By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            With three top-25 road wins, another at a neutral site and riding a three-game winning streak, Nicki Collen thinks the Baylor women (16-6, 7-3) deserve a spot in the Associated Press Top 25.
            But all she's worried about is "the game in front of us," which is a matchup against No. 16/17 Oklahoma (18-4, 8-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferrell Center that could go a long way toward winning a 13^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship.
            "A conference championship means another ring and a 1 (seed) in front of our name. And that's the goal," Collen said. "We can only get to that goal if we attack the one game in front of us. . . . Do I think we deserve to be ranked? Sure, I do. At the same time, I really only care about winning the (next game)."
            Coming off a 76-70 road win over then-No. 12 Iowa State, Baylor goes for the series sweep of the Sooners, who have won seven of their last nine since an 81-70 home-court loss to the Bears on Jan. 3. OU has moved up to second in the conference standings, a game behind 20^th-ranked Texas (18-6, 9-2) and a half-game ahead of third-place BU.
            "I think (Oklahoma) and Iowa State kind of play similar," said junior guard Sarah Andrews, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, who's averaging 16.3 points and 4.5 assists per game. "They both shoot the ball really well from the perimeter and they have multiple spots they can shoot the 3. . . . On the offensive rebound, they're looking to kick it out for a wide-open 3. On transition, we have to squeeze on certain spots where we know the shooters are and they're going to look to shoot the ball."
            In the first meeting, Andrews scored a career-high 30 points in a game where a combined 53 fouls were called, five players fouled out and Oklahoma shot 32 free throws.
            "I tore this tendon (in my hand) before we played them the last time, demonstrating how they're going to reach and scrap and claw on every rebound, every drive," Collen said. "If you grab a rebound and you chin and check, you're going to pick up a foul because they're coming.
            "If you grab a rebound and you're not ready to chin and check, you're either going to get raked across the arm or they're going to get a clean swipe. I think it's a mentality that they have. I don't think it's dirty, it's just the mentality that they have."
            While OU is one of two NCAA Division I schools (Vermont) to start the same starting five in every game this season, Collen has used seven different lineups and is 3-0 with the quintet of Andrews, senior guards Jaden Owens (8.7 ppg, 5.7 assists) and Ja'Mee Asberry (11.0 ppg), senior forward Caitlin Bickle (11.6 ppg, 7.6 rebounds) and freshman forward Bella Fontleroy.
            Coming off the bench in the last three games, freshman forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs from Edmond, Okla., has recorded three-straight double-doubles and a team-high 10 for the year, earning Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors five times.
            "I see a lot of greatness in her. I also see a lot of growth opportunities for her," Collen said. "You look at the OU game the last time, she went 1-for-1 and fouled out in nine minutes. That was at home (back in Oklahoma) in front of a lot of fans. She had a lot of people at that game.
            "It's like baptism by fire (for Fontleroy and Buggs), and I'm just glad they show up and keep competing. Maybe they don't know what they don't know, but they're competing against All-American-type kids on a regular basis."
            In the win over Iowa State, the two freshmen had to defend Ashley Joens and held her to 9-for-22 shooting and 1-for-9 from 3-point range.
            "Buggs surprises me each game. She'll make a move, and I'm like, 'Whoah, she's still a freshman,' which she has so much more to prove,'' Andrews said.  "And Bella, those two together are like a knockout punch. You've got to pick your poison. They haven't had easy assignments, guarding those types of players at this level. But they've stepped up to the plate and showed up each night."
            The Sooners have four double-figure scorers, led by 6-0 senior forward Madi Williams, who's averaging 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Taylor Robertson (11.7 ppg) broke former Ohio State standout Kelsey Mitchell's previous NCAA record for made 3-pointers (497) and now sits at 509 with a shooting percentage of .441 from outside the arc.
            "You've got to respect it," Andrews said. "You know she can shoot that thing from anywhere, the other side of the baseline, the logo, from out of bounds. Congrats to her for doing that, but you've got to respect her game behind the arc."
            Tuesday'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.


WACO, Texas – The Baylor women's basketball team returns home for another tough test on Tuesday when it hosts No. 16 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center. 
 
The contest between the Bears (16-6, 7-3 Big 12) and the Sooners (18-4, 8-3 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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Baylor picked up its third top-25 Big 12 road win on Saturday, sliding past Iowa State, 76-70. The victory by the Bears marked their fourth top-25 win of the season and highest ranked win since topping the Cyclones on the road last year when they were No. 8 in the poll.
 
Four Bears reached double figures led by Sarah Andrews' seventh 20-plus point performance of the season, as she finished with 21. Caitlin Bickle and Ja'Mee Asberry contributed 14 points apiece, while Darianna Littlepage-Buggs finished with 13. For the 14th time this season, Jaden Owens led the Bears in assists, dishing out eight.
 
ANDREWS, LITTLEPAGE-BUGGS SWEEP BIG 12 HONORS
Sarah Andrews and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs were named the Big 12 Player and Big 12 Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Monday. The award was the second career weekly honor for Andrews, while Littlepage-Buggs picked up her third-straight, and fifth total, recognition of the season.
 
Andrews led the Big 12 in scoring, notching 22.0 points per game in 38.5 minutes of action. In a win over Kansas, Andrews became just the fourth player in NCAA Division I since 2009-10 to earn at least 20 points, eight assists, three steals and three blocks in a game and was the first to do so since 2019. In Baylor's top-15 win at Iowa State, the junior turned in her seventh 20-plus point performance and second-straight, finishing with 21, and she has reached double figures in 10-straight games.
 
Littlepage-Buggs joined Brittney Griner (8) and Nina Davis (7) as the only Baylor freshman since 2009-10 to earn six double-doubles in league games, recording a pair in BU's wins last week. She averaged 12.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last week, leading the Big 12 on the glass. The forward has posted double-doubles in five of the last six games.
 
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA AND THE SERIES
Baylor holds the 34-27 advantage in the all-time series with Oklahoma, winning the series opener this season on the road. Oklahoma swept the series during the 2021-22 campaign, but the Bears have won eight of the last 10 meetings with the Sooners. 
 
The Sooners are second in the league standings with an 8-3 record, behind Texas (9-2) and ahead of Baylor (7-3).  Oklahoma has won three of its last five, dropping games on the road at Texas (Jan. 25) and Iowa State (Jan. 28). The Sooners enter Tuesday's contest on a two-game win streak, besting TCU and West Virginia by over 20 points each outing. The Sooners have four players averaging double figures, led by Madi Williams at 16.5 points per game.