Top Five Takeaways From Wednesday’s Big 12 Basketball Games
Here are five thoughts on the Big 12 women’s basketball games on Wednesday, a day in which all 14 teams were in action in the second round of conference action.
There was one Top 25 matchup, as No. 5 Baylor hosted No. 23 TCU in its first game at the new Foster Pavilion. The ranks of the undefeated teams in the Big 12 dropped to two.
Here are five thoughts on the evening.
The Top 25 Tussle
No. 23 TCU had not played a ranked team entering Wednesday’s game. No. 5 Baylor had already played and defeated four ranked teams into their first game at the brand-new Foster Pavilion.
That experience mattered as the Bears beat the Horned Frogs, 71-50, a game that was close at halftime but Baylor turned it into a rout after a huge third quarter in which Baylor outscored TCU, 23-10.
What happened? Baylor’s defense, for one. The Bears knew that center Sedona Prince and guard Madison Conner were each averaging more than 20 points per game. Baylor held both in check.
With Prince, Baylor ran different defenders at her, fronted her and doubled her. It’s hard to slow down the 6-foot-7 forward, but Baylor made her uncomfortable enough that her 20 points didn’t do too much damage.
But they did an incredible job on Conner, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the country. At times, the Bears gave up help-side rules in defending her to make sure she had a hand in her face every time she shot. The result was Conner failing to make a 3-pointer and finishing with 11 points.
The Bears struggled for a half to figure out TCU’s zone defense. In the second half the Bears pushed the ball more in transition, got more action in the middle of the halfcourt and used screen action to free up their wings. Then things started to roll.
In the third quarter it was Darianna Littlepage-Buggs who lit the match, as she finished with a career-high 21 points with five 3-pointers. In the fourth quarter, guard Sarah Andrews finished them off with 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
I think we’re starting to see the fruition of what Baylor coach Nicki Collen has wanted her team to be since she arrived three years ago.
She wanted to bring a WNBA sensibility after her time with the Atlanta Dream, and the Bears look like her kind of team now. Deep, versatile and a matchup problem at every position.
The team is humming so well right now that Aijha Blackwell, a highly-regarded transfer who averaged a double-double at Missouri two seasons ago, is coming off the bench. She had eight points and eight rebounds.
That’s how good Baylor looks right now.
TCU took a hit, no question, as they absorbed their first loss of the season. But the Horned Frogs look like a team that can win 20 or more games and reach the NCAA Tournament in coach Mark Campbell’s first season. The Horned Frogs needed this type of game to recalibrate for Big 12 play after a non-conference schedule filled with mid-major and low-major teams.
As for Foster Pavilion, it looks great on TV and I look forward to seeing it in person soon. Not for nothing, but that halfcourt camera angle is way too high. Did no one at Baylor think about that?
Defense On Defense
The Texas Longhorns and the West Virginia Mountaineers will play on Saturday. It may be one of the best defensive games you watch all year.
Texas defeated Texas Tech, 74-47, putting together a second quality game without guard Rori Harmon (who is out for the season) and forward Taylor Jones (who should return from injury soon). The Longhorns — who love to press full court throughout the game — forced the Lady Raiders into 25 turnovers and 33.3 percent shooting.
Without Harmon, coach Vic Schaefer is making adjustments to his starting lineup, but somehow his bench — which is in the Top 10 in points in the country — still produces. Forwards Aaliyah Moore (18 points and 12 rebounds) and DeYona Gaston (17 points and 11 rebounds) had double-doubles off the bench.
Meanwhile, freshman Madison Booker dropped in 18 points as she continued her stellar campaign.
Meanwhile, West Virginia remained undefeated and beat Cincinnati, 68-53. The Mountaineers like to play a 2-2-1 zone and played it to perfection, forcing 10 first-quarter turnovers and 17 first-half turnovers. The Mountaineers average 25 turnovers per game, one of the best rates in the country. Cincinnati finished with 24 turnovers.
WVU’s Kyah Watson had a fine game, scoring 14 points. Jordan Harrison scored 13 points, while JJ Quinerly and Lauren Fields added 12 points each.
The contrasts in Morgantown will be on display on Saturday. It will either be a high-scoring game with plenty of points off turnovers or a low-scoring game with points coming off long offensive possessions driven by frustrating defense.
Kansas Freefall
The Kansas Jayhawks were supposed to be a contender for the Big 12 title. Lately, nothing is going right.
The Jayhawks dropped their second straight Big 12 game, falling to Iowa State, 69-61. The Jayhawks have a quality starting five, and all played a role against the Cyclones. But their bench was unable to produce a single point.
Kansas hasn’t had a deep bench this season, and it’s possible that’s starting to wear on Kansas, which saw all three of its super-senior return for one last run — guards Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin, along with center Taiyanna Jackson.
Kansas lost this game in spite of forcing more turnovers than it gave up.
Iowa State — which won its second straight Big 12 game to start the season — was on fire all night including making half of its 3-pointers, led by Division II transfer Hannah Belanger, who hit six 3-pointers on her way to 19 points.
The Cyclones now appear to be turning a corner with the return of guard Emily Ryan from injury. The funny thing is Ryan isn’t playing a huge role in this surge. It’s been transfers like Belanger and forward Isnelle Natabou, along with freshmen like forwards Audi Crooks and Addy Brown.
But, Kansas has gone from a contender to a team to have deep concerns about in two months — and league play has barely begun.
Oklahoma State’s Much-Needed Win
Last weekend the Oklahoma State Cowgirls lost Kennedy Fauntleroy, a transfer who joined them before the season after earning Big EAST Freshman of the Year honors as a freshman. It further sapped depth from a team that had to sign former Kansas State transfer Emilee Ebert a week ago.
The Cowgirls needed a win and they got it, beating UCF, 68-61. But their depth issues are clear. Six players played 25 minutes or more, and both Anna Gret Asi and Quincy Noble played 40 minutes each.
The good news for Oklahoma State is that all five starters averaged in double figures. The bad news is the workload likely isn’t sustainable in a rigorous Big 12 schedule.
Newbie Blues
The learning curve was going to be significant for the four new Big 12 teams — BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston. To this point, none of them have had the chance to play each other in league play.
After two rounds of league action, the four new teams are a combined 0-8 in league action. Each will get a chance to claim their first Big 12 win on Saturday — but they’ll have to do it against legacy Big 12 teams.
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