MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s basketball team concludes its two-game homestand Monday, as the Mountaineers prepare to host No. 2 Baylor at the WVU Coliseum.
Baylor (25-1, 14-0) won the first meeting this season, defeating the Mountaineers, 91-51, on Jan. 18 in Waco, Texas. West Virginia (16-9, 6-8) last defeated Baylor, 77-66, in the 2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship game.
“We have to play our game and play it well,” WVU forward Kari Niblack said. “We’re not going to change our game for anybody. We’ve been in this drought lately and everyone just needs to try and pick up the slack.”
West Virginia is coming off a 60-53 win against Kansas this past weekend, at the WVU Coliseum. Redshirt senior guard Tynice Martin led all scorers with 19 points against KU and surpassed 4,000 career minutes in the contest. Sophomore forward Kari Niblack also scored in double figures, adding 14 points to extend her double-figure scoring streak to six games. Sophomore guard Madisen Smith also posted 10 or more points against the Jayhawks, collecting 12 on the night.
“Everybody knows they’re a pretty good team,” WVU guard Tynice Martin said. “They’re No. 2 in the nation right now. They put their shoes on just like we put our shoes on. Yes, they have a good team and they can score in many different ways, but if we come in ready to play our defense, we can be right there with them. We know what they do best. They like to play a high-low game. They have big guards. We have to try and take away what they do best, which is points in the paint and offensive rebounds. If we can control that, we’ll be in the game.”
Baylor is coming off a 101-69 win against Oklahoma. Nalyssa Smith led the Lady Bears in scoring against the Sooners, finishing with 22 points. Smith was one of five players for BU to finish with 10 or more points against Oklahoma. Lauren Cox tallied a double-double in the win over OU (15 points, 11 rebounds). With the win, Baylor extended its Big 12 regular-season win streak to a conference and school-record 54 games. BU’s 54-game streak also ranks as the seventh-best conference win streak in NCAA history. Baylor’s only loss of the season came against now-No. 1 South Carolina, 74-59, back in November.
“I think they’re better this year than they were last year and they won a national championship last year,” WVU head coach Mike Carey said. “I think they’re deeper and a better-shooting team. They’re quicker and more athletic. They’re a complete team.”
