WBB Preview: West Virginia & Kansas State

Baylor women’s basketball enters this week at #18 in the AP Poll and #3 in the Big 12 after losing their last game against Oklahoma State. This week has two matchups, one away and one home. Two chances to win and climb back to the top of the standings!

West Virginia

2PM January 15th, WVU Coliseum

Watch on ESPNU

Today’s matchup against West Virginia is the perfect chance to bounce back from the recent loss. West Virginia is right below Oklahoma State in the Big 12 standings, sitting at sixth overall. The Bears have never lost in Morgantown, but the Mountaineers are hot, coming off back-to-back conference wins over TCU and Kansas State. West Virginia is led by first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. Plitzuweit is not an unknown face to the Bears. She was the head coach at South Dakota last year and led the Coyotes to upset Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament, winning at the Ferrell Center 61-47.

Sunday could turn into a defensive battle. West Virginia leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, holding opponents to 55.7 points per game, and Baylor is second in the conference, holding opponents to an average of 56.3 points. Statistically, Baylor is a better team offensively, shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.9% from three this season, compared to West Virginia’s 40.3% and 27.3% respectively.

Madisen Smith will be a player to watch. The 5’5 guard is one of the leading scorers for West Virginia, averaging 12.9 points per game. Smith is a fifth-year senior that provides leadership on the floor for West Virginia and will have a big impact on tomorrow’s game.

Kansas State

7PM January 18th, Ferrell Center

Watch on ESPN+

Kansas State is one spot above the bottom in the Big 12 with a 1-4 conference record. That one win? Oklahoma State. The Wildcats are a very beatable team, but we know that anything can happen. Aside from the win against Oklahoma State, the Big 12 slate has been challenging for Kansas State, losing by 21 points on average.

Gabby Gregory is the leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 19.7 points per game. The 6’0 guard is in her first season with Kansas State after transferring from Oklahoma. While Gregory has been responsible for most ok K-State’s points this season, she has been well-contained the last two games, scoring 9 points against Iowa State last week and only 2 points from free throws against Texas Tech yesterday.

With Gregory cooling off, a couple sophomores have stepped up in scoring. Brylee Glenn averages 9.4 points per game this season, but she exploded yesterday against Texas Tech, scoring a season-high 24 points. Serena Sundell has also been helping on offense, averaging 11.5 points per game and scoring 11 against Texas Tech.

Overall the Bears will have their work cut out for them in ensuring Gregory doesn’t get hot again. Keeping Kansas State in check will be a decent challenge, but nothing Baylor can’t handle.

This week’s matchups should be fun! Sic West Virginia and Kansas State!