No. 21 WBB Powers Past Saint Louis, 92-58

Friday, November 25

Estero, Fla.

10 a.m.

Baylor

4-1,0-0Big 12

Saint Louis

1-6,0-0Atlantic 10

Saint Louis

Baylor

No. 21 WBB Powers Past Saint Louis, 92-58

11/25/2022 12:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            ESTERO, Fla. – Five players scored in double figures, led by Sarah Andrews with 16 points and six assists, as 21^st-ranked Baylor jumped out to a 25-point halftime lead and rolled to a 92-58 win over the Saint Louis Billikens Friday morning in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
            Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Jaden Owens had 11 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. Ja'Mee Asberry and freshman Bella Fontleroy also scored in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
            Improving to 4-1, Baylor held Saint Louis' leading scorer, Kyla McMakin, to just seven points on 2-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
            "I thought we were in her shorts," second-year Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said of McMakin, who came in averaging 21.2 points per game. "We did a good job jumping out early in the game on our ball-screen (defense). When she came off a ball screen, I thought we switched where we needed to switch. . . . But, I thought McMakin was miserable. You could see that from her plus-minus – minus-34 in 26 minutes."
            Asberry, breaking out of a shooting slump in a big way, hit three straight buckets in a 10-0 run that gave the Bears (4-1) an early 14-2 lead when Caitlin Bickle drained a second-chance 3-pointer with 6:59 left in the opening quarter.
            Despite not hitting a field goal in the last two minutes, Baylor had a 25-11 lead after the first quarter. The Bears also missed their first four shots of the second period before Catarina Ferreira ended the scoring drought with an offensive rebound and putback.
            Jana Van Gytenbeek knocked down a 3-pointer to give BU its largest lead of the half, 46-19, and the Bears went into the break with a comfortable 48-23 lead. Baylor shot 51.4% (19-of-37) as a team in the first quarter and scored 18 points off 11 turnovers by the Billikens (1-6).
            Owens, who had seven points, five assists and five turnovers in the first half, rebounded with five assists and no turnovers in the second half.
            "I thought Jaden pushed tempo well," Collen said. "At half, she was on pace to get a triple-double, including turnovers. And that was something I really got into her about. You can't have a point guard with five turnovers at halftime. In the third quarter, I thought she threw ahead to Sarah and let Sarah attack a little more. She allows Sarah to play off the ball and get shots more, so that helps us."
            Andrews scored 14 of her game-high 16 points in the second half, helping Baylor push the lead to 80-45 at the end of the third quarter. Bickle just missed a double-digit outing, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.
            The Bears finished with a 47-39 edge on the boards, scoring 24 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds and 24 points off Saint Louis' 18 turnovers.
            While McMakin struggled, the Billikens still had three double-figure scorers with Brooke Flowers (13), Mia Nicastro (12) and Peyton Kennedy (11). Saint Louis shot 33% overall, including just 3-of-25 from outside the arc.
            Baylor advances to face 23^rd-ranked Villanova (5-0) in the semifinals at 4 p.m. CT Saturday. Maddy Siegrist, the nation's leading scorer, pumped in 29 points to help the Wildcats withstand a fourth-quarter rally by Belmont (1-4) for an 83-80 win. South Florida (7-0) faces No. 22 Michigan (5-0) in the other semifinal at 6:30 p.m. CT after the Bulls knocked off Georgia Tech, 63-50.

NOTABLES

Baylor won the first-ever meeting against Saint Louis, 92-58, to open the 2022 Florida Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday, moving to 4-1 on the year.
The Bears' 92 points were the most put up in a game since notching 95 in a win over Kansas State at home last season and most in a non-conference contest since scoring 94 in a victory over Alcorn State last December.
Baylor outrebounded the Billikens, 47-39, marking the fourth time the Bears have grabbed more boards than their opponents this season. The 47 boards are the second-most in a game by BU this year.
Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs continued to make an impact, notching her second-career double-double, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Littlepage-Buggs' 14 boards matched a career-high for the rookie and tied the single-game tournament record. She has put up double-digit rebound figures in three-straight contests.
Junior Sarah Andrews led the Bears in scoring for the third-straight game, turning in a game-high 16 points.
Graduate Ja'Mee Asberry notched a season-high 14 points, going 6-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-4 behind the arc.
Freshman Bella Fontleroy recorded her third double-digit performance of the year, scoring 10 points, while securing a career-high nine rebounds.
Senior Jaden Owens turned in her second point-assist double-double of the season, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively. She matched a career-high with five rebounds and fell a steal shy of tying a career-best, finishing with a team-high three.