Gameday Thread: #5 Baylor WBB (23-5, 13-3) at #9 Iowa State (24-4, 13-3)
BAYLOR (23-5, 13-3) at IOWA STATE (24-4, 13-3)
February 28, 2022 • 6 p.m. CT
Ames, Iowa • Hilton Coliseum
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
WATCH: ESPN2
Talent: Pam Ward (pxp), Stephanie White (analyst)
LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas, BaylorBears.com
Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Sophia Young-Malcolm (Analyst)
ON THE LINE
• Baylor and Iowa State are tied atop the Big 12 standings. The winner of Monday's game clinches a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
TURNING POINT
• Baylor was alone in last place of the Big 12 standings (0-2) heading into Lawrence on Jan. 16. After a gutsy comeback that featured a 7-0 run in the final 24 seconds of the game to clinch their first conference win of the season at Kansas, the Bears have been playing a different level of ball.
• In the 14 (10-4) games before the KU game, BU averaged 74.5 points, 15.9 assists and 14.1 turnovers per game. Baylor assisted on 59.3 percent of its baskets. In the 14 (13-1) games since, the Bears are averaging 78.9 points (+4.4), 19.4 assists (+3.5) and 12.1 turnovers (-2.0) per game. BU is assisting on 68 percent of its buckets.
SHARE THE SUGAR
• Baylor is top 10 in the country - and third among Power 5 teams - with 63.8 percent of its buckets assisted on this season.
• Adding to that, the Bears are sixth in the country - and first in the Big 12 - in assist-to-turnover ratio.
WALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• NaLyssa Smith is eighth in the country with 19 double-doubles on the season. That mark ties her for third in BU history for double-doubles in a single season.
• Smith is fourth in program history with 47 career double-doubles. She's two away from tying Maggie Davis-Stinnett (1986-89, 1990-91)
• The senior is averaging 21.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game which ranks No. 11 and No. 15 in the country, respectively. She is the only player in the country who is averaging 21+ points and 11+ rebounds per game.
LET IT FLY
• Baylor's program record for triples made came on Dec. 18, 2019 against Arkansas State when Juicy Landrum caught fire and set an NCAA record with 14 triples. Besides that record-setting performance, BU hadn't drained more than a dozen shots from deep since 2011.
• BU's record for 3-point attempts in a season came in 2013-14 when the Bears attempted 596 3s.
• From that season to 2020-21, Baylor made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game only five times across a total of 281 games (1.78 percent). BU has done so five times this season.
• At Kansas, Baylor nearly set a record with a 14-for-29 display from the perimeter. BU's 14 treys marked the second most in program history.
• Prior to this year, only 14 Bears had made six or more 3s in a game. Two of them had done it multiple times (Makenzie Robertson, 2012, 2014) and Jennifer King (1990, 1991, 1993).
• Sarah Andrews and Ja'Mee Asberry have already joined that elite club this season. Andrews went 6-for-8 against Morehead State and from deep and Asberry fired off 6-of-8 against Alcorn State. Asberry then went 6-for-11 at Kansas, and Andrews set a career-high with a 7-for-10 mark.• Andrews' seven 3s tied for third in program history. She is now one of six Bears in program history to hit a minimum of seven triples in a game
• Jordan Lewis joined the club with her 6-of-7 performance against Iowa State.
• Baylor - with 188 3s on the season - has the third-highest 3pointer total for a single season in program history.
• Asberry is fourth in program history with 65 3s made this season.