Baylor
Colorado
No. 19/22 WBB Set for First Game in Boulder Since 2011
2/18/2025 1:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
 |
19/22 BAYLOR BEARS (22-5, 12-2 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
19/22 BAYLOR (22-5, 12-2 Big 12) at COLORADO BUFFALOES (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) Feb. 19, 2025 • 8:00 p.m. CT Boulder, Colo. • CU Events Center (11,064) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: 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) Baylor Social Media:    |
 |
COLORADO BUFFALOES (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) Location: Boulder, Colo. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: JD Payne (Saint Mary's (CA), 1999) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – It might be too early to say the Big 12 women's basketball championship race goes through Waco, although the 19th-ranked Baylor Bears' matchup on March 2 against No. 10 TCU at Foster Pavilion might ultimately decide it.
But for now, at least, the path for the Bears (22-5, 12-2) takes them to two of the league's toughest home venues to play this season – Colorado (17-8, 8-6) at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday in Boulder and No. 12/15 Kansas State (24-4, 12-3) at 6 p.m. Monday in Manhattan. Those two teams are a combined 29-1 and undefeated in conference (14-0) at their home gyms.
"Colorado is 20 points better at home than they are on the road," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team is coming off a 66-60 road victory at Texas Tech. "They've beaten Kansas State at their place, they've beaten West Virginia at their place. They've played really, really well at home. Throw in altitude, and we're going to have to play really well to beat them."
One of the keys, Collen said, is getting off to a better start. Against Tech, the Bears gave up 23 first-quarter points and trailed by double digits in the second quarter before outscoring the Lady Raiders, 41-25, over the last 23 minutes.
"We came out a little bit sluggish, and we gave them an opportunity to get up on us," said mid-year Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu, who is averaging 7.6 points off the bench and shooting 41.9% from 3-point range. "I think we started to show who we really are as a team in the second half. We just had small mishaps, one step off. It happens."
Collen said Baylor wasn't "very dialed-in" early, particularly on the defensive end. Tech shot 60% in the first quarter, including 4-of-5 from outside the arc, to open up a 23-19 lead.
"I think we let them get shots they weren't supposed to get," she said. "We were missing assignments, we weren't denying what we were supposed to deny. So, I think we got away with it. Not that you don't learn a lot from winning close games and getting in those battles where you've got to make plays down the stretch. But we've got to start better, certainly, to beat Colorado at home."
Other than the specific challenge of playing the Buffaloes in the CU Events Center, the tough part is figuring out a scouting report for a team that has had as many as four starters out with various injuries.
Leading scorer Frida Formann (13.3 ppg) has yet to play a game in February; 6-3 forward Jade Masogaya (12.0 ppg, 4.8 rebounds) sat out Saturday's 83-60 win over Houston; and guards Kindyll Wetta (5.8 ppg) and Sara-Rose Smith (4.4 ppg, 6.1 rebounds) have been sidelined for the last two games.
"The nature of their system, there's a lot of interchangeable parts," Collen said, "so I think they've done a good job of playing to the strengths of whoever is playing. . . . Formann's been in a boot. Sara-Rose Smith has been in a boot. Masogayo was on crutches. Kindyll Wetta had a forehead to the floor at Iowa State. You just don't know what's the timing on all of that. So, you prepare. Do they play? Do they not play? You kind of prepare both ways."
Baylor leads the all-time series with Colorado, 13-8, and has won the last nine, including beating the Buffs, 76-62, back on Jan. 4 at Foster Pavilion. All five starters scored in double figures for the Bears, with Darianna Littlepage-Buggs leading the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Averaging a double-double for the season with 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds, Littlepage-Buggs also paces Baylor in both categories. Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh (13.6 ppg, 5.0 rebounds) will be matched against her former team for the second time after a 15-point performance in that Jan. 4 game.
"I think the biggest thing is just being where your feet are," Matharu said of being in the Big 12 title race. "For me, I'm just taking it game by game, one thing at a time. Every day, they remind us, 'Okay, we're down to four games now.' As I get close to the end of my collegiate career . . . I really just want to savor the moment."
Wednesday's game will be streamed by ESPN+. The Bears return home to host Iowa State (18-9, 9-5) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday before the quick turnaround to play K-State Monday night in Manhattan.
Game notes-
• Baylor remains on the road, facing Colorado on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT. The game is the first for the Bears in Boulder since the Buffs left the Big 12 Conference after the 2011 season. Coverage will be live on ESPN+ and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
• The Bears are the winners of their last six games in a streak that began January 29 at UCF. Included in the six is a ranked upset over then-No. 18 West Virginia.
• Eying her final home stretch of collegiate hoops, Sarah Andrews broke the Big 12 Conference record for career games played on Saturday afternoon at Texas Tech. The new record of 159 (and counting) bests Iowa State's Ashley Joens, who took the top spot after the 2023 season.
• The Bears remain the leading rebounding team in the Big 12 Conference, averaging 42.93 per game, enough for seventh in the NCAA, and hold an average margin of 10.3 boards over their opponents.
• Back in the AP Top 25, the Bears reentered the rankings on Monday, February 10. Placed at No. 19 in its sixth appearance of 2024-25, BU received votes in eight editions while being left out twice.
• Baylor holds the all-time record against the Buffaloes, 13-8, with the two programs facing off each year as part of the first 15 years of the Big 12 Conference (1996-2011). The Bears defeated Colorado in each of the last nine contests, last taking a 76-62 victory this season at Foster Pavilion before not playing each other since March 2011.
• The last win Colorado saw over a Baylor squad was in 2004, as the Buffaloes put a 10-point win over BU at the Ferrell Center.
• The Buffs are 13-1 at home with the lone loss coming against No. 24 Louisville, 79-71 in November. In Big 12 play alone, Colorado has home wins over No. 14 West Virginia, UCF, Kansas, No. 10 K-State, Texas Tech, Arizona and Houston.
• Frida Formann (13.3), Jade Masogayo (12.0) and Lior Garzon (10.5) each average double figures in points, while Sarah-Rose Smith leads the squad in rebounds at 6.1 per game.
• Through games on Feb. 15, Baylor is ranked 18th in the NET, going 2-3 against Quad 1 programs and 3-2 over Quad 2.
• BU's highest-ranked NET win is over No. 13 West Virginia. The Bears upset the Mountaineers, 75-65, led by 21 points from Aaronette Vonleh and 13 rebounds from Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.
• Remaining in the Big 12 slate, BU is set to face two Q1 teams and two in Q2 (including Colorado).
• Colorado enters the contest at No. 62, with a NET-best, 10-point win over No. 7 K-State.
• 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.
