No. 10 WBB Finishes Non-Con Play Undefeated

Thursday, December 21

West Palm Beach, Fla.

2:30 PM

Baylor

South Florida

No. 10 WBB Finishes Non-Con Play Undefeated

12/21/2023 4:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Darianna Littlepage-Buggs knew the 10^th-ranked Baylor Bears would take care of business with or without her.

But it certainly was easier with her.

After missing Wednesday's opening game in the West Palm Beach Classic, the sophomore forward was able to play with a mask protecting her fractured nose and posted her second double-double of the year with 18 points and 13 rebounds in Thursday's 73-50 win over South Florida.

"I know I only missed just a day," said Littlepage-Buggs, who scored her first bucket just 14 seconds into the game, "but I always love to play. Just getting back on the court, I think that was my biggest motivation. And those two points set it right and got me in the mindset of, 'Hey, I'm here, we're playing, let's go!'''

Littlepage-Buggs sat out Wednesday's 61-36 win over Providence after suffering the broken nose during a practice the day before. the tournament started And her protective mask didn't arrive until earlier Thursday.

"So excited for Darianna," said associate head coach Tony Greene. "She had an unfortunate mishap in practice, so she had to miss the first game here. But she bounced back like a true champion like she is. And after the first bucket, it just gave us the momentum to get off to a good start."

With South Florida (8-5) missing its last 11 shots of the first quarter, the Bears closed the period on a 15-2 run and went up 17-9. Baylor then put together a 12-0 run in the second quarter and had a comfortable 37-17 lead at halftime.

On the brink of getting run out of the gym, USF scored 11 unanswered points in the third quarter to get within 10 on a pair of free throws by Daniela Gonzalez. The Bulls' run began after Evelien Lutje Schipholt was hit with a personal foul and technical to foul out with 6:06 left in the third.

After going almost six minutes without a field goal, Baylor stretched it back to a 13-point lead on a pair of free throws by Sarah Andrews and a Littlepage-Buggs layup to make it 48-35 going into the fourth.

Putting the game completely out of reach, the Bears had a 25-point fourth quarter and scored 12 unanswered points to take their biggest lead of the game, 73-47, on a Jada Walker bucket. The Bulls' Carla Brito hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left for the final margin.

"I thought we did a really good job of knowing personnel, to begin with," said Greene, Baylor's defensive coordinator. "And I changed coverages a couple times during the game. I wanted to give them different looks. And our girls did a great job of adjusting and executing different coverages. But the most important part was our communication."

Andrews finished with a game-high 19 points, hitting 3-of-6 from distance, with Jada Walker and Dre-Una Edwards chipping in 10 points apiece for the Bears (11-0).

Freshman Vittoria Blasigh led three double-figure scorers for USF, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 16 points. Romi Levy chipped in with 13 points, while Brito had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but also turned it over five times.

Baylor held the Bulls to 30.0% shooting from the field, including 4-of-19 from 3-point range, and won a tight rebounding battle, 39-32.

Finishing off an undefeated non-conference campaign, the Bears are out to their best start since the 2015-16 team went 13-0.

Baylor will open Big 12 play with a top-10 matchup against No. 5/7 Texas (12-0) at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Dec. 30, in Austin. The Bears will play their first game in the new Foster Pavilion versus 25^th-ranked TCU (12-0) four days later.

"This team gave our coaching staff a great Christmas gift with being undefeated going into the (Christmas) break," Greene said. "And we're going to enjoy that gift the entire Christmas break."

GAME NOTES

For just the sixth time since the turn of the century, the Baylor women's basketball team finished its non-conference portion of the schedule undefeated with a 73-50 win over South Florida in the final game of the West Palm Beach Classic on Thursday.
The 11-0 Bears matched their best start to a season since opening the 2015-16 campaign 13-0.
Baylor has gone undefeated in non-conference play six times since the 2000-01 slate, doing so that year, as well as 2001-02, 2005-06, 2011-12, 2015-16 and this season.
The Bears moved to 5-0 all-time in the series with USF, earning their first victory on a neutral court.
Baylor closed the opening half on an 18-4 run to hold a 20-point lead (37-17) at the break. The Bears have never trailed at halftime this season.
Baylor scored 70-plus points in all 11 non-conference contests this year.
With the 23-point win over the Bulls, the Bears finished their non-con slate with eight of their victories coming by 20 points or more.
Four players finished in double figures led by Sarah Andrews' 19-point outpouring. The 19 points scored by the senior are a season-high and it marked the ninth time this year the guard finished in double figures.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs returned to the court for the Bears after missing yesterday's game and recorded her second double-double of the year, contributing 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Littlepage-Buggs' team-high 13 rebounds marked the 20th-career double-figure rebounding performance for the sophomore and fifth time finishing in double figures on the boards this year.
Jada Walker and Dre'Una Edwards each finished with 10 points and two steals.
Andrews hit a trio of 3-pointers to lead the Bears marking the eighth time the guard has drilled three-or-more from range this year.