Baylor Women's Basketball

Game Thread: No. 6 Seed Baylor WBB Opens March Madness against No. 11 Seed Nebraska

No. 6 seed Baylor women’s basketball (24-8) takes on the No. 11 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-12) in the Round of 64.
By Owen Miller
March 20, 2026
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Photo by Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365.com

DURHAM, N.C. – No. 6 seed Baylor women’s basketball (24-8) sets its focus on the No. 11 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-12) in the Round of 64. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Friday, March 20, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Nebraska played its way into the Round of 64, downing Richmond 75-56 in a play-in game. Nebraska is powered by its high-powered offense, ranking 12th in effective field goal percentage.

  • Baylor Barttorvik Rank: 35
    • Baylor Massey Rating: 21
  • Nebraska Barttorvik Rank: 25
    • Nebraska Massey Rating: 34
  • Barttorvik Prediction: 70-67 Nebraska
    • Massey Prediction: 72-68 Baylor

Coaches

  • Nicki Collen (Baylor): 126-44 record; 5 NCAA Tournaments, Sweet 16
  • Amy Williams (Nebraska): 63-36 record; 3 NCAA Tournaments

Projected Lineups

Baylor Starters

  • Guard Jana Van Gytenbeek (5’7, 6Sr.): 7.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 37% FG, 36% 3-PT, 72% FT, 32 MPG
  • Guard Taliah Scott (5’9, RSo.): 20.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 39% FG, 34% 3-PT, 90% FT, 32 MPG
  • Forward Bella Fontleroy (6’0, Sr.): 9.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 33% FG, 27% 3-PT, 84% FT, 26 MPG
  • Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (6’1, Sr.): 10.7 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 53% FG, 30% 3-PT, 61% FT, 29 MPG
  • Forward Kiersten Johnson (6’4, Sr.): 5.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.6 APG, 1.8 BPG, 48% FG, 42% 3-PT, 67% FT, 19 MPG

Baylor Bench

  • Guard Marcayla Johnson (6’0, Fr.): 4.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36% FG, 16% 3-PT, 55% FT, 18 MPG
  • Guard Yuting Deng (6’2, So.): 6.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 43% FG, 37% 3-PT, 74% FT, 17 MPG
  • Forward Kyla Abraham (6’3, RJr.): 3.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, 1.6 BPG, 59% FG, 50% FT, 16 MPG
  • Forward Kayla Nelms (6’1, So.): 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, 57% FG, 29% 3-PT, 70% FT, 9 MPG

Projected Lineups

Nebraska Starters

  • Guard Callin Hake (5’8, Sr.): 7.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 37% FG, 34% 3-PT, 88% FT, 28 MPG
  • Guard Britt Prince (5’11, So.): 17.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 54% FG, 46% 3-PT, 91% FT, 32 MPG
  • Guard Logan Nissley (6’0, Jr.): 8.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 46% FG, 43% 3-PT, 86% FT, 22 MPG
  • Forward Amiah Hargrove (6’2, So.): 12.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.7 APG, 55% FG, 40% 3-PT, 81% FT, 24 MPG
  • Forward Petra Bozan (6’3, So.): 6.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.5 APG, 52% FG, 20% 3-PT, 59% FT, 15 MPG

Nebraska Bench

  • Forward Jessica Petrie (6’2, Jr.): 11.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 45% FG, 28% 3-PT, 76% FT, 23 MPG
  • Forward Eliza Maupin (6’3, Sr.): 7.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 52% FG, 29% 3-PT, 78% FT, 18 MPG
  • Guard Kennadi Williams (5’4, Fr.): 2.5 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 38% FG, 26% 3-PT, 65% FT, 15 MPG
  • Guard Hailey Weaver (6’0, Sr.): 2.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 33% FG, 41% 3-PT, 59% FT, 13 MPG
  • Guard Claire Johnson (5’9, So.): 3.6 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 43% FG, 23% 3-PT, 75% FT, 11 MPG
  • Guard Emily Fisher (6’0, Jr.): 1.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.6 APG, 48% FG, 25% 3-PT, 68% FT, 8 MPG
150 Comments
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Discussion from...

Game Thread: No. 6 Seed Baylor WBB Opens March Madness against No. 11 Seed Nebraska

18,603 Views | 150 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by thales
blackie
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In reply to Johnny Bear • 3:44p, 3/21/26
Johnny Bear said:
Bear3 said:
Mulkey is a HOF coach with a roster full of 5 star recruits. . Of course we are not going to win if we play LSU. And a number of people on this board will be extremely happy when that happens and those people are not fans of Baylor Wbb.

If that ultimately happens, I seriously doubt that "a number" of the regular non-troll posters on this board will actually be "happy". And by and large they ARE Baylor women's Bball fans - they just aren't fans of where the program has fallen to, especially knowing and experiencing how it was and can be.

I don't see how anyone can realistically expect that we "can be" again at the levels we once enjoyed given how the landscape changed for us since those days. Our conference sucks which is a deterrent to the elite players we used to get and until football gets "fixed", WBB is not going to be the priority in which to pump money into for either players or coaches.

Be thankful we got to enjoy the successes we had. But also remember at one time that program under KM was where this one sits now...just hoping to get past the first weekend. I enjoyed those years just as much as I did those later years. It was a little bit easier back then to move up because coaches could rely on traditional methods of recruiting where if they were really good at it their personal traits and skills could play a major role without having to not only trying to convince a new player, HS or transfer, to forego money that was being waved at them, but also basically having to re-recruit the ones you already had.

My enjoyment of being a fan of the team and program is not affected by the "way it was", but what we can do now with the talent we have and can realistically get. Basing success on a comparison with the 2010s is only going to lead to disappointment.

We lost any respect for the conference when OUT left and we lost the magnet that drew players to Baylor when KM walked out. The former is bad enough. Several years we got a 2 seed when we should have been a 1 because the committee had no respect for the Big XII even with UT and OU. But losing the HOF coach is what did us in as it did Stanford, ND, and Tennessee. Speaking of Tennessee, anyone watch their game yesterday. It seems their offense is to jack up 3's hoping to get the long rebound and a second chance 2, which they also aren't very good at. They are on their third coach and they still are no where near the status of "can be". I'm still looking for the bracket to find Stanford.

I think our ceiling is higher than what we have done thus far with CNC (SS), but it is IMO much lower than what we enjoyed under Mulkey's later years. I guess you can not be fans of "where the program has fallen to". I think all of us fit into that category. But fans of the program should understand why we are where we are and the real obstacles that we face, the two big ones really being out of our control, and not focus on that so much that any success we have is not worth appreciating because it isn't what once was a took it for granted "given".
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Dcheetah
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In reply to HoustonBear15 • 4:24p, 3/21/26
I wish Brow would hunt her shot a little when open. Would help with spacing when playing. She drove in once and had a clear lay-up but did a nice bounce pass to Kiersten J who was open and in good position but promptly fumbled the ball out of bounds.
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Dcheetah
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In reply to blackie • 4:35p, 3/21/26
I do think our ceiling is considerably higher with top level recruits but we will never know unless our recruiting changes for the better a lot. The only year we had several top level Mulkey left over recruits, we won conference.
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LTBear19
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In reply to blackie • 5:34p, 3/21/26
What years did we get a #2 seed and were robbed?

To my knowledge, there were only 4 seasons from 2011-2021 where we did not get a #1 seed. And in each of those cases, the #2 seed was justified and didn't really change much, in the grand scheme of things.

2014 - Undefeated Notre Dame was the #1 seed, and deservedly so. We shared the regular season title with WVU, so #2 was probably fair. That was also the year the NCAA gave homecourt in the regionals to ND, Louisville, Stanford, and Nebraska. Undefeated UCONN was going to get shipped to Lincoln, so we were going to be at a disadvantage whether we were seeded 1 or 2 in any of those regions.

2015 - Notre Dame was the #1 seed, but we still ended up where we wanted - in OKC. UCONN was the 1 in Albany and South Carolina was the 1 in Greensboro. Both were deserving #1's. That would have left Spokane for us as a possible 1. But nearly every Baylor fan would have preferred being the 2 in OKC instead of the #1 seed 2000 miles away.

2018 - This is probably the only year where we could say the committee 'might' have underseeded us. But even then, it's kind of hard to argue with being a #2 right after losing Kristy Wallace.

UCONN, Mississippi State, Louisville, and Notre Dame were all solid #1 seeds. We ended up in Lexington. I guess the committee could have put us in KC and shuffled things around with Spokane and Lexington. But we couldn't even get past Oregon State in the Sweet 16 that year, so seeding didn't really matter.

2021 - Everyone played their games in the San Antonio area. So we actually benefited by being close to home for all of our games. And if Kim had managed to call a timeout at some point during UCONN'S 19-0 run, we probably end up in another Final 4, with a chance to repeat.

Despite what anyone said during that time period, we were hardly punished for the strength of the conference, even with UT and OU being members (whom we dominated regularly, mind you).

Basically, the conference you're in doesn't matter as much as you're making it out to be. UCONN has been in some of the worst conferences on the planet for the last 10+ years, and they seem to manage just fine.

Win "consistently," and the players will come.

Problem is, we've failed to win consistently because of poor coaching.

Too many games have been right there for the taking these last several years, and CNC has found a way to blow nearly all of them.

Kinda hard to convince top recruits and their parents that you're providing them with the best option for their careers, when your decision-making tends to be suspect half the time.
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blackie
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8:11p, 3/21/26
Players are going to UConn because of Geno and it doesn't matter what conference they are in and players going there know they are going to be playing most of the elites in non-conference, something we have never done, and are going to be playing for the GOAT coach.

To me it looks like we have a chicken and egg situation. For the "win and they will come" scenario we have to have the players to beat teams other than mid-majors and teams that are better such as top-15 type teams to get the recognition that would draw some real attention. Winning the XII is not going to be good enough because people don't think much of the conference, at least not yet. But without those top players we don't beat those teams on a consistent enough basis. We don't have the magnet coach that elite players flock to and those coaches would be those with skins on the wall at a P4 level. But why would they want to come where at best it would be a lateral move likely coming from a better conference?

Even an up and comer, which I have no doubt some here would complain about Baylor going cheap, would find it very difficult to attract the really good ones that could do better than just compete at the top of this weak conference.

But comparing UConn to our conference as far as being a factor is just not being objective.

I would love to be back where we were, but I also don't see the factors aligning that would cause that to happen. What coach could we bring in that would be the magnet that was KM? Why is Baylor going to have the answers that other teams with way more resources and tradition who lost their elite coach didn't have? That is the whole point. We have no where near the resources or charisma that did or once existed at all three of the schools I mentioned and they have fared no better than us...actually we have fared better than them. We still get 20-win seasons and our long-time NCAA tournament streaks are still intact.

But I'm open, let's play your cards and fire CNC. Who are you going to bring in that we would draw multiple elite recruits and transfers. Not just good, but the elites you would need to compete at past levels...even at just an E8 level from time to time. All those great players with very few exceptions we had, came to Baylor because KM was the coach, not because they dreamed of having "Baylor" across the front of their jersey. But the problem is likely more basic than that. We probably couldn't fire CNC for the same reasons we couldn't fire CDA.

Why is it so hard to understand that when KM walked out the real appeal for Baylor WBB went with her? If you have the answer, I'm all ears, but it is not as easy as just replacing the coach because no one who would walk into that office is going to be the magnet that overcomes all the issues holding us back on getting the elites we would need to go E8 or higher on other than a one-off situation.

You have to understand the greatness than KM brought to Baylor. We got our foot in the door in 2005 when it wasn't as hard as it is today and so when elite recruits thought of top schools, we were in the mix. But it was because of her they took that look in the first place.
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BUGWBBear
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In reply to ctxbear • 8:24p, 3/21/26
ctxbear said:
thales said:
Bear3 said:
Mulkey is a HOF coach with a roster full of 5 star recruits. . Of course we are not going to win if we play LSU. And a number of people on this board will be extremely happy when that happens and those people are not fans of Baylor Wbb.

being happy for mulkey and being a fan of baylor wbb are not mutually exclusive

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. But on this board, they tend to be.

I'm not saying that the Mulkey-ites hate Baylor WBB. But I'm old enough to remember when we went six years without making it past the Elite 8, with a Final Four-level roster on many of those years, and Mulkey and those teams received nowhere near the shame and critique that Collen and her teams get on these boards for doing what they do with far less talent.


The 3 Nattys she got for us makes up for those 6. Should be 4, but our AD went ghey.
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CyBearSecurity
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In reply to Stefano DiMera • 10:40a, 3/22/26
Not quite hammered.
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blackie
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In reply to Dcheetah • 12:47p, 3/22/26
Dcheetah said:
I do think our ceiling is considerably higher with top level recruits but we will never know unless our recruiting changes for the better a lot. The only year we had several top level Mulkey left over recruits, we won conference.

I agree with you. I just don't see the catalyst to get those types of players. The ones in the past came to a respected HOF coach, not to Baylor. The landscape of recruiting, retaining and getting players into a conference that is at best 4th best is a headwind which did not exist so much when Smith, Egbo, etc. came on board. But of all those factors losing the HOF coach is / was the biggest. That you cannot replace.
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blackie
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In reply to BUGWBBear • 12:52p, 3/22/26
BUGWBBear said:
ctxbear said:
thales said:
Bear3 said:
Mulkey is a HOF coach with a roster full of 5 star recruits. . Of course we are not going to win if we play LSU. And a number of people on this board will be extremely happy when that happens and those people are not fans of Baylor Wbb.

being happy for mulkey and being a fan of baylor wbb are not mutually exclusive

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. But on this board, they tend to be.

I'm not saying that the Mulkey-ites hate Baylor WBB. But I'm old enough to remember when we went six years without making it past the Elite 8, with a Final Four-level roster on many of those years, and Mulkey and those teams received nowhere near the shame and critique that Collen and her teams get on these boards for doing what they do with far less talent.


The 3 Nattys she got for us makes up for those 6. Should be 4, but our AD went ghey.

It also might have been 4 had KM given Andrews and Oliver meaningful minutes in conference games in 2020 when there were plenty of opportunities to do so versus leaving Richards in with high double-digit leads well into the fourth quarter or called a timeout while letting UConn go on a 19-0 run. When they were needed against UConn in the E8, they were no where being close to ready.
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thales
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In reply to IowaBear • 9:26p, 3/22/26
IowaBear said:
Who?? I haven't deen a single poster cheer for Baylor to lose.

my sentiments as well
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