Baylor WBB's Shot at Big 12 Redemption Snapped in Quarterfinals, Continue Downward Spiral
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – No. 3-seed Baylor women’s basketball (24-8) lost to No. 6-seed Colorado (22-10), 62-53, in Friday’s Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal. Head coach Nicki Collen and her squad now need to quickly rediscover their identity, as March Madness is on the horizon.
“If we want to be good in March — the rest of March — we’re going to have to toughen up a little bit,” Collen said after the defeat. “We don’t like the physicality, we want our [Graduate Assistants] to call fouls.”
Collen was clearly frustrated with the performance, citing that Baylor played its ‘D’ game. The Bears were very inefficient in the loss, shooting 31% (19-of-62) from the field and 14% (3-of-21) from 3-point range.
“We’re going to have to get better shots,” Collen said. “A minute and a half into the second quarter, we were in the bonus. And we just fired threes, and we just did a poor job of understanding in that scenario that we had to get downhill and put pressure on the rim. … I think shot selection was a problem.”
The Baylor defense has been its strength throughout the season, keeping the Bears in many games. However, the first three quarters on Friday night against Colorado saw Baylor allow 54 points, and the lack of defense left the Bears trailing by 14 entering the final quarter.
“I think we missed defensive assignments early,” Collen said. “That’s what was the most frustrating thing. Our ball-screen coverage wasn’t good enough, our rotations weren’t good enough, and we didn’t guard the ball well enough. I really thought our breakdowns with that starting group were defensive.”
Baylor’s next game will be in the NCAA Tournament, where the Bears look to return to the Sweet 16 after an exit in the Round of 32 last season. Since the start of February, Baylor ranks 48th in Barttorvik’s T-Rank, and is 5-5 over the span. After ranking 10th in defensive efficiency up to that point, the Bears rank just 40th since.
“If it doesn’t wake them up, it’s going to be a really short trip in the NCAA Tournament for us,” Collen said.
