K-State takes on No. 1 Baylor for 2nd time in conference season

K-State women's basketball looks to take on the No. 1 Baylor Bears tomorrow night in Bramlage Coliseum at 7.

The last time K-State and Baylor met up was in Waco, Texas, two weeks ago, and Baylor came away with a 76-41 win over the Wildcats. In that game, Baylor's 6-foot-8-inch junior Brittney Griner came away with 22 points and 12 rebounds for her 36th career double-double.

While junior guard Brittany Chambers led the Wildcats with 16 points, K-State was unable to keep up with Baylor and came away with a 35-point loss.

However, the last time K-State played Baylor, they were coming off of an upsetting home court loss to Oklahoma. This time around the Wildcats will take on the Bears fresh off of a big road win at Texas.

"So you've done what you've done to this point in time," said K-State head coach Deb Patterson, "and the next day is all that matters, and at least we've put ourselves in position to be a factor at this point in time in the postseason. Getting up today, I feel good about that."

K-State currently sits in a three-way tie for No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference with Oklahoma and Texas A&M, while Baylor holds the lead at No. 1 after going undefeated and winning 22 straight games this season.

While K-State is excited coming off their Texas win, Baylor is also coming off a road win. The Bears took on Missouri Wednesday night and came away with a 71-41 win. Baylor's depth proved deeper than Griner as four of the Bears' players finished the game scoring in the double digits.

Patterson said she has seen many teams try many things to keep Baylor's offense under control, but with the unique athleticism and size that come along with a player like Griner, all have failed.

"The one thing that I've seen that has been moderately successful is what Stanford brought to the floor one time and Connecticut," Patterson said, "and that is just to match her with great size, 6-4, 6-5, double team her with great size. And that to me is what I've seen to be most effective."

But, unfortunately for K-State, they do not have that size on their roster like Connecticut and Stanford do to keep up with Baylor.

"Well, if you don't have that [size], you can't do that, and you just try to play anyway," Patterson said. "We can't change anything, we just have to take the floor and be true to who we are, and work as hard as we can every possession and line it up and go, that's gonna be our approach."

The Wildcats will need to come out sharp offensively to keep up with the Bears' strong offense and capitalize on any mistake the Bears let up.

K-State is looking forward to having a big showing of fans tomorrow night in Bramlage Coliseum. With their last two home games both turning into losses, Patterson said she does not think fans have had the chance to see the true talent the Wildcats have brought to the court this conference season. The majority of the Wildcats' success has been played on the road.

"I'm looking forward to the fun of it and I know our players are too," Patterson said about returning to Bramlage after two consecutive road wins. "Our fans have not seen this basketball team for what it has been the majority of the year."