Baylor and Texas Tech were in the Virgin Islands. Iowa State was in Honolulu. Texas A&M ventured to Malibu, Calif.

While many Big 12 Conference women’s basketball teams were playing last week in vacation spots, Kansas University’s players stayed home and practiced.

Good thing, too.

“It’s been good to get extra reps,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said, “for the kids whose roles have changed.”

Two of Henrickson’s tallest players — 6-foot-5 Krysten Boogaard and 6-2 Nicollette Smith — didn’t practice all week because of injuries. Boogaard is definitely out, but Smith is expected to play when the Jayhawks meet New Orleans today.

Tipoff will be at 2 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. Sunflower Broadband 6 will carry a live telecast.

Boogaard suffered a stress reaction in her right leg and didn’t participate in last Sunday’s 76-55 win at Saint Louis. Smith replaced her, all the while wearing a fitted plastic mask to protect her damaged nose.

Smith, who took an elbow in a game two weeks ago, underwent surgery early in the week to correct a deviated septum and doctors wouldn’t allow her to practice until Saturday.

“They have to make sure there’s no more bleeding,” Henrickson said. “If she can go, she’ll start.”

Boogaard, meanwhile, is projected to return in Thursday’s home game against San Jose State. That depends, however, on the outcome of a reevaluation on Wednesday.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Henrickson said.

In New Orleans, the Jayhawks (3-0) will be facing a team predicted to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference. The Privateers opened with a pair of victories at home, but then went on the road and lost to Samford (58-46) and No. 18 Oklahoma State (84-54).

“They had a tough game against Oklahoma State,” Henrickson said, “but they’re very athletic and have decent size. And they have great depth. They use a lot of kids.”

Privateers coach Amy Champion uses so many players that not a single one is averaging double-figure scoring. In fact, leading scorer Jada Frazier, a 5-10 senior averaging 9.3 points a game, doesn’t even start.

New Orleans would have had even more depth if Champion hadn’t lost two players to knee injuries — returning starter Talisha Young and promising sophomore Kathy Kassabian.

Kansas, meanwhile, has been playing without touted freshman point guard Angel Goodrich, who is being red-shirted after suffering a knee injury during preseason drills.