No. 21 WBB Begins Busy December Schedule with Home Game Against HCU

Sunday, December 4

Waco, Texas

2 p.m.

Baylor

HCU

Tickets

No. 21 WBB Begins Busy December Schedule with Home Game Against HCU

12/2/2022 6:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Baylor Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Rather than poring over scouting reports and game-plan strategies, the 21^st-ranked Baylor Bears spent the last week focusing on themselves.
            After giving up nine second-chance points in the last 3 ½ minutes of an 84-75 loss to No. 22 Michigan, the Bears (5-2) doubled up their work on defense and rebounding in prepping for Sunday's 2 p.m. matchup against Houston Christian (3-3) at the Ferrell Center.
            "The advantage to the break, in some ways, is that you're not focusing on your next opponent, you're focused on yourself," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. "We did a toughness drill where they had to get two stops, had to take a charge and dive on a loose ball . . . stuff that you're a little bit afraid to do as a coach because you see the opportunity for injury in those drills."
            Despite playing a challenging schedule that has included three ranked teams, Baylor is averaging 75.3 points with a 43.2% shooting percentage overall and seven made 3-pointers per game.
            Even with Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell (14.0 ppg) missing the last four games with an injury, the Bears have four other players averaging double digits. Junior guard Sarah Andrews leads the way, averaging 13.7 points and 4.3 assists, followed by senior forward Caitlin Bickle (12.3 ppg, 6.8 rebounds), senior guard Jaden Owens (11.9 ppg, 6.4 assists) and freshman Bella Fontleroy (10.0 ppg, 6.7 rebounds).
            "I think the biggest thing for us this week has been toughness, rebounding, being able to finish games," said Bickle, who has scored in double digits in three of the four games since returning from an injury. "I don't think we had any trouble on the offensive end. The big thing is just bringing that offensive intensity to the defensive end."
            Telling the team that it was on her, Bickle picked up her fourth foul and a technical to foul out with 6:46 left in the game against Michigan. The Wolverines outscored the Bears, 21-5, over the last 4 ½ minutes and ended the game on an 11-0 run with Bickle off the floor.
            "I should know better," she said. "I went into the locker room and was upset with myself more than anything. I told the team, that was on me. I need to be better as a fifth-year senior. Knowing the game and knowing myself, I needed to be better. Moving forward, that's not going to happen again."
            At the Gulf Coast Showcase Classic in Estero, Fla., Baylor blew out Saint Louis, 92-58, and held off No. 23 Villanova, 75-70, before losing to Michigan in Sunday's championship game.
            "I thought our pace was really good, for the most part, all weekend. We shared the ball particularly well," Collen said. "The negative takeaway is that we've got to be tougher. We've lost two games (to Maryland and Michigan) and given up too many offensive rebounds down the stretch of those games."
            With Blackwell out and Kentucky transfer Dre'Una Edwards still waiting on an eligibility waiver, Collen has had to go with a smaller lineup that includes Andrews, Owens and Ja'Mee Asberry at guard with Bickle and 6-1 freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.
            "Honestly, we played three littles all last year," Collen said of a lineup that included Alabama transfer Jordan Lewis as the third guard. "The advantage when I'm playing small is that I've got multiple ballhandlers. Everyone that knows me knows I lose my mind when we turn the ball over. When you play fewer ballhandlers, you're going to turn the basketball over more.
            "When we play the three small guards and play Caitlin and Bella, we have incredible spacing. For the first time since I've been here, we're then putting five capable 3-point shooters on the floor and we can stretch people out and then re-attack. That's what you do at this level. You adapt. You just go to different packages."
            The defending Southland Conference regular-season champions, Houston Christian (formerly Houston Baptist) has played a challenging schedule that included back-to-back losses against Nebraska and LSU.
            An Edinburgh, Scotland, native in her 10^th season as head coach, Donna Finnie has seven international players on her 14-player roster. Julia Vukajovic, a grad student from Luxembourg, is averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game, while 6-0 senior forward N'Denasija Collins is averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds.
            "Nicki and the staff have told us, whoever we're playing, just continue to play how we play," Bickle said. "Whether we're playing South Carolina or UT Arlington – they're completely drastically different teams – more so than competing with them, we need to compete with ourselves and make sure we're playing the best we can."
            This is the first of five December home games for the Bears, including the Big 12 opener versus TCU (3-3) on New Year's Eve. In the only game outside of the Ferrell Center, Baylor will play No. 14/13 Arizona (6-0) on Dec. 18 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas as part of the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge.

NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Baylor played its third top-25 game in four outings last Sunday, falling to then-No. 22 Michigan, 84-75, in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The contest marked the first time since the 2016-17 campaign that the Bears played three non-conference regular-season games against teams in the AP Top 25 in a four-game span (Maryland, Saint Louis (NR), Villanova, Michigan).

The Bears went a season-best 31-for-56 (55.4%) from the floor in the loss led by senior Jaden Owens' career-high 22-point performance. Graduate Ja'Mee Asberry finished with a season-high 15 points against the Wolverines, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range, while dishing out a team-high six assists.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
For the 358th-straight week, the Bears have been included in the AP Top 25 Poll, checking in at No. 21. The streak marks the second-longest behind UConn's 547-consecutive weeks. Baylor is making its 400th appearance all-time in the poll this week, marking the 12th-most appearances by a Division I women's basketball program.

JUST JADEN
Owens was named to the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team after a career outing at the event (Nov. 25-27). She notched a career-high 17 points in the win over Villanova before surpassing that with 22 points against Michigan. On the weekend, she averaged 16.7 points per game and shot 60.6% from the floor.

Owens has led the team in assists in all but one contest this year, and has a team-high 45, which is currently the 14th most in the country. The guard has reached double-figure scoring in three-straight games. Owens turned in her second point-assist double-double with 11 points and 10 assists in the tournament-opening win over Saint Louis on Nov. 25.

SCOUTING THE SERIES WITH HCU
Baylor is 3-0 all-time against the Huskies with all three victories occurring in the Ferrell Center. In all three contests, the Bears have scored 100-plus points, and BU has outscored the Huskies, 330-142, in those outings.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
HCU, formerly HBU, is 3-3 to start the year, most recently falling to UTRGV, 68-51, on Thursday. The Huskies' game against Baylor marks the third top-25 opponent they will face to start the 2022-23 slate. HCU is led by Julija Vujakovic and N'Denasija Collins, who are averaging 13.2 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Two of HCU's three victories have been on the road, and Sunday's game will mark the fifth game the Huskies have played away from Houston.

PROMOTIONS
The women's basketball team has partnered with South Waco Elementary for a coat drive this fall. Fans can bring a new or lightly used coat for kids, ages 5-13, to the marketing table on the concourse during home games until Dec. 7.

Sunday's contest, presented by Hello Bello, will feature a halftime baby race and testimonial videos featuring select women's basketball student-athletes as a part of Faith & Family Day.

Tickets for Sunday's game are available at BaylorBears.com.

FOSTER PAVILION
As a reminder, you must be a current season ticket holder to qualify for season tickets in the Paul & Alejandra Foster Pavilion. The deadline to purchase season tickets for the current year is Dec. 31, 2022. Those interested in purchasing new tickets in the Ferrell Center can purchase online. For those interested in the Baylor basketball seat selection process, visit here.

- BaylorBears.com -