# 2022–23 Baylor Bears women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Baylor Bears women's basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bears, members of the Big 12 Conference, played their home games at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas and were led by second-year head coach Nicki Collen.

## Previous season

The Lady Bears finished the 2021–22 season with a record of 28–7, 15–3 in Big 12 play, to win the Big 12 regular season title. They defeated Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the quarterfinals and semifinals to advanced to the championship game of the Big 12 women's tournament where they lost to Texas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in the Wichita Region, they defeated Hawaii in the first round before getting upset by South Dakota in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

Baylor departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| NaLyssa Smith | 1 | F | 6'2" | Junior | Converse, TX | Declare for 2022 WNBA draft; selected 2nd overall by Indiana Fever |
| Jordan Lewis | 3 | G | 5'7" | Graduate student | Windermere, FL | Graduated/2022 WNBA draft; selected 24th overall by Connecticut Sun |
| Queen Egbo | 4 | C | 6'3" | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated/2022 WNBA draft; selected 10th overall by Indiana Fever |
| Kamaria McDaniel | 22 | G | 5'10" | Graduate student | Inkster, MI | Graduate transferred to Michigan State |

### Incoming

Baylor incoming transfers :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jana Van Gytenbeek | 4 | G | 5'7" | Junior | Greenwood Village, CO | Stanford |
| Erika Porter | 20 | F | 6'3" | Junior | West Windsor, NJ | Illinois |
| Catarina Ferreira | 30 | F | 6'1" | Junior | São Paulo, Brazil | Eastern Arizona College |
| Aijha Blackwell | 33 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Berkeley, MO | Missouri |
| Dre'una Edwards | 44 | F | 6'2" | Senior | Compton, CA | Kentucky |

#### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Darianna Littlepage-Buggs W | Oklahoma City, OK | Classen High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Ysabella Fontleroy W | Springfield, MO | Kickapoo High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Kyla Abraham P | Smithfield, VA | Smithfield High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. ||||||

#### Recruiting class of 2023

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Letycia Vasconcelos P | Montverde, FL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 3, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | No. 18 | Southwest Baptist | W 97–40 | | 16 – Blackwell | – | – | Ferrell Center Waco, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Lamar | W 88–50 | 1–0 | 17 – Tied | 8 – Fontleroy | 12 – Owens | Ferrell Center (4,032) Waco, TX |
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Incarnate Word | W 71–42 | 2–0 | 23 – Blackwell | 11 – Blackwell | 4 – Tied | Ferrell Center (3,809) Waco, TX |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 17 | SMU | W 58–55 | 3–0 | 13 – Andrews | 14 – Littlepage-Buggs | 7 – Owens | Ferrell Center (3,839) Waco, TX |
| November 20, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 17 | No. 19 Maryland | L 68–73 | 3–1 | 25 – Andrews | 12 – Littlepage-Buggs | 6 – Tied | Ferrell Center (4,500) Waco, TX |
| November 25, 2022* 10:00 a.m., FloHoops | No. 21 | vs. Saint Louis Gulf Coast Showcase Quarterfinals | W 92–58 | 4–1 | 16 – Andrews | 14 – Littlepage-Buggs | 10 – Owens | Hertz Arena (213) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 26, 2022* 4:00 p.m., FloHoops | No. 21 | vs. No. 23 Villanova Gulf Coast Showcase Semifinals | W 75–70 | 5–1 | 18 – Bickle | 12 – Bickle | 2 – Owens | Hertz Arena (314) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 27, 2022* 6:30 p.m., FloHoops | No. 21 | vs. No. 22 Michigan Gulf Coast Showcase finals | L 75–84 | 5–2 | 18 – Bickle | 7 – Tied | 6 – Asberry | Hertz Arena (313) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 4, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 21 | Houston Christian | W 79–35 | 6–2 | 17 – Fontleroy | 11 – Fontleroy | 6 – Owens | Ferrell Center (3,935) Waco, TX |
| December 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | UT Arlington | W 91–36 | 7–2 | 20 – Andrews | 10 – Littlepage-Buggs | 7 – Bickle | Ferrell Center (3,800) Waco, TX |
| December 15, 2022* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Tennessee State | W 93–27 | 8–2 | 30 – Littlepage-Buggs | 11 – Littlepage-Buggs | 6 – Tied | Ferrell Center (8,700) Waco, TX |
| December 18, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 18 | vs. No. 20 Arizona Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge | L 54–75 | 8–3 | 15 – Owens | 11 – Bickle | 8 – Owens | American Airlines Center Dallas, TX |
| December 21, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | Long Beach State | W 73–52 | 9–3 | 17 – Bickle | 12 – Andrews | 14 – Andrews | Ferrell Center (3,909) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 23 | TCU | W 64–42 | 10–3 (1–0) | 19 – Bickle | 7 – Tied | 5 – Owens | Ferrell Center (4,385) Waco, TX |
| January 3, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 23 | at No. 17 Oklahoma | W 81–70 | 11–3 (2–0) | 30 – Andrews | 10 – Bickle | 6 – Owens | Lloyd Noble Center (3,196) Norman, OK |
| January 7, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 23 | at No. 21 Kansas | W 75–62 | 12–3 (3–0) | 27 – Andrews | 13 – Littlepage-Buggs | 4 – Andrews | Allen Fieldhouse (3,528) Lawrence, KS |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Oklahoma State | L 65–70 | 12–4 (3–1) | 19 – Asberry | 12 – Bickle | 7 – Owens | Ferrell Center (3,972) Waco, TX |
| January 15, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 18 | at West Virginia | L 65–74 | 12–5 (3–2) | 24 – Andrews | 15 – Littlepage-Buggs | 4 – Andrews | WVU Coliseum (2,702) Morgantown, WV |
| January 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas State | W 69–48 | 13–5 (4–2) | 19 – Littlepage-Buggs | 11 – Littlepage-Buggs | 8 – Bickle | Ferrell Center (4,011) Waco, TX |
| January 22, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 25 Texas | L 55–68 | 13–6 (4–3) | 19 – Andrews | 10 – Buckle | 3 – Tied | Ferrell Center (5,593) Waco, TX |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas Tech | W 79–59 | 14–6 (5–3) | 16 – Tied | 12 – Buckle | 4 – Andrews | United Supermarkets Arena (8,235) Lubbock, TX |
| February 1, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas | W 77–73 | 15–6 (6–3) | 23 – Andrews | 10 – Littlepage-Buggs | 8 – Andrews | Ferrell Center (1,157) Waco, TX |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 12 Iowa State | W 76–70 | 16–6 (7–3) | 21 – Andrews | 12 – Littlepage-Buggs | 8 – Owens | Hilton Coliseum (11,788) Ames, IA |
| February 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 16 Oklahoma | L 92–98 $^{OT}$ | 16–7 (7–4) | 30 – Bickle | 17 – Littlepage-Buggs | 14 – Owens | Ferrell Center (4,396) Waco, TX |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 56–77 | 16–8 (7–5) | 16 – Bickle | 13 – Bickle | 4 – Andrews | Gallagher-Iba Arena (3,799) Stillwater, OK |
| February 15, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas State | L 68–87 | 16–9 (7–6) | 21 – Asberry | 8 – Littlepage-Buggs | 5 – Tied | Bramlage Coliseum (3,046) Manhattan, KS |
| February 18, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 22 Iowa State | L 77–81 $^{2OT}$ | 16–10 (7–7) | 19 – Tied | 12 – Tied | 10 – Owens | Ferrell Center (5,083) Waco, TX |
| February 22, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at TCU | W 67–57 | 17–10 (8–7) | 14 – Fontleroy | 14 – Littlepage-Buggs | 5 – Owens | Schollmaier Arena (2,023) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 25, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas Tech | W 71–61 | 18–10 (9–7) | 21 – Bickle | 9 – Fontleroy | 5 – Owens | Ferrell Center (5,210) Waco, TX |
| February 27, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 12 Texas | W 63–54 | 19–10 (10–7) | 19 – Littlepage-Buggs | 13 – Littlepage-Buggs | 7 – Harmon | Moody Center (10,763) Austin, TX |
| March 4, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | West Virginia | L 52–63 | 19–11 (10–8) | 18 – Asberry | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Ferrell Center (4,357) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Iowa State Quarterfinals | L 63–74 | 19–12 | 16 – Littlepage-Buggs | 6 – Andrews | 9 – Andrews | Municipal Auditorium (4,979) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2023* 4:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (7 S3) | vs. (10 S3) Alabama First Round | W 78–74 | 20–12 | 26 – Asberry | 7 – Tied | 5 – Andrews | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,043) Storrs, CT |
| March 20, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN | (7 S3) | at (2 S3) No. 6 UConn Second Round | L 58–77 | 20–13 | 15 – Asberry | 8 – Bickle | 4 – Tied | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S3=Seattle 3. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 18 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 18 | RV | — | RV | RV | | | | | | |
| Coaches | 17 | 17* | 17 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | |
*Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.