NCAAW: UCLA-Baylor, Texas-Maryland meet in Coretta Scott King Classic

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The first Coretta Scott King Classic will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Monday, Jan. 20, with three top-10 teams taking the court.

First undefeated and No. 1 UCLA meets Baylor at 3 p.m. ET. Then, No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Maryland face off 5:30 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

The Bruins should take care of business against the Bears. Baylor lacks the personnel to contain UCLA junior center Lauren Betts, who, with season-long averages of 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, has demonstrated a keen ability to manipulate matchups to her liking this season. If she has the advantage, she’s nearly unstoppable with her soft post-scoring touch. When doubled, she’s quick to make the pass to an open teammate. Senior center Aaronette Vonleh, the Bears’ only true big at 6-foot-3, will be tasked with trying to deal with Betts. As she averages a team-high three fouls per game against opposition that often does not employ a 6-foot-7 center, Vonleh could find herself sidelined with foul trouble, and Baylor head coach Nicki Collen could be left searching for answers. Possibly, trying to junk things up with atypical small-ball lineups could be the best upset strategy for Baylor.

In the second game, Texas will hope to further wash off the stench from the stomping they suffered at the hands of South Carolina two Sundays ago with a win over a talented Maryland team. Longhorn sophomore forward Madison Booker should be especially motivated to remind a national audience of her abilities after her stinker against the Gamecocks. She already offered a strong response on Thursday, scoring 22 points in Texas’ win at Auburn. Her path to more efficient buckets might be easier on Monday with the absence of Maryland junior guard Bri McDaniel, who suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the Terrapins’ win over Minnesota on Wednesday.

The matchup between the Horns and Terps also offers a head-to-head battle between two of the nation’s best, yet stylistically different, senior point guards: Rori Harmon and Shyanne Sellers. Maryland’s 6-foot-2 Sellers utilizes her length to seek advantages, whether that be scoring for herself or finding her teammates in offensive halfcourt, along with also hounding opponents on the defensive end. At just 5-foot-6, Texas’ Harmon relies on her speed to establish edges, using her burst to push the ball up the court for early scoring opportunities or to make disruptive defensive plays. Both players also are coming off season-high scoring performances, with Harmon putting up 20 points in Texas’ latest win while Sellers dropped 27 points in Maryland’s most recent victory.