Scouting report: No. 18 Baylor Bears vs. No. 20 Arizona Wildcats

Who: No. 18 Baylor (8-2) vs. No. 20 Arizona (8-1)

Where: American Airlines Arena, Dallas

When: 5:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 1400-AM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Shaina Pellington (5-8 senior)

G/F Jade Loville (5-11 senior)

F Esmery Martinez (6-2 senior)

F Lauren Fields (5-9 senior)

F Cate Reese (6-2 senior)

BAYLOR

G Ja’Mee Asberry (5-5 senior)

G/F Aijha Blackwell (5-11 senior)

G/F Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (6-1 freshman)

G Sarah Andrews (5-6 junior)

G Jaden Owens (5-8 senior)

Key players

Baylor — Darianna Littlepage-Buggs

Littlepage-Buggs earned Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week honors after putting up 11 points (shooting 50%) and 10 rebounds in Baylor’s 91-36 win over UT Arlington last week. Teammate Bella Fontleroy won the same award the week before, her second such honor this season.

Littlepage-Buggs leads all Division I freshmen with 9.1 rebounds per game. She posted her fourth double-double of the season against Tennessee State on Thursday, putting up 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Arizona — Esmery Martinez

As Martinez goes, the rest of the Wildcats go. The West Virginia transfer posted her third double-double of the season on Wednesday, notching 16 points and 12 rebounds in the Wildcats’ win over Texas Southern. Martinez is averaging 12.2 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Martinez is also a disruptor on defense. Arizona’s top rebounder also picked four steals and had two blocks against TSU. She has 17 steals and nine blocks in nine games.

Matchup history

Arizona has defeated Baylor both times the teams have met. This year’s game will follow the trend of the Wildcats and the Bears meeting on neutral courts.

The last time they played was Dec. 29, 1997 in the Louisiana Tech Dial Soap Classic, and the UA won 86-73. UA coach Adia Barnes played in the game, scoring 29 points on 14-of-21 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and picking two steals. Three other Wildcats — Lisa Griffith (19), Marte Alexander (15) and Monika Crank (11) — also scored in double figures. Griffith’s points came on 4 of 11 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws.

The Wildcats had 21 assists on 28 made from the field.

“I value certain things and one of them is assists,” said former UA coach Joan Bonvicini. “I would really celebrate when we had a lot of assists and who was the highest as players. Because it shows that you are sharing the basketball. When you do that, it becomes contagious. And it’s very hard to defend a team that is unselfish.”

He said it

“Baylor is a team that is very athletic, very strong with a long bench that presses you. They are similar to us in the sense that we play aggressive defense. I expect to see two aggressive defenses. Whoever can defend better, move the ball better against the press is the team that in the end is going to win. On our end, we have to be able to be more consistent on defense. We saw a very good second half against Texas Southern — this is the way that we have to defend. Offensively, we have to keep doing what we’re doing, because I believe we’re in a good place. We have a lot of players that can score and they have five players in double figures. Aijha Blackwell is going to play so they are going to be complete.

“To win this game, (we have) to be able to (the) play great defense that we are used to seeing. Right now, we are not seeing it, because there are a lot of freshmen, three transfers and we have to put it together. It takes time and hopefully is going to be a good time to have a great defensive effort. They play a pro-style — a lot of pick-and-roll options. Again, they have a lot of scorers and are a very good team that is playing in this moment their best basketball.” — UA assistant coach Salvo Coppa, who scouted the Bears

Sidelines

Connections between Baylor, Arizona abound

On WNBA draft night two seasons ago, Aari McDonald heard her name called early. Arizona’s star guard was selected third overall by the Atlanta Dream and coach Nikki Collen. On that night, Collen said she drafted McDonald because “we certainly knew she was a great player. And we knew she was a great player before the NCAA Tournament when the world realized how good she was.”

Collen would coach McDonald for only a few short weeks before Baylor offered her its vacant coaching job. Collen accepted. McDonald remembers Collen being “one of the calmest coaches I’ve ever had.”

Now a member of the UA’s staff, McDonald said Sunday’s game won’t carry any extra weight ... although she might give the UA coaches a few scouting tips on anything that looks similar to what Collen ran in Atlanta.

There are more connections between the two schools. Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades is a Rincon High School and UA grad. He pursued Barnes for the job that eventually went to Collen. His pursuit of Barnes led Arizona to go all in on Barnes, and the coach soon signed a contract worth $1 million annually.

Arizona’s Lauren Fields played alongside Ja’Mee Asberry for two years at Oklahoma State. Their last game together was a 2021 NCAA Tournament loss to Stanford. Fields had six points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Asberry finished with five points, three assists and two steals.

Fun facts

Arizona: The Wildcats have four players averaging in double-figures: Pellington (13.6); Loville (13); Martinez (12.2) and Reese (12.1)

Baylor: Jana Van Gytenbeek’s mom, Carol, played softball and was inducted into USSSA Colorado Softball Hall of Fame … Baylor forward Caitlin Bickle hails from Cave Creek, where she attended Cactus Shadows High School and both competed in and taught equestrian.

Numbers game

3 — Number of Baylor players who started their careers in the Pac-12. Van Gytenbeek spent two years at Stanford, while Jaden Owens played her freshman year at UCLA and Dre’Una Edwards played one year at Utah and three at Kentucky before heading west to Waco.

8 — UA ranks eighth in the nation — and first in the Pac-12 — with 13.6 steals per game.

2 — Owens is second in the Big 12 in assists, dishing 6.2 assists per game.