The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament continues on Saturday in Kansas City with semifinal action featuring the league’s final four.
The semifinals include the four teams that won in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The winners move on to the championship game on Sunday, with the winner claiming the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Here is a preview of each game.
Game 13: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 1 TCU, 3 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: West Virginia, 24-6; TCU, 29-3
Head-to-Head: TCU 71, West Virginia 50
Big 12 Tournament Results: West Virginia: def. Kansas State, 73-69 (quarterfinal); TCU: def. Colorado, 69-62 (quarterfinal).
The preview: West Virginia had to win a game in which Kansas State scored 33 points in the first quarter and only committed 15 turnovers against WVU’s incredible defensive pressure. So, the Mountaineers leaned on JJ Quinerly (24 points), Jordan Harrison (19 points) and Sydney Shaw (11 points). The boost off the bench from Jordan Thomas, who played 30 minutes and scored 11 points, was critical. Five Mountaineers played 30 minutes. The rest played a combined 24 minutes.
TCU overcame a pesky Colorado team in the quarterfinals that made it a point of emphasis to do whatever it possibly could to keep Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith out of the paint. Didn’t matter — Van Lith still had 24 points, as she made five 3-pointers. Defenses can slow down one of the “Big Three,” but two is a tall order. Colorado couldn’t slow down center Sedona Prince (18 points) but held Madison Conner to nine points. TCU is more than the “Big Three.” Donovyn Hunter dropped in 13 and played 39 minutes.
I predicted TCU to win, and I’ll stick by it. Expect it to be closer than their meeting a few weeks ago.
Prediction: TCU 71, West Virginia 63
Game 14: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State. 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Baylor, 26-6; Oklahoma State, 25-5.
Head-to-Head: Oklahoma State 84, Baylor 61.
Big 12 Tournament Results: Baylor: def. Iowa State, 69-63 (quarterfinals); Oklahoma State: def. Texas Tech, 62-59 (quarterfinals).
The preview: Baylor is so hard to deal with when it can spread out the scoring, which it did against Iowa State. Four different players hit double figures, with Jada Walker leading the way with 18 points. For the season, six different players have scored at least 300 points, with the latest being Bella Fontleroy. Perhaps just as impressive was the defense, as the Bears forced the Cyclones into 22 turnovers. Another game like that would come in handy in the semifinals.
The Cowgirls were in a test all the way down to the wire against Texas Tech on Friday, with Stailee Heard tying her career high with 34 points, along with 13 rebounds. Tenin Magassa also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. What OSU lacked on Friday was consistent outside scoring, something it will need when it faces Baylor. When OSU beat Baylor back in early January, the Cowgirls got double-digit games from guards Anna Gret Asi and Alexia Smith. OSU will need both to come through in the semifinals.
Prediction: Baylor 77, Oklahoma State 75
Big 12 Tournament Results
First Round: Wednesday
Game 1: No. 13 UCF 81, No. 12 BYU 69
Game 2: No. 9 Colorado 66, No. 16 Houston 58
Game 3: No. 15 Arizona State 82, No. 10 Cincinnati 75
Game 4: No. 14 Texas Tech 57, No. 11 Kansas 53
Second Round: Thursday
Game 5: No. 5 K-State 80, No. 13 UCF 65
Game 6: No. 9 Colorado 61, No. 8 Arizona 58
Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State 96, No. 15 Arizona State 88
Game 8: No. 14 Texas Tech 75, No. 6 Utah 64
Quarterfinals: Friday
Game 9: No. 4 West Virginia 73 No. 5 Kansas State 69
Game 10: No. 1 TCU 69 No. 9 Colorado 62
Game 11: No. 2 Baylor 69, No. 7 Iowa State 63
Game 12: No. 3 Oklahoma State 62, No. 14 Texas Tech 59
Semifinals: Saturday
Game 13: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 1 TCU, 3 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 14: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Final: Sunday
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 4 p.m. CT, ESPN
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
