Forever loyal: Sarah Andrews leaving legacy of commitment, tenacity at Baylor
Of course Sarah Andrews thinks about her legacy.
How could she not?
She’s already Baylor’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made and 3-pointers attempted, and she’s played more career games than anyone in Big 12 history. Andrews is third in program history in assists and fourth in games started.
When the Bears host TCU in the regular-season finale Sunday afternoon with a Big 12 Championship on the line, she’ll become Baylor’s all-time leader in games played, passing Suzie Snider Eppers, who set the record when Baylor was playing in the AIAW.
“I know I've done great things at Baylor, but I think the coaching staff set me up for the opportunity,” Andrews said. “They told me from day one that they had big plans for me. They trusted in me, even through the injuries, and believed I could lead a team.
“I’ve given them my loyalty because they've had it with me since day one.”
Loyalty is a common description when people talk about Andrews.
She’s been devoted to her family, who rarely misses an opportunity to watch her play. She stayed committed to Baylor when leaving seemed like a clear decision. She believed in herself when injuries piled up and it was hard to push through the pain.
“I think if she could get another year, she would,” Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said. “I don’t think she’d ever leave. She’s so comfortable here, and she loves Baylor. She’s someone that I just trust. I’m always going to be happy to have No. 24 on my team.”
Baylor has seven jersey numbers either retired or honored in its 50-year history as a program.
No. 24 might just be the eighth.
But like any good point guard, Andrews is quick to put her accomplishments into perspective and dish out the credit to the family members and other teammates who have helped her over the years.
“I’m grateful to achieve everything, but some of them I don't get without people passing me the ball,” Andrews said. “I don't get all those 3s without a Jada Walker, without a Didi Richards. It goes back to freshman year. I don’t play those games if we don't go far in the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
“I think everybody's played a role in this me that I am today, and I appreciate that.”
Thanks, Kennie
Andrews is four years younger than her brother, Kennie, and anything he did, she wasn’t far behind.
So when Kenny would have practice with all the other eight-year-old boys at the local YMCA, a four-year-old Andrews would be on the sideline focused in on every drill and mimicking every move.
Eventually, the coaches asked her parents if Andrews could play on the boys’ team all the time.
“My mom was kind of hesitant at first because she wanted me to be a cheerleader,” Andrews said. “I always told her that I wanted people to cheer for me.”
They could find a girls’ team she could play with, so for the first few years of her basketball career, she was playing with the boys on a team coached by her step-dad Terry Woods, but it didn’t take long for him to realize he’d rather be a dad than a coach.
Andrews didn’t slow down.
She kept following Kennie around, playing on the same boys' teams in the small city league and going with him when he got in some extra work with his trainer, Earl Rooks.
“Sarah was still young, but she was dribbling the ball on the side, and he asked if I would let her jump in,” Woods said. “She’s always benefited from her big brother being around and coaches let her jump into a drill with them.”
Even if Andrews dabbled in a bunch of other sports, including track and field, volleyball and soccer, and even spent some time as a trombone player in the band, basketball continued to consume her life.
It’s consumed the lives of her family, too.
Over the last five years, with Andrews in Waco, the gamed tradition is the same: Her mom would leave the house and pick up Woods after work south of Dallas and come to every Baylor game. After Kennie wrapped up his career at Richland Junior College, he’d join them.
In the family section at Foster Pavilion, the people decked out in No. 24 gear are hard to miss.
“Being there and being supportive, she’s able to look up and feel comfortable knowing that we’re there, it’s important,” Woods said. “It’s all about family. Wins, losses, whatever it may be, we support her no matter what she’s doing.”
Andrews feels the love every time she steps out onto the court. She can certainly hear it.
“I always apologize to whoever sitting by my parents,” she said. “My dad, if you let him, he might get down there and coach. My mom, I don't know if she knows if I'm on defense or offense, but she's happy. My brother, it’s something we can bond over, he’s the reason that I do what I do.
“I just applaud them, because I wouldn’t be where I am without them today. The sacrifices that they've made, financially and time-wise, to take me to practices and to make sure I had everything I needed. I know they’d give me their last $5 or the shirt off their back.”
Green and gold from the get-go
Andrews has photo after photo of herself during all stages of her younger days decked out in Baylor gear.
“Baylor was always my dream school,” she said.
Even if Andrews always dreamt of being a Bear, it wasn’t that simple.
After a standout career at MacArthur and a wildly successful time playing on the EYBL circuit with Jason Terry’s team and the ProSkills AAU team, Andrews was ranked as the No. 7 player and No. 2 point guard in the nation.
She wanted to stay close to home, so TCU and SMU were always options, but she also took visits to Florida State and Louisville. Texas made a late push, and she almost committed after a visit to Austin.
Woods advised exercising some patience.
“When we got to Baylor, and we had a chance to talk to Kim (Mulkey), it was over,” Woods said. “She had me motivated and wanting to go play. When she walked into a room, she would say, ‘I’m glad you’re done with all that other stuff, now are you ready to get serious?’ It was a done deal.”
Consider that the player Andrews looked up to the most was fellow Irving MacArthur guard Odyssey Sims, who was a three-time All-American, national champion, Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year in her time with the Bears.
Another MacArthur alum, Alexis Jones, also played a year at Baylor.
Suzie Oelschlegel, who coached Andrews, Sims and Jones during her 41-year run as a coach at MacArthur, also played basketball and softball at Baylor women’s basketball alum.
“I knew deep down in my soul that she probably would go to Baylor, but she kept us right on the edge of our seats right up to the end,” Oelschlegel said. “It just made me smile, and it made my heart smile, too.”
Andrews averaged 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals during her senior season at MacArthur, the Cardinals finished 29-9 and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
She averaged less than four points and just over one assist in a little over 11 minutes per game as a freshman. But she played in all 31 games as the Bears won a Big 12 title and made it to the Elite Eight.
“When you're the best player on your high school or AAU team, you're used to playing lots of minutes right off the bat,” Andrews said. “Coming into college, You’ve got (experienced) players who are like, ‘You're not gonna take my spot.’”
The coaching staff saw what kind of talent she had, and knew it would blossom in the right system.
“We recruited her to set in and be the starting point guard eventually,” said Tarleton State head coach Bill Brock, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant under Mulkey. “We thought that she would be a top point guard in the conference. She could shoot the basketball and was a good leader.”
Looking back, even if she didn’t play as much as she was used to, Andrews is thankful for the lessons that the upperclassmen — seven players from the 2020-21 Baylor roster either did or do play in the WNBA — taught her.
“They took me under their wing, each of them in a different way, and they were all big sisters,” Andrews said. “They always had confidence in me, even when I was a little freshman. This was a big stage for me, and I was super nervous. From day one, they were just all great role models.”
The one who stayed
When Mulkey left Baylor for LSU after the 2020-21 season, it left Andrews and her family with a sense of unease.
“We were all scared,” Woods said. “We thought we were going to go through the first year transitioning into the new coaching staff, and after the first year, we thought we were going end up at LSU.”
Even if her high school teammate, Hannah Gusters, followed Mulkey from Baylor to LSU, NaLyssa Smith, who had become one of Andrews’ best friends in her one season in Waco, came back to play for Collen.
Andrews very quickly developed a close relationship with Collen and assistant Tony Greene, which made the decision to stick around in Waco even easier.
“Sarah, more than anyone else in this program, has been through it,” Collen said. “She stayed when I got here, and it would’ve been very easy for her to leave. She didn’t come to play for me, but she stayed to play for me, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Andrews had one of her best seasons the year after Collen arrived, averaging just over 11 points per game while making a career-best 39% of her 3-point attempts while averaging 4.5 assists per game.
Baylor was plagued with injuries during her junior season, and she played nearly 35 minutes per game and averaged nearly 15 points per game almost out of necessity.
The injury bug continued to bite last season, but Andrews fought through, playing in every game and helping the Bears reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since Collen took over as head coach.
This season, she’s been relatively healthy, is shooting the 3-pointer at her highest clip since her sophomore year, and is the unquestioned emotional and vocal leader.
There’s just one more thing that would be the cherry on top.
“We've had so many great players that have won (a championship) when they've been here, I want to leave that legacy, too,” Andrews said. “This year is special because I think we have all the right pieces. I've built so many relationships that are going to last lifetimes.”