Baylor Women's Basketball

Game Thread: No. 6 Seed Baylor WBB Looks to Upset No. 3 Seed Duke in Round of 32

No. 6 seed Baylor women’s basketball (25-8) takes on the No. 3 seed Duke Blue Devils (25-8) in the Round of 32.
March 22, 2026
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Photo by Baylor Athletics

DURHAM, N.C. – No. 6 seed Baylor women’s basketball (25-8) prepares for a rematch against the No. 3 seed Duke Blue Devils (25-8) in the Round of 32. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 22, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Baylor and Duke faced off in Paris in both teams’ opening game of the season. Taliah Scott’s 24-point performance led Baylor to a 57-52 win in a game in which both defenses found success.


  • Baylor Barttorvik Rank: 34
    • Baylor Massey Rating: 21
  • Duke Barttorvik Rank: 7
    • Duke Massey Rating: 10
  • Barttorvik Prediction: 69-58 Duke
    • Massey Prediction: 70-61 Duke

Coaches

  • Nicki Collen (Baylor): 127-44 record; 5 NCAA Tournaments, Sweet 16
  • Kara Lawson (Duke): 122-49 record; 4 NCAA Tournaments, Elite 8, Sweet 16

Projected Lineups

Baylor Starters

  • Guard Jana Van Gytenbeek (5’7, 6Sr.): 7.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 37% FG, 36% 3-PT, 74% FT, 32 MPG
  • Guard Taliah Scott (5’9, RSo.): 19.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 38% FG, 33% 3-PT, 89% FT, 32 MPG
  • Forward Bella Fontleroy (6’0, Sr.): 9.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 34% FG, 26% 3-PT, 81% FT, 26 MPG
  • Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (6’1, Sr.): 10.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 53% FG, 30% 3-PT, 61% FT, 29 MPG
  • Forward Kiersten Johnson (6’4, Sr.): 4.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.6 APG, 1.8 BPG, 48% FG, 41% 3-PT, 64% FT, 19 MPG

Baylor Bench

  • 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.): 4.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, 1.5 BPG, 58% FG, 50% FT, 16 MPG
  • Forward Kayla Nelms (6’1, So.): 4.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 56% FG, 27% 3-PT, 72% FT, 9 MPG
  • Guard Ella Brow (5’8, RJr.): 0.5 PPG, 0.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 40% FG, 25% 3-PT, 50% FT, 6 MPG

Projected Lineups

Duke Starters

  • Guard Taina Mair (5’9, Sr.): 11.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.4 SPG, 41% FG, 35% 3-PT, 88% FT, 34 MPG
  • Guard Ashlon Jackson (6’0, Sr.): 11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 35% FG, 32% 3-PT, 83% FT, 34 MPG
  • Guard Riley Nelson (6’2, RSo.): 9.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 40% FG, 35% 3-PT, 75% FT, 29 MPG
  • Forward Delaney Thomas (6’3, Jr.): 10.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.8 SPG, 61% FG, 73% FT, 27 MPG
  • Forward Toby Fournier (6’2, So.): 17.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, 2.3 BPG, 54% FG, 33% 3-PT, 56% FT, 29 MPG

Duke Bench

  • Forward Jordan Wood (6’4, Jr.): 5.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.3 BPG, 38% FG, 40% 3-PT, 75% FT, 19 MPG
  • Center Arianna Roberson (6’4, RFr.): 8.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.1 BPG, 42% FG, 33% 3-PT, 61% FT, 18 MPG
  • Guard Anna Wikstrom (5’11, FR.): 1.4 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.5 APG, 43% FG, 27% 3-PT, 40% FT, 10 MPG
127 Comments
Discussion from...

Game Thread: No. 6 Seed Baylor WBB Looks to Upset No. 3 Seed Duke in Round of 32

17,970 Views | 127 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by bawitdaball
bawitdaball
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BUatbirth said:

canoso said:

Brusinbear2001 said:

and who would you like to replace her?

Somebody who teaches basic basketball and disciplines incorregible players. There are a good number of those out there. By the way, that question never gets any less irrelevant.


I'll play along…hypothetical, since CNC isn't going anywhere. Mark Cambell turned around Sacramento St…assistant at Oregon/Oregon State. Mark Kellogg…West Texas A&M, Ft Lewis College. I considered Molly Miller had earned her shot. Point is…people know who these coaches are, their reputations. It takes a AD who isn't lazy to do the work and find them.


I do feel the post Mulkey search was more money and control driven than one centered on winning.
BUatbirth
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Agree. You could say centered on "safe" hires vs "serious" hires
canoso
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BUatbirth said:

canoso said:

Brusinbear2001 said:

and who would you like to replace her?

Somebody who teaches basic basketball and disciplines incorregible players. There are a good number of those out there. By the way, that question never gets any less irrelevant.

I'll play along…hypothetical, since CNC isn't going anywhere. Mark Cambell turned around Sacramento St…assistant at Oregon/Oregon State. Mark Kellogg…West Texas A&M, Ft Lewis College. I considered Molly Miller had earned her shot. Point is…people know who these coaches are, their reputations. It takes a AD who isn't lazy to do the work and find them.

I agree CNC isn't going anywhere except down year after year since the first one. So, when one's vehicle doesn't go anywhere, what does one do with it? It also takes an AD that isn't out to show everybody how much smarter he is than anybody else in the room. Maybe McNamee is that person, though I couldn't care less about the new Bear Claw in the concession area.
BUatbirth
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I agree. In a way, he's doing all he's able to do right now. The coaching decisions were taken from him by our president and previous AD. At least in the near term
thales
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i don't recall a mulkey team getting smoked like this (23 pt loss) in the tournament, but perhaps it happened once

to be fair, with nil this is a different game

i suppose it comes down to whether or not we want to take part in bidding wars for talent in a sport that loses money
bawitdaball
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thales said:

i don't recall a mulkey team getting smoked like this in the tournament, but perhaps it happened once

to be fair, with nil this is a different game

i suppose it comes down to whether or not we want to take part in bidding wars for talent in a sport that loses money

Sadly, this is a problem in all sports at Baylor. The athletic department needs to stop thinking they are better than everyone else and start playing the game. This is the future of college athletics. Like it or not, Baylor is getting left behind ... quickly.
LTBear19
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thales said:

i don't recall a mulkey team getting smoked like this in the tournament, but perhaps it happened once

to be fair, with nil this is a different game

i suppose it comes down to whether or not we want to take part in bidding wars for talent in a sport that loses money


Happened 4 times (17+ point losses), although there was no shame in losing to either the eventual champions or runner-ups in each of those years.

2006 Sweet 16 - Maryland (82-63)
2009 Sweet 16 - Louisville (56-39)
2010 Final 4 - UCONN (70-50)
2014 Elite 8 - Notre Dame (88-69)
bawitdaball
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LTBear19 said:

thales said:

i don't recall a mulkey team getting smoked like this in the tournament, but perhaps it happened once

to be fair, with nil this is a different game

i suppose it comes down to whether or not we want to take part in bidding wars for talent in a sport that loses money


Happened 4 times (17+ point losses), although there was no shame in losing to either the eventual champions or runner-ups in each of those years.

2006 Sweet 16 - Maryland (82-63)
2009 Sweet 16 - Louisville (56-39)
2010 Final 4 - UCONN (70-50)
2014 Elite 8 - Notre Dame (88-69)

Never lost by 23. Especially to a team that was practically guaranteed to lose their next game.
Dcheetah
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Taliah did well before other teams learned that she is our only shot creator and initially consistent shooter. I agree with the post above that she has worn down from trying to carry the load of being the main scorer, despite defenses focusing on her. Surround her with people that can shoot and space the floor and a good point guard and I think she exceeds this year and plays well throughout the season. That is, if we can keep her. I hope we can. She has to be frustrated. I suspect Nicki will have to show her a good plan and results in the portal so this year isn't repeated. I do know that she really likes it here.
thales
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bawitdaball said:

thales said:

i don't recall a mulkey team getting smoked like this (23 pt loss) in the tournament, but perhaps it happened once

to be fair, with nil this is a different game

i suppose it comes down to whether or not we want to take part in bidding wars for talent in a sport that loses money

Sadly, this is a problem in all sports at Baylor. The athletic department needs to stop thinking they are better than everyone else and start playing the game. This is the future of college athletics. Like it or not, Baylor is getting left behind ... quickly.

i agree

i look at this situation in two ways, the first being we will never bridge the financial gap between us and a big 10 or sec team because its not feasible to have fans or the school cover that +30 million dollar gap

that leaves us with our competitiveness in our own conference:

do we have the money to consistently compete in the top 3 in football, mbb and wbb (wbb finished 3rd this year) ?

maybe we do not..

BUFan10
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If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.
bawitdaball
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BUFan10 said:

If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.

She competed in the Big 12 this year and made the tournament thanks to an enormously easy OOC schedule and a super weak Big 12. Tech is not a good team. They were overseeded. She doesn't have a million dollar player, but she needs to talk to her athletic department to figure out why softball and football are being placed above her program. She might be frustrated with their response.
canoso
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bawitdaball said:

BUFan10 said:

If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.

She competed in the Big 12 this year and made the tournament thanks to an enormously easy OOC schedule and a super weak Big 12. Tech is not a good team. They were overseeded. She doesn't have a million dollar player, but she needs to talk to her athletic department to figure out why softball and football are being placed above her program. She might be frustrated with their response.

It's sobering to realize Tech wasn't a good team but BU couldn't beat them at home and got bludgeoned in Lubbock.
whitetrash
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canoso said:

bawitdaball said:

BUFan10 said:

If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.

She competed in the Big 12 this year and made the tournament thanks to an enormously easy OOC schedule and a super weak Big 12. Tech is not a good team. They were overseeded. She doesn't have a million dollar player, but she needs to talk to her athletic department to figure out why softball and football are being placed above her program. She might be frustrated with their response.

It's sobering to realize Tech wasn't a good team but BU couldn't beat them at home and got bludgeoned in Lubbock.

It's more puzzling that Tech went 4-0 against TCU, W Virginia and BU, yet went 1-7 against Colorado, OklaSt, IowaSt, KSt and KU.
blackie
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bawitdaball said:

BUatbirth said:

On the bright side…? Based on performance down the stretch…does Scott cost less to keep?


She's exhausted from carrying the team for most of the year. She needs support around her. She deserves a program that will utilize her skills. Not one that will throw her the ball and require her to create her own shots every possession.

She needs to learn how to dribble and protect the ball. If she never brings the ball down on point again, it will be too soon. When one-on-one she is prone to have it stolen. When she drives, too many times she does not protect the ball, resulting in a straight steal, tie-up or dribbles it off her leg. That driving worked early in the season against weak defensive teams, but not in the P4 world. She is also a poor passer.

Can some of that be because of fatigue, I guess it might, but I fear that her actions are so engrained in her that it is difficult to focus more on ball protection to the detriment of her shooting. If she can't protect the ball during her moves, you get the results from her we have seen late in the season. And lately she can't even hit a shot when completely wide open and has time to set her feet.
Adriacus Peratuun
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Scott is highly suited to being a backside shooter/driver that provides spacing.
Scott is not suited as a primary creator/initiator.

CNC used her like a handyman trying to hammer in nails with a screwdriver.
franke
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I agree, she would be better as a #2. Resorts to much to hero ball and that's not her game.
blackie
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bawitdaball said:

BUFan10 said:

If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.

She competed in the Big 12 this year and made the tournament thanks to an enormously easy OOC schedule and a super weak Big 12. Tech is not a good team. They were overseeded. She doesn't have a million dollar player, but she needs to talk to her athletic department to figure out why softball and football are being placed above her program. She might be frustrated with their response.

Or she may not. I suspect that some convincing can be made. They have 9 seniors. It will be interesting to watch what happens out there in the portal. You only need to buy 4 or 5....certainly more than a $1M softball pitcher, but no where near what is needed for football. But they saw last year what can be done with money put into softball.

I think I would be more surprised if Tech did not put money into the program than if they do. Of course that would put a lot on Gerlich as it did on Joey in football. I do not think Gerlich is all that great a coach. And you may be correct. They may not see it as a priority until someone besides her in on the sidelines.
blackie
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Adriacus Peratuun said:

Scott is highly suited to being a backside shooter/driver that provides spacing.
Scott is not suited as a primary creator/initiator.

CNC used her like a handyman trying to hammer in nails with a screwdriver.


I think so too. We would have been better off getting Ella more time earlier in the season so that when JVG went out, the point was always Ella, not Scott.
blackie
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BUatbirth said:

canoso said:

Brusinbear2001 said:

and who would you like to replace her?

Somebody who teaches basic basketball and disciplines incorregible players. There are a good number of those out there. By the way, that question never gets any less irrelevant.

I'll play along…hypothetical, since CNC isn't going anywhere. Mark Cambell turned around Sacramento St…assistant at Oregon/Oregon State. Mark Kellogg…West Texas A&M, Ft Lewis College. I considered Molly Miller had earned her shot. Point is…people know who these coaches are, their reputations. It takes a AD who isn't lazy to do the work and find them.

Interesting take on Miller. Who knows whether we inquired or not, but have to remember when we had to hire a new coach, Miller had only been at Grand Canyon for a year and before had not been a coach of any type at a D1 level. Major P4s probably would likely be looking for a longer track record at higher competition levels. KM hadn't been a head coach but she did have experience at a top D1 (at that time) program.

There is also the possibility that Miller didn't think she was ready for such a major move and a highly risky one coming in to replace a HOF coach which is hard enough for experienced D1 and P4 coaches. She may also have fallen in love with the area and a place like Waco was just too much of a difference in a number of ways.

My guess is there was no interest expressed from either side, but I guess we will never know. She stayed several years at Grand Canyon before being offered and accepting a P4 job. That probably wasn't happenstance.

Hindsight being 20/20 she might have been a good hire as things turned out, but walking into ASU who had been pretty bad and improving them to middle of the pack is a far cry from going to a program with immediate elite expectations.....and with a depleted roster. Had she been hired who knows whether Smith and Egbo would have stayed. I can see staying for a WNBA coach, but hiring an inexperienced D1 coach might not have kept them here.
BUatbirth
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All valid points. Wherever she was she had success. I do remember her following BU WBB during the search.
Honestly, just my thinking, she would remind one of a young KM (fiery, animated). For that reason alone MR may have just looked the other way.
bawitdaball
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blackie said:

bawitdaball said:

BUFan10 said:

If you listen to Texas Tech coach post LSU conference after getting beat by 50 that schools without resources can t compete. She said that they don't have million dollars players. In their roster and bunch of 5 stars.

She competed in the Big 12 this year and made the tournament thanks to an enormously easy OOC schedule and a super weak Big 12. Tech is not a good team. They were overseeded. She doesn't have a million dollar player, but she needs to talk to her athletic department to figure out why softball and football are being placed above her program. She might be frustrated with their response.

Or she may not. I suspect that some convincing can be made. They have 9 seniors. It will be interesting to watch what happens out there in the portal. You only need to buy 4 or 5....certainly more than a $1M softball pitcher, but no where near what is needed for football. But they saw last year what can be done with money put into softball.

I think I would be more surprised if Tech did not put money into the program than if they do. Of course that would put a lot on Gerlich as it did on Joey in football. I do not think Gerlich is all that great a coach. And you may be correct. They may not see it as a priority until someone besides her in on the sidelines.

Much like CNC, I think Gerlich is a safe person to have on the sidelines. She is also legacy for them. So that always helps with fans. I think she'll get more money. How much more is the questions. Tech is playing the game, and not hiding it. I do applaud their style.
 
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