KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KXXV) — The Baylor Bears head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Championship Tournament. Arriving to the City of Fountains brings excitement for the tournament and more.
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"I'm excited. I mean, any chance that I get just to travel and be with a team is fun...I didn't even know they had good barbecue there, so hopefully we'll find out," junior Waiata Jennings said.
"It's win or go home, so I know we have a lot of seniors that are eager to — this is our last conference tournament, it's our last NCAA tournament, so we wanna go out strong," senior Jada Walker said.
See y'all in KC Friday for some Big 12 Hoops! 🏀#SicEm | #GreaterThan pic.twitter.com/Vjrdbtzyeo
— Baylor Women's Basketball (@BaylorWBB) March 6, 2025
The Bears enter this tournament without first team All-Big 12 player Darianna Littlepage-Buggs. Buggs suffered a knee injury and missed the Bears' last four games. In her absence, other players have been stepping up.
"We've been resilient. You know, I think sometimes, you have to understand that — Ironically, less is more and it doesn't mean that in those, a lot of those moments you're not missing what Buggs brings," head coach Nicki Collen said.
Baylor's regular-season success earned the team the tournament's second seed. The Bears got a double bye and await their opponent, which will either be Iowa State or Arizona State.
"A blessing just to get a double bye being able to prepare more for the tournament and not just come right in having to play, play, play, play," Walker said.
"Whether you get a bye like last year or a double bye like this year, we're still going to watch the game of the opponent we're about to play. We're just gonna watch the game and then put a game plan together tonight and be ready to go tomorrow," Collen said.
Baylor plays on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
