No. 7 Baylor is back in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, and the task in front of the Bears is a familiar one: Texas Tech.
The matchup is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, with ESPN+ carrying the live stream.
Baylor enters the semifinal still riding its No. 7 national ranking, after reaching as high as No. 6 in the second week of this year’s poll. That marks the eighth top-10 ranking of the Michelle Lenard era and the 12th in program history.
This will be the 37th all-time meeting between the two programs, and Baylor owns an 18-11-7 edge in the series. The teams already crossed paths once this season, when Texas Tech beat Baylor 1-0 in Lubbock. They also met in last year’s Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, when Baylor advanced after a penalty-kick win following a 1-1 draw.
The Bears arrive at the semifinal as the No. 3 seed at 16-3-1 overall and 8-2-1 in Big 12 play. They punched their ticket by beating No. 6 seed Houston on Monday night, with Natalie Vatter scoring the only goal of the match.
Texas Tech, the No. 2 seed, comes in at 13-2-4 and 8-2-1 after handling No. 7 seed UCF, 2-0, in its quarterfinal.
If Baylor gets past the Red Raiders, it will reach the championship round for the fourth time in program history. The Bears would then face either No. 1 seed BYU or No. 4 seed Colorado, who meet earlier Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
CT. The title match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
CT.
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Baylor Grinds Out A Gritty Big 12 Win With Texas Tech Next
Baylors postseason run kept moving with a hard-earned 1-0 win over No. 25 Houston in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, a result that had all the feel of a team willing to win any way it can. Natalie Vatter supplied the lone goal, and the Bears backed it up with the kind of disciplined effort that has carried them into the semifinals.
Michelle Lenards group now turns to a tougher test against No. 7 Texas Tech, a matchup that raises the stakes even further in tournament play. With Vatter and Azul Alvarez both part of the story after the quarterfinal win, Baylor heads into the next round with momentum, confidence and a chance to keep extending its season against one of the leagues top teams. [Read more 🡒]