WBB Overtakes Texas Tech, 71-61

Saturday, February 25

Waco, Texas

5 p.m.

Baylor

18-10,9-7Big 12

Texas Tech

17-12,5-11Big 12

Texas Tech

Baylor

WBB Overtakes Texas Tech, 71-61

2/25/2023 7:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Catarina Ferreira makes difference in Bears' first half

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Nicki Collen joked that she told her Baylor team to "take a break during the third, and we'll come back for our regularly scheduled programming in the fourth."
            The message in the huddle was a a tad more blunt after the Bears went 0-for-12 from the floor and got outscored by Texas Tech 20-6 in the third quarter to lose a double-digit lead: "Does Baylor want to show up in the fourth quarter?"
            Led by a combined 21 points from Caitlin Bickle and freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the Baylor team that showed up in the fourth quarter exploded for 27 points and pulled away for a 71-61 win over the Lady Raiders (17-12, 5-11) Saturday night before a Ferrell Center crowd of 5,210.
            "I didn't feel like we played with a ton of energy until the fourth quarter," said Collen, whose team improved to 18-10 overall and 9-7 in the Big 12 with its second-straight win. "We started flying around on the defensive glass, we were better in transition, we were better attacking, we were better making the extra pass. We just suddenly decided to play good offensive basketball in the fourth quarter."
            Bickle hit a 3-pointer 38 seconds into the fourth quarter – Baylor's first bucket in over 11 minutes – and sparked a 16-7 run that put the Bears on top for good, 60-54.
            "They knew we weren't good, but I don't think they had processed that we had not made a field goal (in the third quarter)," Collen said. "(Bickle) just broke the ice by making the 3 on the first possession."
            On the first of two made 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, Bickle said she heard someone yelling, "Four, three, two . . .' and I just shot it, and it went in."
            "I felt good about the second one," she said. "I was like, 'Okay, now I'm feeling good.'''
            Tech never really recovered after Baylor's run, going down by as many as 12 points when Ja'Mee Asberry fed Littlepage-Buggs for a layup. Going 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line, Buggs scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.
            "Buggs in the fourth quarter was great," Collen said. "Take (Catarina Ferreira's) first half and Buggs' fourth quarter, even Kyla (Abraham's) minutes were good. . . . I think you see what she's capable of being as she learns kind of how to play at this level."
            The Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes and led by as many as eight in the first quarter before Kilah Freelon hit a couple baskets to make it a four-point game, 17-13.
            Ferreira, who had six-straight scoreless outings in conference play, gave Baylor a huge lift off the bench in the second quarter. She scored her first points on a driving layup, added two more buckets off Tech turnovers and knocked down a pair of free throws in a 4 ½-minute stretch, finishing with a career-high eight points.
            "It's always been just be ready," Ferreira said. "Be prepared when she calls my name. I think I play the way in practice, and I've been doing a really good job in practice."
            Baylor took its biggest lead, 38-24, when Jana Van Gytenbeek picked up one of her three assists with a pass to freshman Kyla Abraham for a layup. The Lady Raiders closed the half on a 4-0 run to cut it to a 10-point deficit at halftime, 38-28.
            Tech reeled off 11 unanswered points during Baylor's cold-shooting third quarter and was up 48-44 going into the fourth.
            "The weird part about that quarter is arguably their two best players go out with foul trouble, and they get better," Collen said of Bre'Amber Scott and Bryn Gerlich playing a combined five minutes in the period. "They played their young guys and just competed."
            Bickle finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal and was 7-for-8 from the line. Littlepage-Buggs was Baylor's only other double-figure scorer with 12 points and eight boards, while fellow freshman Bella Fontleroy added four points and nine boards.
            The BU defense held Scott, the Big 12's second-leading scorer, to just seven points and four rebounds before she fouled out. Freelon and Jasmine Shavers led the Lady Raiders with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
            "I just think the kid has played a lot of minutes in the last week," Collen said of Scott, who played 40 minutes in a triple-overtime loss to Oklahoma State and 40 more in a double-OT win over West Virginia. "She's played a lot of minutes in the alst week. . . . I think we're tired. I'm not going to pretend that we don't feel a little of that, too, because you're talking about now three games in eight days and we had a double-overtime game a Saturday ago. And now it's going to be four games in 10 days."
            In a quick turnaround, the Bears go on the road to face 19^th-ranked Texas (22-7, 13-3) at 6 p.m. Monday at the new Moody Center in Austin. The Longhorns took over sole possession of first place and closed in on a Big 12 title by blowing out 13^th-ranked Oklahoma, 67-45, Saturday in Norman.

NOTABLES

The Baylor women's basketball team earned its second-straight 10-point victory on Saturday night with a 71-61 win over Texas Tech at the Ferrell Center.
With the win, the Bears completed the season series sweep of the Lady Raiders, marking the 12th-staight year BU has swept the two-game set with Texas Tech.
As a team, the Bears shot 94.4% (17-for-18) from the charity stripe. BU's performance at the free throw line was the best in the Nicki Collen era, surpassing the Bears' 93.3% against Oklahoma last season.
Caitlin Bickle led the way offensively for the Bears with her second-highest scoring output of the season. The forward finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, while adding a pair of blocks and a steal.
Bickle has reached double figure scoring in three-straight games and 17 times this season.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs recorded 12 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the fourth-straight game and 16th time this season. Ten of her 12 points came in the fourth quarter.
Newcomer Catarina Ferreira notched a career-high eight points in just 11 minutes.
Ja'Mee Asberry eclipsed 1,500-career points, recording seven in tonight's contest.
Bella Fontleroy led Baylor on the boards, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds.