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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 13, 2022<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<h1 align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">WBB Selected as No. 2 Seed for NCAA Tournament<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Bears to face 15-seed Hawaii on Friday</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Krista Pirtle, 254-447-8610,
</span><a href="mailto:Krista_Pirtle@baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Krista_Pirtle@baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">WACO, Texas –</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> No. 4 Baylor women's basketball was selected as a No. 2 seed for the program's 20<sup>th</sup> appearance in
the NCAA Tournament Sunday night. The Bears (27-6) won their 12<sup>th</sup>-straight, and 13<sup>th</sup> overall, Big 12 regular-season championship.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Baylor will face No. 15-seed Hawaii on Friday in Waco at the Ferrell Center.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Bears were selected as part of the Wichita Region, in which Louisville is the No. 1 seed. On BU’s side of the bracket, Baylor will face No. 15 Hawaii. If the Bears
advance, they will face the winner between No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 10 South Dakota.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Baylor’s No. 2 seed marks the 11<sup>th</sup>-straight NCAA Tournament that the Bears have been a No. 2 or better. Baylor will be working for its 13<sup>th</sup>-straight
NCAA Sweet 16, its fifth Final Four appearance and fourth national championship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Bears are led by unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year NaLyssa Smith. The senior forward is averaging 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds and has just set a program record
with 24 double-doubles in a season. Smith received her first All-America recognitions of the season last week when she was named a first-team All-American by
<i>Sports Illustrated</i> and <i>The Athletic</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Smith – along with every other member of Baylor’s starting five – received All-Big 12 accolades this season. Jordan Lewis – Big 12 Newcomer of the Year – is second on
the team with 11.7 points to go with 3.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Her backcourt mate, Sarah Andrews, is averaging 11.1 points and 2.8 boards per game to go with 4.4 assists per game. Lewis and Andrews are first and second, respectively, in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover
ratio.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Queen Egbo is putting up 10.9 points and 8.3 rebounds to go with a total of 61 blocks this season. Ja’Mee Asberry – who ranks second in program history with 77 3-pointers
this season – averages 9.8 points and 2.3 triples per game. First off the bench, Caitlin Bickle is putting up 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Hawaii won the Big West Championship over the weekend to advance to its first NCAA Tournament since 2016. Hawaii is led by forward Amy Atwell (17.4 points per game, 6.7
rebounds per game) who was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">For games hosted in Waco, all session along with first and second round tickets, are available now. Visit
<a href="https://baylorbea.rs/2022NCAAWBB">https://baylorbea.rs/2022NCAAWBB</a> to purchase. Bear Foundation members can log into their accounts to request regional and Final Four tickets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">For the latest news on the Baylor women’s basketball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWBB.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">www.BaylorBears.com<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#0A5026">Krista Pirtle</span></b><span style="color:#0A5026"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">| Associate Director of Athletics Communications</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">C: 254-447-8610</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:3.0pt;color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.baylorbears.com/" title="http://www.baylorbears.com/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="159" height="44" style="width:1.6562in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D83715.CBE43080" alt="signature_1415018582"></span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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