Wednesday, January 10
Lawrence, Kan.
6:30 PM
Baylor
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Kansas
No. 4 WBB Takes Flight for Kansas
1/9/2024 9:49:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Bears are seeking 20th-straight win over the Jayhawks
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Ranked in the top five for the first time in over two years, it's hard for the No. 4/7 Baylor women (14-0, 3-0) "to play the underdog role anymore."
"We talked about how the target just keeps getting bigger," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose Bears will play Kansas (7-7, 0-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. "Now that we're one of three unbeatens left, you really become the hunted. It's really being focused on how and why we're here right now. And a lot of that is doing the little things, it's preparing the right way, it's being unselfish and not getting caught up in the hype."
The Bears have done it with a balanced attack and an offense that's ranked 14th nationally, averaging 83.9 points per game. Baylor is also second in assists (21.6), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.52-1), 30th in bench points per game (27.4) and 31st in scoring defense (55.1).
"It's easy to forget the little things when you're winning and having a lot of success," said sophomore Bella Fontleroy, who is averaging 10.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. "But we do the same drill in practice every day where we do our close-outs. And if it's not how Coach Tony (Greene) wants it, we go again. And we keep going until we get it right. Because the little things are what's going to keep us on top and be able to push through in those moments when we're tired."
An illustration of Baylor's balance and depth is having seven players average between 8.6 and 13.8 points. Senior guard Sarah Andrews leads the way with a team-high 41 made 3-pointers and 13.8 points per game, followed by Dre'Una Edwards (11.8 ppg, 7.4 rebounds), Fontleroy and sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (10.8 ppg, 7.7 rebounds).
Ohio transfer Yaya Felder became the Bears' fifth player to score 1,000 career points when she hit a free throw for the last point in Saturday's 87-58 win over Houston. Felder and Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell are coming off the bench and averaging 9.8 and 9.4 points, respectively.
"They understand now that our strength is in our numbers," Collen said. "I think it makes us hard to guard. They understand that if they keep the ball moving and the ball has energy and our assists percentage is high, it's fun basketball to play. . . . I think they're bought into winning. When you sacrifice personally and you win, it's a lot easier. Sacrificing personal stats and losing, that's a hard sell."
Picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll, Kansas is coming off a breakthrough 25-win season and a run to the WNIT postseason championship. But they've struggled early this year, losing by single digits to a pair of top-10 teams and losing their first three conference games, all on the road.
"I think right now, the challenge with Kansas is they're a super veteran team with three super seniors and one senior in that starting lineup," Collen said. "And they all came back with the expectations to get back to the NCAA tournament, to win a championship. And when you're 0-3, you're in survival mode. You've got to fight and scrape. That's the challenge for us is we're going to go in against a really talented but wounded Kansas team."
A returning All-Big 12 first-team pick, 6-6 senior center Tiayanna Jackson is averaging 12.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Fellow super seniors Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin are averaging 11.3 and 10.9 points, respectively, while freshman S'Mya Nichols leads the Jayhawks with 13.3 points per game.
"(They have) a really strong starting five, a lot of kids with a scorer's mentality," Fontleroy said. "Taiyanna Jackson, their post, she's a big girl, can finish around the rim, very crafty. We just have to be really disciplined in the execution of our game plan and playing our defense. That's one thing that's been really different this season is our defensive effort has impacted both sides of the ball. As long as we play our defense and stay focused, I think the other end will coe and we'll have a great night."
Wednesday's game is part of a two-game road trip for Baylor, which will play Iowa State (10-4, 3-0) at noon Saturday in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones are tied with Baylor, No. 12 Kansas State (15-1) and Oklahoma (9-5) atop the Big 12 standings at 3-0.
The Baylor-Kansas game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Kansas City Chiefs sideline reporter Josh Klingler and former Kansas All-American Wayne Simien calling the action.
WACO, Texas – The No. 4 Baylor women's basketball team begins a two-game road swing at Kansas on Wednesday. Tip-off between the Bears and the Jayhawks is set for 6:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
The game is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A live radio broadcast will be available on ESPN Central Texas (1660 AM/92.3 FM), and live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter and live stats.
STARTING FIVE
Baylor is 39-8 all-time against Kansas and 15-5 in Lawrence. The Bears have won the last 19 meetings between the two programs, and Wednesday's contest is the first of two meetings this season. Baylor's last loss in Lawrence was Jan. 19, 2014.
LAST TIME OUT VS. KANSAS
Last season saw the Bears sweep the two-game series with Kansas, picking up a ranked win over the Jayhawks in Lawrence (75-62) and 77-73 victory in Waco. In the series-opening win on the road, Sarah Andrews dropped a team-high 27 points in a full 40 minutes of action while adding four assists and pair of steals. At the Ferrell Center, Andrews turned in another 20-point performance, finishing with 23 and a team-leading eight assists.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor women's basketball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWBB.
Baylor Bear Insider
Ranked in the top five for the first time in over two years, it's hard for the No. 4/7 Baylor women (14-0, 3-0) "to play the underdog role anymore."
"We talked about how the target just keeps getting bigger," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose Bears will play Kansas (7-7, 0-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. "Now that we're one of three unbeatens left, you really become the hunted. It's really being focused on how and why we're here right now. And a lot of that is doing the little things, it's preparing the right way, it's being unselfish and not getting caught up in the hype."
The Bears have done it with a balanced attack and an offense that's ranked 14th nationally, averaging 83.9 points per game. Baylor is also second in assists (21.6), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.52-1), 30th in bench points per game (27.4) and 31st in scoring defense (55.1).
"It's easy to forget the little things when you're winning and having a lot of success," said sophomore Bella Fontleroy, who is averaging 10.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. "But we do the same drill in practice every day where we do our close-outs. And if it's not how Coach Tony (Greene) wants it, we go again. And we keep going until we get it right. Because the little things are what's going to keep us on top and be able to push through in those moments when we're tired."
An illustration of Baylor's balance and depth is having seven players average between 8.6 and 13.8 points. Senior guard Sarah Andrews leads the way with a team-high 41 made 3-pointers and 13.8 points per game, followed by Dre'Una Edwards (11.8 ppg, 7.4 rebounds), Fontleroy and sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (10.8 ppg, 7.7 rebounds).
Ohio transfer Yaya Felder became the Bears' fifth player to score 1,000 career points when she hit a free throw for the last point in Saturday's 87-58 win over Houston. Felder and Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell are coming off the bench and averaging 9.8 and 9.4 points, respectively.
"They understand now that our strength is in our numbers," Collen said. "I think it makes us hard to guard. They understand that if they keep the ball moving and the ball has energy and our assists percentage is high, it's fun basketball to play. . . . I think they're bought into winning. When you sacrifice personally and you win, it's a lot easier. Sacrificing personal stats and losing, that's a hard sell."
Picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll, Kansas is coming off a breakthrough 25-win season and a run to the WNIT postseason championship. But they've struggled early this year, losing by single digits to a pair of top-10 teams and losing their first three conference games, all on the road.
"I think right now, the challenge with Kansas is they're a super veteran team with three super seniors and one senior in that starting lineup," Collen said. "And they all came back with the expectations to get back to the NCAA tournament, to win a championship. And when you're 0-3, you're in survival mode. You've got to fight and scrape. That's the challenge for us is we're going to go in against a really talented but wounded Kansas team."
A returning All-Big 12 first-team pick, 6-6 senior center Tiayanna Jackson is averaging 12.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Fellow super seniors Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin are averaging 11.3 and 10.9 points, respectively, while freshman S'Mya Nichols leads the Jayhawks with 13.3 points per game.
"(They have) a really strong starting five, a lot of kids with a scorer's mentality," Fontleroy said. "Taiyanna Jackson, their post, she's a big girl, can finish around the rim, very crafty. We just have to be really disciplined in the execution of our game plan and playing our defense. That's one thing that's been really different this season is our defensive effort has impacted both sides of the ball. As long as we play our defense and stay focused, I think the other end will coe and we'll have a great night."
Wednesday's game is part of a two-game road trip for Baylor, which will play Iowa State (10-4, 3-0) at noon Saturday in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones are tied with Baylor, No. 12 Kansas State (15-1) and Oklahoma (9-5) atop the Big 12 standings at 3-0.
The Baylor-Kansas game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Kansas City Chiefs sideline reporter Josh Klingler and former Kansas All-American Wayne Simien calling the action.
WACO, Texas – The No. 4 Baylor women's basketball team begins a two-game road swing at Kansas on Wednesday. Tip-off between the Bears and the Jayhawks is set for 6:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
The game is available for streaming via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A live radio broadcast will be available on ESPN Central Texas (1660 AM/92.3 FM), and live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter and live stats.
STARTING FIVE
- The Bears are off to their best start (14-0) in program history outside of the perfect 40-0 season by the 2012 national championship team.
- Baylor joins No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 UCLA as the final three undefeated teams in Division I women's basketball.
- With the final point in Saturday's 87-58 win over Houston, Yaya Felder became the fifth player on the active roster to reach 1,000-career points. Baylor is the only program in the country with five 1,000-point scorers on its current team.
- Aijha Blackwell recorded her third double-double of the season on Saturday with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. The graduate senior now has a team-best 37 double-doubles in her career and the most double-figure scoring games (77) and double-digit rebounding performances (47) of any Bear.
- The Bears shot a season-high 57.1% from the floor against Houston and moved to 265-2 all-time when shooting 50% or better from the field.
- Baylor is one of three undefeated teams left in Division I women's basketball along with No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 UCLA.
- Of the three teams, Baylor is tied with South Carolina with 10 20-plus point victories this season while UCLA has seven.
- Baylor and South Carolina are the only two undefeated programs in the country with at least one 20-plus point win over an AP Top 25 opponent. The Bears used a 21-point victory to take down No. 23 TCU on Jan. 3, while the Gamecocks have a 29-point win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame and a 38-point victory over then-No. 14 Maryland on their record.
Baylor is 39-8 all-time against Kansas and 15-5 in Lawrence. The Bears have won the last 19 meetings between the two programs, and Wednesday's contest is the first of two meetings this season. Baylor's last loss in Lawrence was Jan. 19, 2014.
LAST TIME OUT VS. KANSAS
Last season saw the Bears sweep the two-game series with Kansas, picking up a ranked win over the Jayhawks in Lawrence (75-62) and 77-73 victory in Waco. In the series-opening win on the road, Sarah Andrews dropped a team-high 27 points in a full 40 minutes of action while adding four assists and pair of steals. At the Ferrell Center, Andrews turned in another 20-point performance, finishing with 23 and a team-leading eight assists.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor women's basketball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWBB.
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