The Big 12 women’s basketball teams are, incredibly, halfway through the league slate after their games on Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend’s results include:
Colorado 63, No. 10 Kansas State 53
No. 9 TCU 80, No. 25 Baylor 75
Arizona 77, No. 16 West Virginia 62
Oklahoma State 71, Texas Tech 68
Kansas 57, Houston 43
Utah 81, BYU 76
Iowa State 90, UCF 56
Cincinnati 73, Arizona State 66
The Big 12’s continues conference play on Wednesday with 10 teams in action.
Here are five takeaways from the weekend in Big 12 women’s basketball.
Best Game
Well, it turned out to be the last game between TCU and Baylor. In the build-up to the contest, I found out that TCU hadn’t beaten Baylor in women’s basketball since 1990, which was back in the Southwest Conference.
Baylor, of course, has been staggeringly good for a long time. The Horned Frogs have risen to a national ranking this season and were undefeated in league action until falling to Oklahoma State earlier this week.
Well, the Horned Frogs snapped the streak. TCU center Sedona Prince had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Hailey Van Lith had 19 points. Madison Conner dropped in 21 points. And Agnes Emma-Nnopu was critical, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Baylor was behind by double-digits in the third quarter but made it a ballgame down the stretch, thanks to guard Sarah Andrews, who had 21 points. Aliyah Matharu had 14 points off the bench and Jada Walker added 11 points. TCU held Darianna Littlepage-Buggs to seven points, but she managed 14 rebounds. But the Bears were still minus-11 in rebounding.
The two teams play in Waco to end the season. I can’t wait for that rematch.
Best Performances
Colorado’s Jade Masogayo was instrumental in the Buffs’ win over Kansas State — 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks.
Arizona only withstood 26 points from West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly with help from Breya Cunningham — 18 points, nine rebounds, one assist, three steals, and three blocks.
Oklahoma State’s Stailee Heard had a career-high 34 points, along with seven rebounds, two assists, four steals and a block.
Kansas sophomore S’Mya Nichols reached 900 career points with her 16-point effort against Houston.
Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens blew up against rival BYU as she finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block.
Iowa State’s Emily Ryan moved up to No. 12 on the Cyclones’ all-time scoring list. She finished with five points but had a game-high 11 assists.
Cincinnati’s Jillian Hayes and Arizona State’s Jalyn Brown had a duel inside of the Bearcats’ win over the Sun Devils. Hayes had 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and five steals, while Brown had 25 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Most-Needed Win(s)
When you’re on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, every win counts. Colorado beat Kansas State, and Arizona beat West Virginia to bolster their tournament credentials.
Both wins were Quad 1 wins for each team, and for Arizona, it was the first Quad 1 win of the season. The Wildcats moved up one spot in NCAA NET, now at No. 60. Adia Barnes’ crew desperately needed a win like that.
As for Colorado, beating Kansas State was Quad 1 win No. 2 and pushed the Buffs 13 spots in NET to No. 61. The Buffs did beat a Wildcats team without Ayoka Lee, but Colorado beat K-State in the NCAA Tournament last year with Lee on the floor.
For both of these teams, it’s a race to get to 20 wins. Arizona needs six, and Colorado needs seven. A 20-win season would give both a really good chance at March Madness, especially if each can do it before the Big 12 Tournament.
Worst Loss
Texas Tech’s NCAA Tournament hopes are hanging by a thread. The Lady Raiders are No. 83 in NCAA Net and don’t have a Quad 1 win. Oklahoma State was just outside Quad 1, but the win would have helped the Lady Raiders regardless.
Texas Tech rallied furiously in the fourth quarter to try and overcome Heard and the Cowgirls but to no avail. That snapped Tech’s two-game winning streak and it’s looking like the WBIT or the WNIT is where the Lady Raiders are headed, barring winning the Big 12 Tournament.
Bracketology Update
The Big 12 had seven teams in the latest ESPN Bracketology, which was updated on Friday. The seeds included:
No. 2 Kansas State (moved up a seed line, but this was before losing to Colorado)
No. 3 TCU
No. 5 West Virginia
No. 6 Oklahoma State (moved up a seed line after beating TCU)
No. 7 Baylor (moved down a seed line after losing to UCLA)
No. 7 Utah
No. 11 Iowa State (First Four game)
Iowa State was one of the last four in, and ESPN had a sense of humor, pitting the Cyclones against in-state rival Iowa in a First Four game. Arizona was one of the Next Four Out.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
