Preview: Southern Lady Jaguars at Baylor Lady Bears

WACO, Texas (Interstat) — The Baylor Lady Bears look to rebound from their most lopsided loss of the season when they host the Southern Lady Jaguars at Ferrell Center on Thursday.

Baylor (10-2) enters the nonconference matchup following an 89-54 road defeat to then-Texas on Dec. 14. Despite the loss, forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs recorded 14 rebounds and four assists. The junior has been a consistent force, averaging a near double-double and posting one in a 90-36 win over Alabama State on Dec. 9.

Southern (4-5) arrives on a three-game winning streak, including an 84-34 victory over Southern-N.O. on Dec. 12. The Lady Jaguars are led by guard Demya Porter, who scored 18 points in that win and is averaging 13.4 points over her last five contests. Southern’s recent surge followed a challenging early schedule featuring road losses to then-UCLA, Washington and Iowa.

The Lady Bears have dominated at home, winning by an average of 41.2 points in their five victories in Waco this season. Their defense has held opponents to 52.2 points per game overall.

Southern, which has not faced a ranked opponent since late November, will need Porter and forward Jocelyn Tate, who had nine points and eight rebounds last game, to contend with Baylor’s size and depth. The Lady Jaguars are 0-3 on the road against Power Five competition this season.

This is the first meeting between the programs. Baylor will open Big 12 play on Dec. 21 against Texas Tech. Southern visits SMU on Dec. 21.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at Ferrell Center.