No. 6 WBB Downs Houston in Saturday Matinee, 87-58

Saturday, January 6

Waco, Texas

2 PM

Baylor

14-0,3-0Big 12

Houston

9-5,0-3Big 12

Houston

Baylor

No. 6 WBB Downs Houston in Saturday Matinee, 87-58

1/6/2024 4:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Two years ago, everyone knew that Baylor coach Nicki Collen was going to turn to All-American forward NaLyssa Smith when the game was on the line or she just needed a bucket at a key time.

"Now, we play to the best matchup, we play to the hot player," said Collen, whose sixth-ranked Bears had five double-figure scorers in an 87-58 win over Houston in Saturday's afternoon matinee before a crowd of 4,530 at Foster Pavilion.

"They know they're all really good individually, but they're all so much better collectively. . . . We have some kids that, I think, truly enjoy winning. It doesn't mean that they're 100% happy that they don't score a few more points or don't get a few more rebounds. But I think they recognize that it can always be their turn the next time."

This time, the Bears (14-0, 3-0) spread it around. Aijha Blackwell recorded her third double-double of the season with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Dre'Una Edwards had her best all-around game in a Baylor uniform with 13 points, six boards and a career-high seven assists.

"It's kind of easy when I've got shooters, I've got people who can cut to the rim, I've got finishers," said Edwards, who had five assists in the first quarter. "We have people all around, so it's easy to share the ball and it's easy to see the open person. I just give it to them, and they go ahead and score."

It took a seven-point fourth quarter to get there, but Ohio transfer Yaya Felder scored her 1,000^th career point on a free throw with 42.4 seconds left. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Sarah Andrews rounded out Baylor's double-figure scorers with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

"Yaya has been so efficient for us this year because she plays alongside really good players and she doesn't force things," Collen said of Felder, who scored 11 points. "To me, the fourth quarter looked like she was back at Ohio just trying to do too much. That was on me, because I was trying to get her to 1,000 here at home in front of our crowd."

One of four remaining unbeaten teams after 10^th-ranked Texas routed No. 24 West Virginia, 70-49, Baylor becomes the only program in the country with five 1,000-point scorers. The Bears' other four players who have topped 1,000 career points are Andrews, Edwards, Blackwell and Belmont transfer Madison Bartley.

"She brings a big impact," Edwards said of Felder. "A lot of teams, when they go to their bench, they have a dip-off. We don't have a dip-off. She just keeps it going."

Shooting a season-high 57% from the floor and 8-of-19 from 3-point range, the Bears jumped out to a 28-14 lead in the first quarter and were never challenged as Houston fell to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in its debut season in the Big 12.

"The one thing that stands out about them is how hard they play," Houston coach Ronald Hughey said. "They have multiple kids, but none of those kids feel the urge that I have to try to take it over or anything. They stay within themselves and they stay within the system. You can see why they're No. 6 in the country."

Littlepage-Buggs, who had scored in double figures just once in the previous five games, put up eight in the first quarter alone and started a closing 11-2 run that gave the Bears a 28-14 lead.

"I thought Buggs played really well in the last game but didn't score a lot," Collen said. "This game, just to start the game, the flow of what we did, she was the one open. And there was no (6-7 TCU center) Sedona Prince in the middle of the lane to smack it all over the gym. It's what the defense gives us. What are our opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and how do we take advantage of those?"

Going to her bench early and often, Collen used all 12 available players, sat out all five starters the whole fourth quarter and didn't play anyone more than 23 minutes. The Bears led by as many as 35 before going the last 2 ½ minutes without a field goal and getting outscored, 7-1.

"We jumped on them early, which allowed me to go to the bench early," Collen said. "I never feel like we're going to win by 30. I think our league is too good. I have too much respect for Houston. I think when they're at their best, they're up in your grill, they're denying one pass away, they're trapping you half-court. When we didn't see that, and we could freely run offense, I was surprised by that, honestly."

Laila Blair, who hit six 3-pointers and scored 28 points in a 74-58 loss to Baylor two years ago in Cancun, led the Cougars with a game-high 17 points. In the first half, she was 2-of-5 from distance and scored 10 points as Houston was down by 15 at the break, 48-33.

"We certainly had great respect for her ability to put the ball in the basket," Collen said of Blair. "And I just thought we let her walk into some shots that we shouldn't have. I think it's easy when you're flowing offensively to feel like, 'All right, if we could score three and give up two.' I just don't want us to ever have that mentality."

Hands-down, Collen said her favorite play of the game came in the third quarter. When Jada Walker overthrew Edwards on a long pass, and Edwards saved it with a backward pass going out of bounds, Walker drove the baseline and found Andrews wide open for a corner 3-pointer to make it 66-38 with 4:01 left.

"You can see how excited they got because of how they shared the basketball," Collen said. "Point guards always need to reward the rim-runners. I think that's what Jada was thinking. I think it's about making the right play, it's about making the next best play. As good as we were at the start, I think we're getting so much better as the season gets along."

Baylor will go on the road for back-to-back games, playing Kansas (7-7, 0-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Lawrence and Iowa State (10-4, 3-0) at noon next Saturday, Jan. 13, in Ames. Picked third behind Texas and Baylor in the preseason poll, the Jayhawks remained winless in league play with a 73-64 road loss to Texas Tech on Saturday.

GAME NOTES

The No. 6 Baylor women's basketball team used a 29-point victory to take down Houston at Foster Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Bears moved to 14-0 on the year, which is the best start to a season by Baylor outside of the 40-0 year by the national championship team in 2011-12.
Of the four remaining undefeated teams (Baylor, No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 NC State), the Bears have the most 20-plus point victories amongst the quartet with 10. South Carolina sits directly behind BU with nine.
The last point that BU scored in the 87-58 victory marked the 1,000th in Yaya Felder's career. She finished the game in double figures with 11.
With the accomplishment, BU is the only program in the country with five 1,000-point scorers active on its roster.
The 48 first-half points by the Bears were the most in an opening half during a conference game for Baylor since scoring 51 at West Virginia on Jan. 29, 2022.
Aijha Blackwell recorded her third double-double of the season with a team-high 15-point, 10-rebound performance in 18 minutes off the bench.
Dre'Una Edwards set a career high with a team-leading seven assists.
The Bears went 15-for-18 from the charity stripe today led by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs' perfect 4-for-4 showing.
Baylor is 23-for-26 from the free throw line since moving into Foster Pavilion.
The Bears shot a season-best 57.1% from the floor.
Sarah Andrews connected on 4-of-6 from 3-point range, finishing with 14 points. The senior needs 53 threes to tie Odyssey Sims' career 3-point record (258).