Baylor
Arizona
WBB Heads West to See Arizona Wednesday
1/7/2025 1:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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NR/RV BAYLOR BEARS (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
NR/RV BAYLOR (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) vs ARIZONA WILDCATS (11-5, 2-1 Big 12) Jan. 8, 2025 • 7:00 p.m. CT Tucson, Ariz. • McKale Memorial Center (14,688) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN+ TALENT: Cindy Brunson (pxp), Joan Bonvicini (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), David Kaye (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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ARIZONA WILDCATS (11-5, 2-1 Big 12) Location: Tucson, Ariz. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Adia Burns (Arizona, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Two games into her Baylor tenure, Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu is trying to "be patient, waiting my time and just trying to get into the flow of the system."
Making her fourth stop on a collegiate tour that has included Mississippi State, Texas, Florida and now Baylor, the 5-7 fifth-year senior guard has seen limited spot playing time since arriving in Waco after finishing her fall semester in Gainesville.
"It's definitely an adjustment," said Matharu, who will play her first road game with the Bears (12-3, 2-1) when they face Arizona (11-5, 2-1) at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday at the McKale Memorial Center in Tempe. "Just new faces, learning a new system and things like that. But it's about what I bring and how I can help in any way possible. That's really where I've been trying to put my focus and my energy."
The second-leading scorer in the SEC last season, averaging 19.0 points per game for the Gators, Matharu joins a Baylor backcourt rotation with double-digit scorers Jada Walker (12.3 ppg, 5.3 assists), Sarah Andrews (12.0 ppg, 5.7 assists) and Yaya Felder (11.5 ppg).
"When she really picks up the system, I feel like that's a great backcourt again with me, Sarah, (Aliyah), Yaya. Like, all our guards are super hard to guard, whether we're coming off the bench or starting. So, it's a great impact that she brings to our team."
Matharu admits that she didn't even expect to play when she got in for 11 minutes in a frustrating 84-61 loss to Oklahoma State last Wednesday and four more minutes in Saturday's bounce-back 76-62 win over Colorado.
"I came in such an awkward time," Matharu said of the mid-year transfer. "But just getting reps in practice and trying to go as hard as I can those reps. But yeah, I feel way more comfortable. When I first got here, I was pretty nervous."
Baylor coach Nicki Collen said Matharu is "still limited for us," but the adjustment has been on the defensive end. She has struggled to pick up Collen's defense.
"She's an elite defensive player when she doesn't have to think," Collen said, "and I think that's a unique challenge when you're in a new program and trying to figure out where you're supposed to be. She's hard to screen, she's really good on the ball. I think when she's out there, if she plays to not make a mistake, if she plays tentatively, she'll probably have more problems than if she just goes all out and her mistakes are full speed."
Baylor is facing an Arizona team that has won four of its last five games, including conference road games at BYU and UCF. Four years removed from a Final Four run and loss to Stanford in the national championship game, the Wildcats are 3-0 all-time against Baylor, including a 75-54 win over the Bears in a Dec. 18, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
"Coaches are creatures of habit," Collen said. "There are things as you play teams year after year that you're like, 'Okay, you know (Iowa State coach) Bill Fennelly is going to do this in these situations.'' You don't have that same feel with the new opponents. But certainly, I remember pretty well getting smacked up at American Airlines Center by Arizona. So, we know them system-wise, but it's a different roster than that roster."
Ninth-year head coach Adia Barnes reloaded with transfers Ajae Yoakum (FIU), Sahnya Jah (South Carolina), Paulina Paris (North Carolina) and Jorynn Ross (Pepperdine). But the Wildcats are led by the sophomore trio of Breya Cunningham (12.9 ppg, 6.8 rebounds), Jada Williams (11.7 ppg) and Skylar Jones (10.3 ppg).
Last year, they finished 18-16, losing to Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"I've described them for our fans as similar to Texas in their ball pressure, their tenacity defensively. They're defined by their defensive pressure, their full-court press," Collen said. "You have to take care of the basketball against them. They're fueled by their defense. . . . They really muck it up, make the game ugly and play really hard."
This is the first of a two-fer trip for the Bears, who will play Arizona State (8-7, 2-1) at 4:30 p.m. CT Saturday in Tempe.
Wednesday's game will be streamed by ESPN+, with Cindy Brunson and Joan Bonvicini calling the action.
Game notes
• Baylor is back on the road in The Grand Canyon State, playing Arizona on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT from the McKale Memorial Center before a quick drive to see Arizona State on Saturday.
• Wednesday's game is only the ninth played by the Bears in the state of Arizona and third in Tucson, as the Bears opened the 2006 NCAA Tournament in the First and Second Rounds hosted by the University of Arizona. Without ever facing the Wildcats in their city, BU went 2-0 in those first two rounds with wins over Northern Arizona and New Mexico.
• Baylor split a year-opening two game homestand at Foster Pavilion, falling to Oklahoma State and picking up a win over Colorado in the squad's second and third conference games of the season.
• BU completed a 10-2 proper non-conference slate, going perfect at home in the first season of non-con play at Foster Pavilion, with losses coming at Oregon and against Indiana in The Bahamas. Before the postseason, one final non-conference game will be contested against UCLA in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic on Jan. 20 in Newark, N.J.
• Never facing Arizona on their home court, the Wildcats hold a 3-0 advantage over the Bears all-time with a trio of neutral-site tilts in the 1981 UC Irvine Invitational in California, the 1997 Louisiana Tech Dial Classic in Ruston and the 2022 Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
• Arizona is 7-2 at the McKale Memorial Center this season with a 69-48 loss to Utah in its first Big 12 game at home.
• A 2-1 start to conference play was sparked by wins over BYU and Utah and the Wildcats are 3-3 against Power Four foes.
• Breya Cunningham (12.9), Jada Williams (11.7) and Skylar Jones (10.3) all average double-figures for UA while Cunningham is the leading rebounder with 6.8 a game.
• A 76-62 win welcomed the Colorado Buffaloes back to the Big 12 Conference in the team's second conference win of the year and the ninth straight over the Buffs.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs led the Bears for the fifth time in scoring and 12th time in rebounding for her seventh double-double of the season.
• In her first game against her former team, Aaronette Vonleh got 15 points and a trio of steals.
• All five starters tallied double figures in BU's 46.6% shooting performance.
• Junior Littlepage-Buggs averages a double-double (14.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg) through 15 games this season with 11 double-digit performances, three with 20+.
• BU had its best semester in the classroom outside of a COVID term during the Fall 2024 course schedule, posting a 3.26 GPA.
• 10 Bears posted higher than a 3.0 and four were honored as Academic Champions by the Baylor Athletics Student-Athlete Center for Excellence.
