Baylor
Colorado
No. 20 WBB Prepped for Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament
3/5/2026 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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20/18 BAYLOR BEARS (24-7, 13-5 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
20/18 BAYLOR (24-7, 13-5 Big 12) at PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT March 6-8, 2026 Kansas City, Mo. • T-Mobile Center (18,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN+, ESPN+, ESPN LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Lori Fogleman (Analyst) |
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PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Location: Kansas City, Mo. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 |
Game notes:
• Baylor opens the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8 p.m. CT. The game airs on ESPN+ and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
• At 24-7 overall, Baylor enters the postseason ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and No. 18 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. The ranking marks Baylor's 24th straight appearance in the AP poll and its 365th in the last 20 seasons, the second‑most nationally in that span behind UConn.
• Baylor is 34-5 (.872) in the Big 12 Tournament over the previous 15 years (since 2010-11), the fourth‑best conference tournament record in Division I during that span. Only UConn (44-1), FGCU (39-2) and South Dakota State (35-5) posted better marks. Baylor also won 11 Big 12 Tournament championships all time, the most among current conference members, with Iowa State standing as the next closest program with three titles.
• Through the end of the regular season, Baylor led the Big 12 in blocks per game (6.3) and 3‑point percentage defense (25.5). The Bears also held top‑three conference rankings in field goal percentage defense (35.7), defensive rebounds per game (28.4) and rebounds per game (40.39).
• Baylor enters the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament as the No. 3 seed for just the second time and as a top-three seed for the 20th time in the tournament's 30-year history, holding a 51-17 record.
• The Bears last came in as the No. 3 seed in 2007 and went 1-1 with a win over 11th-seeded Kansas before falling to second-seeded Oklahoma in the semifinals. That squad, led by starters Jessica Morrow, Rachel Allison, Bernice Mosby, Jhasmin Player and Angela Tisdale, finished 28-8 and saw its season end with a 2OT loss to NC State in Raleigh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• BU's No. 3 seed marked the third top-three seed of the Nicki Collen era, which included a pair of finals appearances in Collen's first five years at the helm (2022, 2025).
• Last season, Aaronette Vonleh, Baylor's 39th Big 12 All-Tournament Team selection, helped lead the Bears to a 2-1 run through the bracket. Baylor opened with a six-point win over Iowa State and followed with a redemptive 10-point victory over Oklahoma State in the semifinals. TCU claimed the title with a win over the Bears in the third of three tightly contested matchups between the teams during the 2024-25 campaign.
• The Big 12 and ASB GlassFloor introduced a state-of-the-art full LED video sports floor that will debut at the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Tournaments will mark the first time ASB GlassFloor's LED court technology will be used for official competition in the United States. Baylor received a full practice on the surface in Orlando during the WBCA Showcase in November between its games against Iowa and Davidson at the Walt Disney World Resort's ESPN Wide World of Sports.
• Baylor placed four players on the All-Big 12 teams for the 2025–26 season, highlighted by Taliah Scott on the All-Big 12 First Team.
• Scott earned All-Big 12 First Team honors after averaging 20.2 points per game and emerging as one of the nation's most efficient scorers, becoming the 22nd Division I player since 2000 to reach 1,000 career points in 48 games.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs landed on the Second Team and All-Defensive Team, finishing her fourth straight season with All-Big 12 recognition and averaging a double-double with 10.7 points and 10.1 rebounds.
• Bella Fontleroy earned All-Defensive Team and honorable mention honors, anchoring Baylor's defense and adding four 20-point games while surpassing 1,000 career points and climbing to No. 4 on the program's career 3-pointers list.
• Jana Van Gytenbeek picked up honorable mention honors after starting all 31 games and directing Baylor's offense, highlighted by a triple-double against Alabama State and a season that placed her seventh on Baylor's single-season assists list.
