Utah women’s basketball is one of the hottest teams in the Big 12. Next, they host a top 20 team

Over the past month and a half, Utah women’s basketball has lost only once — a one-point loss to a then-unbeaten Arizona State team.

Outside of that, the Utes have been one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 Conference in recent weeks, and that’s helped Utah get off to a 4-1 start in league play, tied for second in the standings.

The Utes (13-4, 4-1 Big 12) have won 10 of their past 11 games, and that streak was headlined by a 10-point overtime win over then-No. 8 TCU on Jan. 3, as Utah took down the defending league champions.

“This team has bought in. We all have to buy in constantly, and we have to indulge and sacrifice for play like this,” Utah senior guard Lani White said after the win over the Horned Frogs 10 days ago. “So it was a good night, it was a team win, but yeah, we can only go forward. That’s what we do.”

Utah (13-4, 4-1 Big 12) is coming off its first two-game road trip of conference play, and the Utes were able to fend off late rallies from both Kansas and Kansas State to stay unbeaten in true road games, at 6-0.

The next couple of weeks, though, will be especially challenging, though three of their next four contests will be in the home confines of the Huntsman Center.

That begins with a matchup against No. 18 Baylor on Wednesday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) at the Huntsman.

“I think Utah has been playing really, really well the last couple of weeks. They lost on a buzzer beater basically against Arizona State at home, then beat TCU and went on the Kansas swing and kinda handled business,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen told reporters.

“They’re a team that trusts their actions and works the ball. You don’t necessarily point to any one player, I think they’re a team full of really good players that can beat you with their ball movement and their execution. It’s going to be a unique challenge.”

A little bit about Baylor

The Bears (15-3, 4-1 Big 12) are one of only two Big 12 teams with a longer winning streak than Utah right now. Baylor is on a four-game winning streak, one better than the Utes’ three, and unbeaten Texas Tech is off to a school-record 19-0 start.

Baylor’s only loss so far in Big 12 play came at home against No. 17 Texas Tech by a point. Their signature win of conference action thus far came on Jan. 4, when the Bears handed then-No. 10 Iowa State its first loss of the year.

Going into Tuesday, Baylor was ranked No. 29 in the NET rankings, 12 spots above Utah.

The Bears have won their past eight true road games, including three this season.

Baylor is led by Taliah Scott and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.

Scott averages 20.6 points per game, second in the Big 12 behind only Iowa State’s Audi Crooks (28.3). Scott is shooting 41.7% from the field, 32.8% from 3 and 91.1% from the free-throw line, while adding 3.0 rebounds per game.

Twice, Scott has been named the national player of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. That included earning the award two weeks ago, when she helped Baylor rally from 19 down against Oklahoma State, then hit the game-winner in beating Iowa State.

Littlepage-Buggs is averaging 10.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She had her ninth double-double of the year with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Bears’ win over Kansas on Sunday.

This will be the fourth meeting all-time between Baylor and Utah, with the Bears winning all three previous meetings. That’s included a Baylor win over the Utes in each of the past two seasons.

What’s been working for Utah

While White and fellow senior guard Maty Wilke have been the primary playmakers for Utah this season, the Utes are getting plenty of solid contributions — and it can change on any given night.

White, who has earned the Big 12’s weekly starting five honors twice, is averaging a team-high 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, while Wilke, despite dealing with a nagging shoulder injury, is averaging 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.

Reese Ross is coming off a career night, when she had 21 points in a win over Kansas State, and she’s the team’s top rebounder (7.9 per game). Ross has had double-digit rebounds in four of Utah’s last six games.

Then there’s players like Brooke Walker, Chrya Evans, LA Sneed, Avery Hjelmstad, Grace Foster and Evelina Otto, who’ve all come up with major contributions at different times — it’s shown off the depth Gavin Petersen’s group has.

What the road ahead holds

Utah will play three of its next four games at home. Those three opponents the Utes will face at home are a combined 13-2 record in Big 12 play.

After Wednesday night’s game, Utah will hit the road for a game at Houston, which is 0-5 in league play, on Saturday before returning to Salt Lake City.

The Utes will then host No. 17 Texas Tech (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) on Jan. 24, then West Virginia (14-3, 4-1 Big 12) on Jan. 27 before playing at rival BYU (14-3, 3-2 Big 12) on Jan. 31 to wrap up the month.

Thus far, Utah has only played one team, TCU, who is in the upper half of the Big 12 standings. The No. 10 Horned Frogs are 16-1, 4-1 in league play, having won two straight after losing to the Utes.

Utah’s three other wins in Big 12 play have come against Arizona (1-4 in Big 12 play), Kansas (1-4) and Kansas State (2-3).

The Utes’ lone loss in league play came against an Arizona State team that stands 16-2 and 3-2 in league play.