raiders are just 2-5 on the road in conference play and lost the first meeting with Baylor, 79-59.
            "They have a really good combination of young, energetic players and then the fifth-year types," Collen said. "Bre'Amber Scott is a mismatch for everybody in this league. She's a guard that plays the post, but she's physical enough to bang. The unique thing about them is they'll have a five-guard lineup and then they'll sub in two bigs. They'll go from stretch-you-out, five-out, dribble-drive sets . . . to big, strong posts where they're going to pound it inside."
            The 5-11 Scott is second in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg, 6.3) and pumped in 28 points in Tech's 68-64 win over Texas last month in Lubbock.
            "I thought they did a good job playing downhill and getting to the foul line," Collen said of Tech's win over the Longhorns. "They went to the foul line a ton. It's something they're good at, in general. But I thought against them, they did a good job breaking the press. . . . Bre'Amber played for (UT coach Vic Schaefer) at Mississippi State, so she was probably personally motivated, too. But she's had a great season."
            Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball coach Jim Haller calling the action.
            In a quick turnaround, the Bears will play the Longhorns at 6 p.m. Monday at the new Moody Center in Austin.

WACO, Texas – The Baylor women's basketball team returns to the Ferrell Center on Saturday when it hosts Texas Tech at 5 p.m.

The contest between Bears (17-10, 8-7 Big 12) and the Lady Raiders (17-11, 5-10 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 1660 AM/92.3 FM. Additionally, live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter or live stats.

PROMOTIONS
Tickets for tomorrow's game are still available in advance. Fans are encouraged to bring a new or lightly used pair of tennis shoes to enter a drawing for a pair of custom Nikes. Additionally, fans with a ticket for tomorrow's men's basketball's game against Texas can receive free admission to the women's basketball game.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bears broke a four-game losing skid with a 10-point victory at TCU on Wednesday night, topping the Horned Frogs, 67-57. Since TCU joined the Big 12 ahead of the 2012-13 season, the Bears have swept the series with the Horned Frogs every year and have won 35-straight games dating back to the 1989-90 campaign.

Baylor bested TCU on the glass, 41-30, marking the 18th time this year the Bears have outrebounded their opponent. For just the second time during league play, five Bears reached double figures led by Bella Fontleroy's 14 points. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs registered a game-high 14 rebounds, recording her 13th double-double of the season, and ninth in Big 12 action. Her nine double-doubles are the most by a BU rookie dating back to at least the 2009-10 season. Senior Jaden Owens grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and dished out a team-leading five assists. The guard has led the Bears in assists in 18 of 27 contests.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH AND THE SERIES
Baylor holds the slim 52-47 advantage in the all-time series with Texas Tech. The Bears have won 27-straight meetings with the Lady Raiders, dating back to the 2010-11 season. Baylor has lost just twice to Texas Tech since 2005.

Similarly to Baylor, Texas Tech broke a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night, outlasting West Virginia in double overtime, 69-68. The outing marked the Lady Raiders' second-straight multiple overtime game after going to triple overtime with Oklahoma State last weekend.

The Lady Raiders are led offensively by Bre'Amber Scott (17.4) and Bailey Maupin (10.1) while Scott leads Texas Tech on the boards, sitting at 6.3 rebounds per game. The rookie duo of Maupin and Jasmine Shavers have combined for five Big 12 Freshman of the Week awards, while BU's rookies Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Bella Fontleroy have combined for six weekly honors.

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