photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas huddles during the first half against Penn State on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Lawrence.

Could last year’s Baylor-Kansas result at Allen Fieldhouse serve as motivation for this year’s Bears on Saturday? “Yeah, heck yeah,” BU coach Nicki Collen said.

What was then the No. 4 team in the country came to Lawrence to face a struggling KU squad, winless in the Big 12, on Jan. 10. After leading 35-26 midway through the second quarter, the Bears couldn’t handle KU’s switch to zone defense, allowed a game-tying 11-2 run to close the half and then gave up a 15-2 run after the break for good measure.

Collen said her team was a “train wreck” in the third quarter, and Baylor went on to lose 87-66.

The Jayhawks had previously lost 19 straight times to BU and in fact, having completely turned their season around late in the winter, still lost to the Bears again in the reverse fixture on Feb. 21.

“I will tell you what, I have a ton of respect for Brandon (Schneider), he’s a good play caller, we’ve played some really close games,” Collen said. “We’ve won more than we’ve lost, obviously, but they’ve come down to the fourth quarter, usually.”

If KU’s recent games are any indication, Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Baylor — set for 4 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse — could continue that trend.

The Jayhawks have lived life on the edge in nonconference play. Deploying a lineup missing, at various points, two to three players who were expected to start entering the year, KU won a game against Northern Iowa that came down to the last shot, scored seven straight in the final minute to beat Auburn the next day and then on Sunday held Penn State scoreless for four minutes and got three clutch 3-pointers from Sania Copeland on its way to a sixth straight win. Thus KU is 10-1 with a lone loss to Iowa, despite ranking near the bottom of the Big 12 in fundamental statistical categories like scoring, rebounding and turnovers forced.

“I think it took us a little while just to get comfortable with everyone, having such a new team,” guard Elle Evans said, “but I think each game we’ve just grown so much and had trust in each other so much, so I think just the more we play the more we get comfortable with each other and that’s why we’re able to win those games.”

The Jayhawks certainly bear little resemblance, both in recent form and roster composition, to the team that beat Baylor a year ago. Sophomore star S’Mya Nichols is the only player starting for KU right now who actually played in that game. Of course, she’s a highly notable one, averaging an impressive 21.1 points per game with 4.9 assists and leading the country by a wide margin in free throw attempts.

Baylor, meanwhile, has four of the same five starters as last season, and the new one, center Aaronette Vonleh, is the preseason Big 12 newcomer of the year currently putting up 14.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. The wing Darianna Littlepage-Buggs averages a double-double with a team-high 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds, and Evans recalled watching her grab 20 boards in a win over UNLV and thinking, “This girl literally has magnets on her hands.”

Baylor also plays several smaller guards, including another preseason all-league pick in the high-volume outside shooter Sarah Andrews. The Bears are vulnerable, having sustained narrow losses to Oregon and Indiana, but will come into Lawrence on their own six-game winning streak, albeit with somewhat shorter rest than KU after dominating Utah Tech 97-34 on Wednesday.

Collen praised KU’s ability to be “scout-specific.” Schneider described that capability in more detail, noting the way his team has risen to the occasion against high-pressure defense (Auburn), a big post presence (Penn State) and elite guards (Northern Iowa). Collen said she expects KU to play off Littlepage-Buggs and guard Jada Walker, daring them to shoot, and otherwise attempt to take away the Bears’ strengths.

It’s a defensive approach that has certainly worked for the Jayhawks so far.

“I think what I’ve learned about this team is I like their ability to prepare and adjust from one scheme to the next,” Schneider said. “Because we don’t have the depth and maybe the overall athleticism to just play one way. We’re going to have to be a little bit of a chameleon when it comes to defensive schemes and what our approach is going to be.”

Saturday’s conference opener will lead into a short holiday break before the Jayhawks get back to work and prepare for a road date at Iowa State on New Year’s Day.