Oklahoma women's basketball: OU will need extra spark to win at Baylor

“I see bounce coming back in their steps,” Coale said. “They're a lot fresher than they were five or six days ago.”

The Sooners, who haven't played since a Jan. 19 home win over Texas, are going to need that extra spark Saturday morning, when they'll meet defending national champion Baylor in the Ferrell Center for an 11 a.m. tipoff.

The No. 1-ranked Bears (17-1 overall, 7-0 Big 12) carry a four-game series win streak — and a 29-game Big 12 win streak — into Saturday's clash with Oklahoma (15-3, 5-1).

“I think it's really important, especially for recovery,” junior OU guard Aaryn Ellenberg said of the week off. “Going hard so many nights, in and out, it wears you down a little bit.”

Baylor has won its seven Big 12 games this season by an average margin of 25.3 points; the Bears' only loss came at a neutral site to No. 6 Stanford, and Baylor junior guard Odyssey Sims was injured early in the game and didn't return.