Fourth Quarter surge lifts No. 23 Baylor past TCU in Big 12 opener

WACO, Texas -- Ja’Mee Asberry netted back-to-back three pointers to officially put the Horned Frogs to bed and improve Baylor to 1-0 in Big 12 play on the season 64-42 on Saturday afternoon in the Ferrell Center. The win didn’t come easy by any means for the Bears, in fact it took a 15-2 run during the final quarter of play for Baylor (10-3, 1-0) to swing the momentum in their favor.

The Bears had a massive lapse of defensive efficiency in the third quarter that allowed TCU (6-6, 0-1) to work their way back into the game after trailing at halftime 26-18. The Frogs shot almost 50% from the floor in the third quarter of play, while they held Baylor to just over 31% from the floor and 11 points in the third quarter.

Caitlin Bickle was a complete mismatch for TCU, especially when she was able to stretch the court and hit shots from behind the arc. The Arizona native drilled three of her four shots from downtown and finished the night with a game high — and season high — 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Two other Bears joined Bickle in double figures, as Asberry finished the night with 16 points and Sarah Andrews dropped 14 points on the Frogs. One area of concern that Baylor must address is turnovers, as they gave the ball away 20 times.

On the flip side, Baylor was able to put the Frogs behind the eightball in the turnover category themselves. TCU turned the ball over 23 times, including 14 first half turnovers that led to 16 points for the Bears.

Baylor’s perimeter defense and ability to eliminate any success from deep for TCU played a significant role in their victory. The Frogs had no luck creating and connecting on open three point attempts, as they finished the night 1-12 from downtown.

The Bears will be back in action on Tuesday night as they head to Norman to take on No. 20 Oklahoma at 7:00 p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners are also 1-0 in Big 12 play, after dominating West Virginia 98-77 on Saturday.