No. 13 WBB Storms Oklahoma State, 72-60

Sunday, January 28

Stillwater, OK

1 PM

Baylor

16-3,5-3Big 12

Oklahoma State

11-9,4-5Big 12

Baylor

Oklahoma St.

No. 13 WBB Storms Oklahoma State, 72-60

1/28/2024 3:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Edwards scores 16, Blackwell grabs season-high 19 rebounds

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

STILLWATER, Okla. – Outsized at pretty much every position across the board, the 13^th-ranked Baylor women were like the little engine that could Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Led by their own locomotive, senior forward Aijha Blackwell, the Bears (16-3, 5-3) used a 45-29 edge on the boards to rally from a nine-point first-quarter deficit and knock off the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, 72-60.

"I challenged her this week to not be boxed out," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said of the 5-foot-11 Blackwell, who grabbed seven offensive rebounds and 19 total, one off the career-high she set at Missouri when she led the SEC in rebounding two years ago at 13.1 per game.

"We know she can defensive rebound, especially when she's near the basket. She's got the strength to go up in a crowd and pull it. But it was the offensive rebounding. We'd miss a shot, and she'd give us another opportunity."

Even with 6-5 center Hannah Gusters, who played at Baylor as a freshman three years ago, the Cowgirls (11-9, 4-5) were outscored 34-32 in the paint and gave up 11 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

"I just thought she refused to be boxed out," Collen said. "And that's who we need, we need that. Because when we don't make second shots, getting second opportunities . . . (Blackwell's) stat line would have been crazy if she had just made two of the point-blank layups she missed and made her free throws. If that happens, she has a double-double."

Blackwell was just 3-of-11 from the floor and 1-for-6 from the line, but finished with seven points, 19 rebounds, two steals and a block.

Baylor did have four double-figure scorers in a balanced attack. Dre'Una Edwards scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the first half, Bella Fontlery chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Sarah Andrews and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 11 points apiece. .

"It's consistent, it's never one person," Blackwell said. "It's everybody, it's a team effort. When one's not having a good shooting night – I definitely didn't have a good shooting night personally – so Yaya (Felder) stepped up, she got to the basket, she got fouled. Bella did the same thing, drew fouls, got to the free-throw line, she made hers. It was a team effort, for sure."

Coming in after losing three of their last four, including Monday night's 58-55 heartbreaker to fourth-ranked Kansas State, the Bears found themselves down 15-6 in the first seven minutes. They turned it over five times in the first five minutes and missed five-straight shots, but were able to close within 19-12 by the end of the first quarter.

Turning it around in the second quarter, Baylor got 3-pointers from Edwards, Jana Van Gytenbeek and Andrews in the last 4 ½ minutes and went into intermission with a 31-28 lead.

"It's a simple game, we took care of the basketball," Collen said. "I know we had 14 turnovers (for the game), but we had seven in the first quarter. And when we settled down and moved the ball against their zone, got good shots, then they went back to man, because that's who they are. I thought we did a good job of settling. I just thought our defensive energy in the second quarter is what turned it around for us."

Outscoring the Cowgirls 41-24 in the second and third quarters, Baylor had a 12-point lead going into the fourth, 53-41. And even with Gusters scoring 10 of her 16 points in the final period, OSU (11-9, 4-5) was never able to get within single digits.

Gusters and guard Anna Gret Asi led the Cowgirls with 16 points apiece, sharing game-high honors with Edwards, while Quincy Noble finished with 10. Freshman Stailee Heard, who came in averaging better than 14 points per game, fouled out with eight points and six boards and had six of the Cowgirls' 14 turnovers.

"I like the swagger (Blackwell) brought," Collen said. "Even when she was missing free throws, even when she was missing layups, I thought she competed at the defensive end. And I really thought her energy on the offensive glass was so big for us."

In a rematch of a top-10 showdown that Baylor won last month in Austin, the Bears will host 10^th-ranked Texas (19-3, 6-3) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Foster Pavilion in the Bears' third-straight national TV broadcast (ESPN).

Bouncing back from a loss at home to unranked Oklahoma, the Longhorns blew out Cincinnati, 67-50, on Saturday, even with freshman point guard Madison Booker sidelined by a hamstring injury.

GAME NOTES

No. 13 Baylor women's basketball picked up its third road win of the season, and second in conference play, powering past Oklahoma State, 72-60, on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears moved to 14-2 this season when leading at the half, holding a slim three-point lead going into the break.
Four Bears finished in double figures led by Dre'Una Edwards' 16-point performance. She has reached double figures in a team-best 16 of 19 games and has led Baylor in scoring in three of those contests.
Bella Fontleroy poured in 15 points off the bench, notching six of those in a career-best performance at the free throw line (6-for-6).
Sarah Andrews and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs each added 11 points.
All 11 of Littlepage-Buggs' points came in the second half.
Andrews drained two 3-pointers and now has 211 for her career. The senior needs just 48 more to break Odyssey Sim's career record.
Andrews has drained at least one from 3-point range in all but two games this season and two-or-more in 15 of those 17 contests.
Yaya Felder dished out a season- and team-high seven assists before fouling out of the game.
Baylor's 14 turnovers were the second fewest committed by the Bears in a Big 12 game this season.
The Bears outrebounded Oklahoma State, 45-29, and had 16 offensive rebounds.
Aijha Blackwell had a massive game on the glass, finishing with a season-high 19 boards.
The graduate senior has finished in double figures on the boards in three-straight game and in five of the last six outings. Additionally, she ranks second in the league with 9.63 rebounds in conference games this year.