No. 17 Baylor WBB Opens Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Friday

WACO, Texas – The No. 17 Baylor women’s basketball team begins its quest for its 12th Big 12 tournament title on Friday when it faces off against the winner of Texas Tech/Houston at 11 a.m. in the second round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The game is available for streaming via the Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A live radio broadcast will be available on ESPN Central Texas (1660 AM/92.3 FM) and live in-game updates will be provided via Twitter and live stats.

STARTING FIVE

Baylor enters the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as the No. 5 seed marking just the second time the Bears have been the five seed. BU is a league-leading 48-15 (.762) all-time at the tournament.

The Bears are a perfect 7-0 at the tournament against this year’s No. 12 seed Texas Tech, while holding an 0-4 record against former Southwest Conference opponent and No. 13-seeded Houston. Baylor will face the winner of Texas Tech/Houston, who face off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night, on Friday.

The Bears have held their opponent to below 20% shooting from behind the 3-point arc for four-straight games. Baylor ranks fifth in the country, and first in the Big 12, in three-point percentage defense (25.5).

In her first 47 games as a Bear, Jana Van Gytenbeek turned in just three double-figure scoring performances, and in her last eight games, she has finished in double figures five times, including three of the last four.

Baylor is 19-1 this season when outrebounding its opponents, including 11-1 in Big 12 action. The Bears have outrebounded their opponent in five-straight heading to Kansas City.

LAST TIME OUT VS. TEXAS TECH

Baylor and Texas Tech faced each other just once during the regular season with the Bears coming out on top, 61-32, at Foster Pavilion. The Bears have won 29-consecutive meetings with Texas Tech, with the last loss coming on Feb. 19, 2011. Baylor held Texas Tech to just 32 points, equaling the worst scoring output for the Lady Raiders in program history, also scoring 32 vs. Oklahoma in 2014. It was the fourth-fewest points scored by a Big 12 team in league play in the history of the Big 12, behind a 26-point game from Oklahoma State (vs. Baylor) in 2006, a 29-point game from Oklahoma State in 2001 (vs. Texas Tech) and a 30-point game from Kansas State in 2019 (vs. WVU).

LAST TIME OUT VS. HOUSTON

Baylor swept the two-game series against Houston during the regular season. The 23-point win over the Cougars in the second game of the series on the road on Feb. 4 marked the fourth 16-plus point win by Baylor in Big 12 action.

As a team, the Bears finished with 52 rebounds, outrebounding the Cougars, 52-26. The 52 boards are still the most by BU against a Big 12 opponent this season. The 83 points scored by the Bears in the 83-60 win marked the third time in Big 12 action, and 10th time this season, that Baylor had tallied 80-plus in a game. Six Bears finished in double figures led by Dre’Una Edwards’ 15-point outpouring. It marked the first time in Big 12 play that six Bears finished in double figures.