The 1-3-1: Baylor Women's Basketball vs Lamar University

Head coach Nicki Collen and No. 18. Baylor will officially open the season tomorrow night in the Ferrell Center against in-state foe Lamar University starting at 7:00 p.m. Monday’s affair will be the fourth meeting between the two programs on the hardwood, with the Bears owning the series 3-0.

Here is the 1-3-1 on the Cardinals.

One Player:

While Baylor holds the deeper roster, one player that the Bears have to contain is sophomore F/C Akasha Davis. The 6-foot-2 Dallas native averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a freshman, which earned her Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors in 2022. 

Davis does a little bit of everything for Lamar, as she recorded a team-high 196 rebounds and led the team in made free throws with 89, to go along with 28 steals.

Three Nuggets:

● Baylor has won 12-straight season openers dating back to the 2009-2010 season (Loss to Tennessee 74-65).

● In Baylor women’s basketball history, the Bears are 386-227 (.630) against opponents from the state of Texas.

● Baylor is 256-1 all-time when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and 40-0 when shooting 60 percent or higher.

One Key:

One key for Baylor is to not allow the Cardinals open shooting lanes for three-pointers, especially if it’s sophomore G Portia Adams. During Lamar’s exhibition games against ETBU, Adams hit six buckets from downtown, while finishing the night 10-of-18 and a team-high 29 points. 

As a team, Lamar shot 40% from the three-point territory on 10-of-25 shooting. During Baylor’s exhibition game against Southwest Baptist, the Bears were able to hold the Bearcats to just 13% from behind the arch on 2-of-16 shooting.

Conclusion:

Baylor is the better team, but they can’t take Lamar for granted. I expect to see the Bears control the paint and force multiple turnovers, which result in transition buckets. 

As always, get the latest on Baylor Women’s Basketball from SicEm365.com and get live coverage on Twitter by following me @_GarrettRoss.