WBB Set to Face No. 19 Texas Monday on ESPN2

Monday, February 27

Austin, Texas

6 p.m.

Baylor

#12 Texas

WBB Set to Face No. 19 Texas Monday on ESPN2

2/26/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Baylor Game Notes

Monday’s contest is the fifth nationally-televised game for the Bears this season

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            A team that has actually been better on the road than at home in Big 12 play, the Baylor women (18-10, 9-7) will get a chance to pad their NCAA Tournament resume with another signature road victory when the Bears play at No. 19 Texas (22-7, 13-3) at 6 p.m. Monday.
            Baylor's 5-3 road record in conference includes ranked wins over Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State. On the flip side, the Longhorns have won 12-straight at home and are 14-1 in their first season at the new 10,000-seat Moody Center.
            The Bears have won back-to-back 10-point games over TCU and Texas Tech and are all alone in fifth place in the Big 12 standings, a game out of third place. With a win, Texas clinches at least a share of its first conference championship since tying Kansas State for it in 2004.
            "I think they're playing to win it outright at this point, and they were awesome today," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said of the Longhorns blowing out 13^th-ranked Oklahoma, 67-45, on Saturday. "I watched the game pretty much start to finish, and they absolutely dominated a really, really good OU team that had only lost one other time at home, and that was us."
            And it wasn't just the fact that Texas "beat them," Collen said, "it was how they beat them. (Oklahoma), one of the best offenses in the country . . . and the final score was in the 40s."
            UT held an Oklahoma offense averaging 86.7 points per game to a season-low 45 points. The Longhorns rank 10^th in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game (21.1) and eighth in blocked shots per game (5.5).
            Sophomore guard Rori Harmon (12.2 ppg, 7.1 assists, 2.4 steals) is "the head of the snake," Collen said. In a 68-55 win over Baylor on Jan. 22 in Waco, Harmon had 13 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals.
            "They're going to be physical on every pass and deny every pass," Collen said, "and their help-side (defense) is probably better than anybody's in the country, maybe them and Duke. Not having Rori early and then losing Aaliyah Moore (to a season-ending ACL injury), they've kind of settled into who they are."
            BYU transfer Shaylee Gonzales (12.6 ppg, 4.2 rebounds) is a leading candidate for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while the Longhorns have a "three-headed post monster" with DeYona Gaston (12.2 ppg, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks), Taylor Jones (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rebounds) and 6-4 Amina Muhammad (4.0 ppg, 4.9 rebounds).
            "Their offensive rebounding percentage is insane," Collen said. "Maybe not as high as South Carolina's, but they're up there. Sometimes, they just need to throw it up there, because they're going to get back and they're going to get it closer to the basket. So, it's about the paint, and can we do a good job on Gonzales?"
            On Saturday, Baylor finished off its 12^th-straight season series sweep of Texas Tech, scoring 27 fourth-quarter points in a 71-61 win at the Ferrell Center. Caitlin Bickle and freshman Dariana Littlepage-Buggs scored a combined 21 points in the final period, hitting 7-of-8 overall, with Bickle going 2-for-2 from outside the arc.
            "It's a game of runs, we've known that," said Bickle, who had 21 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. "Early in the year, we would freak out about it, and Coach Tony (Greene) would calm us down and say, 'It's just a run.' . . . And I think we've just grown. The maturity has grown, being poised. Like, we're fine, it's a run. Now, let's go on our run."
            Despite losing the game earlier this year, the Bears have won 13 of the last 15 meetings with the Longhorns and haven't been swept in the season series since 2010. That year, Baylor finished tied for sixth in the league at 9-7 but made its second Final Four appearance.
            Monday's game is a national broadcast on ESPN2, with Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli calling the action.
            The Bears return home for the regular-season finale in a Senior Day matchup against West Virginia (17-10, 8-8) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.


AUSTIN, Texas – The Baylor women's basketball team will play its second game in three days when it takes on No. 19 Texas at the Moody Center on Monday night.

Tip-off between the Bears (18-10, 9-7 Big 12) and the Longhorns (22-7, 13-3 Big 12) is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. 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
Baylor earned its second-straight 10-point victory on Saturday night with a 71-61 win over Texas Tech at the Ferrell Center. With the win, the Bears completed the season series sweep of the Lady Raiders, marking the 12th-staight year BU has swept the two-game set with Texas Tech.

As a team, the Bears shot 94.4% (17-for-18) from the charity stripe. BU's performance at the free throw line was the best in the Nicki Collen era, surpassing the Bears' 93.3% against Oklahoma last season.

Caitlin Bickle led the way offensively for the Bears with her second-highest scoring output of the season. The forward finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, while adding a pair of blocks and a steal. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs recorded 12 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the fourth-straight game and 16th time this season, as 10 of her dozen points came in the fourth quarter.

PUT TO THE TEST
The Bears' matchup with No. 19 Texas on Monday will mark Baylor's 11th outing against an AP Top-25 opponent this season, which is tied with Nebraska for the most games against a top-25 foe among Division I teams in the country.

Baylor has a conference-leading four top-25 wins on the year, including three true road wins against Big 12 opponents. Heading into last week, BU was one of just 11 schools in the country with at least four victories against the AP Top-25.

SCOUTING TEXAS AND THE SERIES
Texas holds the 60-48 advantage in the all-time series with Baylor, despite the Bears winning 13 of the last 15 meetings between the two programs.

The Longhorns are alone in first place in the Big 12 standings after powering past No. 13 Oklahoma, 67-45, on Saturday. Texas is 22-7 on the year and 13-3 in league play. The Longhorns have dropped just one game at the Moody Center this season, sitting at 14-1 in their first season playing in the facility.

The Longhorns have five players averaging double figures, including four averaging over 12 points a contest, led by Shaylee Gonzales' 12.6 points per game.

- BaylorBears.com -