Gameday Thread: No. 19 Baylor Heads West To Face Colorado Buffaloes

BOULDER, Colo. – No. 19 Baylor women’s basketball (22-5, 12-2) will travel to Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes (17-8, 8-6). Tipoff from CU Events Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Feb. 19, and will be streamed on ESPN+.

• Massey Prediction: Baylor 73, Colorado 66
• Baylor Massey Rating: No. 16
  • Baylor NET Ranking: No. 18
• Colorado Massey Rating: No. 42
  • Colorado NET Ranking: No. 62

Coaches

Baylor (Nicki Collen): 96-33 Record; 3 NCAA Tournaments; Sweet 16

Colorado (JR Payne): 261-224 Record; 3 NCAA Tournaments; 2 Sweet 16s

Baylor Starters

• Guard Jada Walker (5’7, Sr.): 10.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.7 APG, 44% FG, 38% 3-PT, 74% FT
• Guard Sarah Andrews (5’6, 5Sr.): 11 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.2 APG, 36% FG, 35% 3-PT, 54% FT
• Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (6’1, Jr.): 14.4 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 52% FG, 73% FT
• Forward Bella Fontleroy (6’0, Jr.): 9.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 38% FG, 30% 3-PT, 55% FT
• Center Aaronette Vonleh (6’3, Sr.): 13.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 59% FG, 60% FT

Baylor Bench

• Guard Yaya Felder (5’8, Sr.): 10.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 46% FG, 40% 3-PT, 73% FT
• Guard Aliyah Matharu (5’7, Sr.): 8.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 51% FG, 46% 3-PT, 54% FT
• Forward Kyla Abraham (6’3, Jr.): 2.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 47% FG, 38% FT
• Forward Kayla Nelms (6’1, Fr.): 2.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 47% FG, 25% 3-PT

Colorado Starters

• Guard Kindyll Wetta (5’9, Sr.): 5.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, 41% FG, 66% FT
• Guard Frida Formann (5’11, Sr.): 13.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 44% FG, 44% 3-PT, 81% FT
• Guard Sara-Rose Smith (6’1, Sr.): 4.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 40% FG, 71% FT
• Forward Lior Garzon (6’1, Sr.): 10.5 PPG, 3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 40% FG, 31% 3-PT, 86% FT
• Forward Jade Masogayo (6’3, Jr.): 12 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 58% FG, 69% FT

Colorado Bench

• Forward Nyamer Diew (6’2, Sr.): 7.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 45% FG, 82% FT, 37% 3-PT
• Forward Ayianna Johnson (6’3, So.): 4.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 56% FG, 53% FT 
• Guard Johanna Teder (5’8, Sr.): 4.8 PPG, 48% FG, 61% FT, 39% 3-PT

Colorado Notable Opponents

• No. 24 Louisville (79-71 Loss)
• No. 14 West Virginia (65-60 Win)
• No. 11 TCU (63-50 Loss)
• Baylor (76-62 Loss)
• No. 19 Kansas State (63-53 Win)

Top Quotes

Head coach Nicki Collen on lessons learned from close wins and what to expect from Colorado:

• “I think we got away with it [against Texas Tech]. Not that you don’t learn a lot from winning close games and getting in those battles where you have to make plays down the stretch, but we have to start better to beat Colorado at home. Colorado has beaten Kansas State and West Virginia at their place. They play really well at home with altitude. We’re going to have to play really well to beat them there.”

Head coach Nicki Collen on Baylor still having an opportunity to host the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament:

• “Our success has come one game at a time, but I certainly think with a couple of top-15 teams in the NET still to play, that’s what it’s going to take. It’s going to take wins. I want to really focus on Colorado, but when I look 12-16 in that reveal, I think a lot of teams have a lot of tough games down the stretch. How you finish is going to determine what happens. … There are opportunities for us to get Quad 1 wins. We have control of that, but it’s certainly not an easy road when you think of three games in six days and who we are playing. … There’s a lot of work to do, but it’s still there for sure.”

Guard Aliyah Matharu (Sr.) on what the team learned from the narrow win over Texas Tech:

• “As a team, we talked about having a better start. We came out a little bit sluggish and gave them the opportunity to get up on us. I think we started to show who we really are as a team in the second half, but we just had some small missteps. One step off, it happens. I think that was our biggest thing as for what we talked about in the huddle.”