WBB Dominates Utah Tech, 97-34

Wednesday, December 18

Waco, Texas

11 AM

Baylor

10-2,0-0Big 12

Utah Tech

4-8,0-0WAC

Utah Tech

Baylor

WBB Dominates Utah Tech, 97-34

12/18/2024 2:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – When the Baylor women missed six of their first eight shots and got down by five, Bella Fontleroy said the Bears turned to "the thing we fall back to . . . whenever certain things aren't going well."

Baylor's smothering defense forced 31 turnovers, held Utah Tech to its fewest points in program history and routed the Trailblazers, 97-34, in the "Future Bears" game Wednesday at Foster Pavilion.

"When we weren't hitting those shots at the beginning of the game, we still needed to move and cut and make those offensive adjustments," said Fontleroy, who had 11 points, five rebounds and two of the Bears' 11 blocks. "Once we got our feet underneath us defensively and were getting stops, that's when we got out in transition and got some easy buckets."

Even with the energy from an estimated 3,000 Waco area elementary and middle school students for the "Future Bears" game, it took Baylor (10-2) five minutes to get going after coming back from a 10-day break for final exams.

"I think when there's contagious energy, basketball is fun," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. "So, I think that's what they did today. I thought they played with a lot of joy, which was awesome, because when you play an early game and you play in front of these kids, you should be joyful."

In their final tune-up before opening league play Saturday at Kansas (10-1), the Bears reeled off their sixth-straight win and improved to 8-0 this year at the Foster.

Five players scored in double figures, led by guard Yaya Felder with 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and two blocks off the bench. With Collen substituting freely the whole game, Baylor's bench outscored the Trailblazer reserves, 41-4.

That included junior college transfer Waiata Jennings, who scored in double figures for the first time in a Baylor uniform with 11 points, four steals and two assists while shooting 4-of-6 from the floor.

"We really wanted to come out strong, and it gave us confidence to move forward and get our feet wet," Jennings said. "I think we did that. Our defense was extremely dominant. It felt really good out there."

After jumping out to a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes, Utah Tech went more than 10 minutes without a bucket, getting outscored 26-1 and missing eight shots in a row. The Trailblazers came into the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in 3-pointers made (10.5) and attempted (34.3) per game, but hit just 4-of-23 versus the Bears.

"I thought we defended the 3-point line well," Collen said. When you guard five-out, you're going to make some mistakes. But we really didn't get cut up too much. It's a team that takes 3's and scores off cuts. And I thought we did a really good job, set the tone defensively. And then, obviously in the second quarter, the offense got rolling. And we're just having shooting practice out there."

After a slow start in the first quarter, Baylor kicked into high gear with a 34-point second quarter that included all 11 of Fontleroy's points on the day. She was 4-for-5 in the period, including 3-of-4 from outside the arc.

Coming off a 20-20 double in a win over UNLV, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had a modest-by-her-standards 16 points and five boards, hitting 8-of-10 from the floor. Rounding out the double-figure scorers, senior guard Sarah Andrews knocked down three of the Bears' 13 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, eight assists and three steals.

"Sarah's always seen the floor well, but you don't get an assist when people don't finish," Collen said. "Having been a point guard myself, there's nothing worse than someone not finishing a three-point play when you drop them a dime and they get the points, but you don't get the assist. I think it's a combination of, she's got players that are finishing . . . and she's finding people in transition."

Formerly Dixie State College, Utah Tech started transitioning from Division II to Division I four years ago and joined the Western Athletic Conference. The Trailblazers' previous low was 35 against Oregon on Nov. 14, 2022.

Junior point guard Chardonnay Harris led Utah Tech with nine points and three assists with four of the Trailblazers' 31 turnovers.

In its earliest conference opener in program history, Baylor will face Kansas at 4 p.m. Saturday in Lawrence. Sophomore guard S'mya Nichols is averaging 21.1 points and has had seven 20-point games for the Jayhawks, who are also riding a six-game winning streak.