/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53091157/usa_today_9853056.0.jpg)
The No. 2/2 Baylor Lady Bears head to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech in their third game in seven days this afternoon. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. (CT) inside United Supermarkets Arena.
Under head coach Kim Mulkey, Baylor owns a 29-8 advantage. The Lady Bears have won 12 in a row against the Lady Raiders and 21 of the last 22 meetings. In games played in Lubbock, the Lady Raiders lead Baylor, 25-12, all-time. Baylor's last loss of the series occurred at Texas Tech, 56-45, on Feb. 19, 2011.
Texas Tech leads Baylor, 47-37, in the all-time series. The first matchup, which the Lady Bears won 104-44, occurred on March 5, 1976, in Nacogdoches, Texas.
How to Watch/Listen
Today’s game will be Live Streamed on Texas Tech TV. This is a premium channel and a 24 hour pass can be purchased for $6.95. Live audio is also available on the Baylor Sports Network, IMG College. Rick May (play-by-play) and Lori Fogelman (analyst) are on the call.
University Athletic Site Game Previews
Baylor: http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/020317aaa.html
Texas Tech: http://www.texastech.com/news/2017/2/3/preview-lady-raiders-host-no-2-baylor-on-saturday.aspx
Other Game Previews
- Hope, in a basketball game, can be a very fleeting thing.One minute you’re right there … and the next minute you’re not. Game preview by WacoTrib’s Tony Adame from BearsExtra.
Big 12 opponents have found out as much facing No. 2 Baylor this season – a team that’s shown while you might be able to hang with them for one quarter, sticking around for the next three is a much different scenario.
Baylor (22-1, 11-0 Big 12) will try to keep that streak going on Saturday afternoon at Texas Tech (11-10, 3-7) in their first meeting with the Lady Raiders this season.
- The task ahead is daunting. But, not impossible. From Lubbock Avalanche Journal.
“Everyone that plays sports or watches that’s why they play or watch. There are upsets every day and we have to understand that and it is part of the equation,” Texas Tech women’s basketball coach Candi Whitaker said. “We had a great practice yesterday and are really focusing on us and how we handle things — the effort and execution that we play with.”
The Lady Raiders (11-10, 3-7 Big 12) will need every bit of effort and near perfect execution if it wants to upset No. 2 Baylor (22-1, 11-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena.
The Lady Bears come into Lubbock on a 20-game win streak and lead the nation in scoring margin (+39.3) and is second in scoring offense with a 90.4 points per game average. (OBF Note: According to ESPN Stats, Baylor is actually first in scoring offense with a 90.7 ppg avg. Maryland is second at 90.5.) Oh, and it possesses one of the nation’s top defenses, leading the way in field goal percentage defense (28.9) and blocked shots per game (8.7).
“They are second in the country and I would be shocked if were not able to go to a Final Four,” Whitaker said. “It is one of the most balanced teams I have ever seen from Baylor. The (Brittney) Griner and Odyssey (Sims) years were very talented, but this team has everything you need from inside presence to passing ability to scoring ability on the perimeter. They play as a unit and they rebound it.
“Baylor is really good, but we want to control what we can.”
- The Lady Raiders look to break their five-game losing streak as they host the No. 2 Baylor Lady Bears on Saturday after taking a loss at home to Kansas State. From Daily Toreador.
The final score of the game on Wednesday against the Lady Wildcats was 65-53. Tech had a strong start as they finished the first quarter with the lead, however it was not enough as Tech could not keep up.
“Like you saw Brewer, she’s playing with so much more confidence,” coach Candi Whitaker said. “I think she understands that we need her to make plays and she’s being much more aggressive in doing that. We got to have size on the floor at all times, that’s one of Baylor’s biggest strengths.”
The Lady Raiders have faced adversity this season from tough opponents leading to a five-game losing streak. The five straight losses sets the Lady Raiders away record at 0-8 for the season.
“That’s one of the things we’re focusing on, is how we handle adversity in the moment,” Whitaker said. “I think it’s easy to handle it the next day sometimes when you’re not in the moment. I think everyone in life has to learn that and young people have to learn that and it’s definitely a focus for us.”
The game on Saturday will be a challenge as the Lady Raiders face one of the top ranked teams in the country. Luke Pell from the Bachelorette will be in attendance for the game against Baylor.
Famous OBF Quote
“If Texas Tech does manage a size matchup inside, this could be the Lady Bears’ trap game.”
Baylor’s Alexis Prince
When Alexis Prince is at her best, there are few players in the country that are any better. Story by Baylor Bear Foundation’s Jerry Hill from Baylor Bears dot com.
Part of a top-10 class when she signed with Baylor in November 2011, the 6-foot-2 guard from Orlando, Fla., was a three-time all-state pick, a McDonald’s, Parade Magazine and WBCA All-American and MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game. She also won a gold medal playing for USA Basketball at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Puerto Rico.
But, Prince has twice undergone stress fracture surgery on both feet – once after her freshman season at Baylor and again during the middle of her sophomore campaign – and then missed 14 games last year when she had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus and clean up cartilage damage in her right knee.
Healthy for the first time in her five years at Baylor, Prince is averaging a career-high 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds and shooting 39.8 percent from 3-point range for the second-ranked Lady Bears (22-1, 11-0) going into Saturday’s 2 p.m. game at Texas Tech.
“It’s all about being healthy, being comfortable and being a fifth-year senior,” coach Kim Mulkey said of Prince, who’s 71 points shy of joining Baylor’s 1,000-point club “And boy, is she having a good senior year. But you know what, our four seniors are all having good years. And when you can say that, it’s special, because you want your seniors to go out with a bang.”