# 2022–23 Big 12 Conference women's basketball season

The 2022–23 Big 12 Conference women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 7, 2022. The conference schedule began on December 31, 2022. This will be the twenty-seventh season under the Big 12 Conference name.
The Big 12 Conference tournament is scheduled for March 9–10, 2023 at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

## Pre-season
### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| Wooden | Naismith | Lieberman | Drysdale | Miller | McClain | Leslie | Wade |
| Aijha Blackwell – Baylor Lexi Donarski – Iowa State Shaylee Gonzales – Texas Rori Harmon – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State Taylor Robertson – Oklahoma Madi Williams – Oklahoma | Aijha Blackwell – Baylor Rori Harmon – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State Aaliyah Moore – Texas Taylor Robertson – Oklahoma Emily Ryan – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | Rori Harmon – Texas Emily Ryan – Iowa State | Ja'Mee Asberry – Baylor Sonya Morris – Texas Taylor Robertson – Oklahoma | Aijha Blackwell – Baylor Lior Garzon – Oklahoma State Shay Holle – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | Aaliyah Moore – Texas | Taylor Jones – Texas | Rori Harmon – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State |

### Preseason polls

AP :
| Ranking | Team |
| 3 | Texas |
| 8 | Iowa State |
| 15 | Oklahoma |
| 18 | Baylor |
USA Today Coaches :
| Ranking | Team |
| 3 | Texas |
| 9 | Iowa State |
| 16 | Oklahoma |
| 17 | Baylor |

#### Big 12 Conference Coaches' Poll

Women's Basketball Preseason Poll (Coaches) :
| Place | Team | Points | FPV |
| 1. | Iowa State | 75 | 4 |
| 2. | Texas | 74 | 4 |
| 3. | Oklahoma | 65 | 1 |
| 4. | Baylor | 62 | 1 |
| 5. | Kansas | 49 | — |
| 6. | Kansas State | 37 | ― |
| 7. | Texas Tech | 29 | ― |
| 8. | West Virginia | 26 | ― |
| 9. | Oklahoma State | 23 | ― |
| 10. | TCU | 10 | ― |
Source:

### Big 12 Conference Preseason All-Conference
#### Preseason All-Big 12 Team

| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. | Ht. | Hometown (Last School) |
| Sarah Andrews | Baylor | Jr. | G | 5'6 | Irving, TX (MacArthur HS) |
| Aijha Blackwell | Baylor | Sr. | G | 5'11 | Berkeley, MO (Missouri) |
| Lexi Donarski | Iowa State | Jr. | G | 6'0 | La Crosse, WI (Aquinas HS) |
| Rori Harmon | Texas | So. | G | 5'6 | Houston, TX (Cypress Creek HS) |
| Ashley Joens | Iowa State | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 | Iowa City, IA (City HS) |
| Holly Kersgieter | Kansas | Jr. | G | 5'11 | Sand Springs, OK (Charles Page HS) |
| Aaliyah Moore | Texas | So. | F | 6'1 | Moore, OK (Moore HS) |
| Taylor Robertson | Oklahoma | R-Sr. | G | 6'0 | McPherson, KS (McPherson HS) |
| Emily Ryan | Iowa State | Jr. | G | 5'11 | Claflin, KS (Central Plains HS) |
| Serena Sundell | Kansas State | So. | G | 6'1 | Maryville, MO (Maryville HS) |
| Madi Williams | Oklahoma | R-Sr. | F | 6'0 | Fort Worth, TX (Trinity Valley School) |
* Unanimous selections are shown in Bold
* A tie for the 10th spot resulted in 11 selections

##### Honorable Mentions

Ja’Mee Asberry (Baylor), Dre’Una Edwards (Baylor), Zakiyah Franklin (Kansas), Taiyanna Jackson (Kansas), Ana Llanusa (Oklahoma), Shaylee Gonzales (Texas), Taylor Jones (Texas), Sonya Morris (Texas), JJ Quinerly (West Virginia), Madisen Smith (West Virginia)

##### Preseason Player of the Year

* Ashley Joens - Iowa State

##### Preseason Newcomer of the Year

* Aijha Blackwell - Baylor

##### Preseason Freshman of the Year

* Darianna Littlepage-Buggs - Baylor
Source:

### Midseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
| Wooden | Naismith | Lieberman | Drysdale | Miller | McClain | Leslie | Wade |
| Ashley Joens – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | Rori Harmon – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | Rori Harmon – Texas | Gabby Gregory – Kansas State | Ashley Joens – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | – | Taiyanna Jackson – Kansas | Rori Harmon – Texas Ashley Joens – Iowa State |

### Final watchlists

Below is a table of notable year end watch lists.
| Wooden | Naismith | Liberman | Drysdale | Miller | McClain | Leslie | Wade |
| Ashley Joens – Iowa State | | – | – | Ashley Joens – Iowa State Madi Williams – Oklahoma | – | – | |

## Regular season
### Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Significance | Score | Conference record |
| Nov 12 | TCU | No. 12 North Carolina | Carmichael Arena ● Chapel Hill, NC | ― | L 48–75 | 0–1 |
| Nov 14 | No. 3 Texas | No. 5 UConn | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion ● Storrs, CT | ― | L 76–83 | 0–2 |
| Nov 16 | No. 16 Oklahoma | No. 25 Utah | Jon M. Huntsman Center ● Salt Lake City, UT | ― | L 78–124 | 0–3 |
| Nov 17 | No. 4 Iowa | Kansas State | Bramlage Coliseum ● Manhattan, KS | ― | W 84–83 | 1–3 |
| Nov 20 | No. 19 Maryland | No. 17 Baylor | Ferrell Center ● Waco, TX | ― | L 68–73 | 1–4 |
| Nov 20 | No. 6 Louisville | No. 3 Texas † | Imperial Arena ● Paradise Island, Bahamas | Battle 4 Atlantis | L 63–71 | 1–5 |
| Nov 25 | No. 13 NC State | West Virginia † | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya ● Cancún, Mexico | Cancún Challenge | L 40–78 | 1–6 |
| Nov 26 | No. 23 Villanova | No. 21 Baylor † | Hertz Arena ● Estero, FL | Gulf Coast Showcase | W 75–70 | 2–6 |
| Nov 27 | No. 8 North Carolina | No. 5 Iowa State † | Moda Center ● Portland, OR | Phil Knight Invitational | L 64–73 | 2–7 |
| Nov 27 | No. 22 Michigan | No. 21 Baylor † | Hertz Arena ● Estero, FL | Gulf Coast Showcase | L 75–84 | 2–8 |
| Dec 7 | No. 10 Iowa State | No. 16 Iowa | Carver–Hawkeye Arena ● Iowa City, IA | Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series | L 57–70 | 2–9 |
| Dec 8 | Kansas | No. 12 Arizona | McKale Center ● Tucson, AZ | ― | W 77–50 | 3–9 |
| Dec 18 | No. 14 Iowa State | No. 25 Villanova † | Mohegan Sun Arena ● Uncasville, CT | Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase | W 74–62 | 4–9 |
| Dec 18 | No. 20 Arizona | No. 18 Baylor † | American Airlines Center ● Dallas, TX | Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge | L 54–75 | 4–10 |
| Mar 17 | West Virginia | No. 25 Arizona † | Xfinity Center ● College Park, MD | NCAA tournament (first round) | L 62–75 | 4–11 |
| Mar 20 | Baylor | No. 6 UConn | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion ● Storrs, CT | NCAA tournament (second round) | L 58–77 | 4–12 |
| Mar 20 | No. 16 Oklahoma | No. 14 UCLA | Pauley Pavilion ● Los Angeles, CA | NCAA tournament (second round) | L 73–82 | 4–13 |
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking
† denotes game was played on neutral site

### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
* First Place votes shown in
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Baylor | AP | 18 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 18 | RV | NV | RV | RV | NV | | | | | |
| Baylor | C | 17 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV |
| Iowa State | AP | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 23 | RV | 17 | |
| Iowa State | C | 9 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 25 |
| Kansas | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 23 | RV | NV | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas | C | RV | RV | NV | | RV | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | RV | NV | | | | | | | | RV |
| Kansas State | AP | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 24 | RV | RV | NV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas State | C | | | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | NV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | AP | 15 | 16 | RV | RV | 23 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 16 | |
| Oklahoma | C | 16 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 17 |
| Oklahoma State | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | NV | | |
| Oklahoma State | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | NV | | | |
| TCU | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| TCU | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | AP | 3 | 3 | 19 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | 25 | RV | 24 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 15 | |
| Texas | C | 3 | 5 | 16 | 18 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 25 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 19 |
| Texas Tech | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Tech | C | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | NV | | | | | | | | | |
| West Virginia | AP | | | | | | | | | | | RV | NV | | | | | | | | |
| West Virginia | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Awards and honors
### Players of the Week

Throughout the conference regular season, Big 12 Conference offices named two players (Player and Freshman) of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the Week | School | Freshman of the Week | School |
| Nov. 14 | Gabby Gregory | Kansas State | Bella Fontleroy | Baylor |
| Nov. 21 | Ashley Joens | Iowa State | Bailey Maupin | Texas Tech |
| Nov. 28 | Stephanie Soares | Iowa State | Jasmine Shavers | Texas Tech |
| Dec. 5 | Taylen Collins | Oklahoma State | Bella Fontleroy (2) | Baylor |
| Dec. 12 | DeYona Gaston | Texas | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs | Baylor |
| Dec. 19 | Zakiyah Franklin | Kansas | Denae Fritz | Iowa State |
| Dec. 23 | Madi Williams | Oklahoma | Bailey Maupin (2) | Texas Tech |
| Jan. 3 | Rori Harmon Taiyanna Jackson | Texas Kansas | Jasmine Shavers (2) | Texas Tech |
| Jan. 9 | Sarah Andrews | Baylor | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (2) | Baylor |
| Jan. 16 | Naomie Alnatas Bre’Amber Scott | Oklahoma State Texas Tech | Jasmine Shavers (3) | Texas Tech |
| Jan. 23 | Madi Williams (2) | Oklahoma | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (3) | Baylor |
| Jan. 30 | Ashley Joens (2) | Iowa State | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (4) | Baylor |
| Feb. 6 | Sarah Andrews (2) | Baylor | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (5) | Baylor |
| Feb. 13 | Taiyanna Jackson (2) | Kansas | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (6) | Baylor |
| Feb. 20 | Ashley Joens (3) | Iowa State | Denae Fritz (2) | Iowa State |
| Feb. 27 | Serena Sundell | Kansas State | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (7) | Baylor |
| Mar. 6 | Madisen Smith | West Virginia | Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (8) | Baylor |
| School | PoW | FoW | Total |
| Baylor | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| Iowa State | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Texas Tech | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Kansas | 3 | — | 3 |
| Kansas State | 2 | — | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | — | 2 |
| Oklahoma State | 2 | — | 2 |
| Texas | 2 | — | 2 |
| West Virginia | 1 | — | 1 |

## Post season
### Big 12 Conference tournament

| First round Thursday, March 9 ESPN+ | First round Thursday, March 9 ESPN+ | First round Thursday, March 9 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 ESPNU/ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 ESPNU/ESPN+ | Quarterfinals Friday, March 10 ESPNU/ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 ESPN+ | Semifinals Saturday, March 11 ESPN+ | Championship game Sunday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship game Sunday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship game Sunday, March 12 ESPN2 |
| | | | 1 | Texas | 60 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Texas Tech | 69 | 9 | Kansas State | 42 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Kansas State | 79 | | | | 1 | Texas | 64 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Oklahoma State | 57 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Oklahoma State | 62 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | West Virginia | 61 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Texas | 51 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Iowa State | 61 |
| | | | 2 | Oklahoma | 77 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Kansas | 52 | 10 | TCU | 76 | | | | | | |
| 10 | TCU | 57 | | | | 2 | Oklahoma | 72 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Iowa State | 82 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Iowa State | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Baylor | 63 | | | | | | |
*denotes overtime

### NCAA tournament

Six team from the conference were selected to participate.
| Seed | Region | School | First Round | Second Round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| No. 4 | Seattle Regional 4 | Texas | defeated No. 13 East Carolina 79–40 | lost to No. 5 Louisville 51–73 | — | — | — | — |
| No. 5 | Seattle Regional 3 | Iowa State | lost to No. 12 Toledo 73–80 | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. 5 | Greenville Regional 1 | Oklahoma | defeated No. 12 Portland 85–63 | lost to No. 4 UCLA 73–82 | — | — | — | — |
| No. 7 | Seattle Regional 3 | Baylor | defeated No. 10 Alabama 78–74 | lost to No. 2 UConn 58–77 | — | — | — | — |
| No. 8 | Greenville Regional 2 | Oklahoma State | lost to No. 9 Miami (FL) 61–62 | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. 10 | Greenville Regional 1 | West Virginia | lost to No. 7 Arizona 62–75 | — | — | — | — | — |
| | 6 Bids | W-L (%): | 3–3 (.500) | 0–3 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 3–6 (.333) |

### WNIT

Three teams from the conference were selected to participate: Kansas, Kansas State & Texas Tech.
| Bracket | School | First Round | Second Round | Super Sixteen | Great Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| Region 2 | Kansas | defeated Western Kentucky 86−72 | defeated Missouri 75−47 | defeated Nebraska 74−63 | defeated Arkansas 78−64 | defeated Washington 61−36 | defeated Columbia 66−59 |
| Region 1 | Kansas State | defeated Wichita State 90−56 | defeated Wyoming 71−55 | lost to Washington 48−55 | — | — | — |
| Region 2 | Texas Tech | defeated UTEP 67−54 | defeated SMU 61−49 | lost to Arkansas 66−71 | — | — | — |
| 3 Bids | TOTAL W-L (%): 10–2 (.833) | 3–0 (1.000) | 3–0 (1.000) | 1–2 (.333) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) |

## WNBA draft

The Big 12 Conference had three players selected in the WNBA Draft. Stephanie Soares from Iowa State was the highest pick, selected by Washington Mystics on the 1st round 4th overall pick.
| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position | School |
| Stephanie Soares | Washington Mystics | 1 | 4 | Forward | Iowa State |
| Madi Williams | Seattle Storm | 2 | 18 | Forward | Oklahoma |
| Ashley Joens | Dallas Wings | 2 | 19 | Shooting guard | Iowa State |