Saturday, February 10
Waco, Texas
2 PM
Baylor
18-5,7-5Big 12
65
vs
58
West Virginia
20-3,9-3Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
West Virginia
11
15
12
20
58
Baylor
15
19
15
16
65
No. 18 WBB Victorious Over No. 22 West Virginia
2/10/2024 4:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears get fifth top-25 win of season
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Before Saturday's game against 22nd-ranked West Virginia, Baylor coach Nicki Collen got a text message from sophomore forward Bella Fontleroy saying, "We're going to win this one, Coach."
That confidence showed as the 18th-ranked Bears (18-5, 7-5) returned to the blueprint that helped them get off to a 14-0 start this year, shooting 48% and getting balanced scoring throughout the lineup in a 65-58 victory before a crowd of 4,944 at Foster Pavilion.
"I thought we were really poised," said Collen, whose team picked up its fifth top-25 win of the season. "We didn't allow some turnovers to really affect us. I thought our sudden-change defense was good. They certainly got a few easy ones, they do every game, but they never got those 8-0 runs where they just turn you over, shoot a layup, turn you over, hit a 3."
West Virginia (20-3, 9-3), which had won seven-straight coming into the game, did force 19 turnovers. But the Mountaineers finished with just a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers, shot a dismal 32.3% overall (21-of-65) and got beat on the boards, 41-33.
"Our coaches have been talking to us a lot about being confident in our shots," said Fontleroy, who recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. "If you're going to shoot the ball, don't shy away from it, lean into it, and just shoot with confidence. Tonight, I feel like I played with confidence on both ends of the floor."
Sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first half, helping the Bears get up by as many as 13 and take a 34-26 lead at the break. She recorded her second-straight double-double, fourth of the season and 18th of her career, adding 10 rebounds and a block.
"That's kind of who Buggs is," Collen said. "She's going to show up every day. She's going to give you her best practice. . . . I thought she did a good job of sealing up early, of getting to the matchup zone, of making some jump shots when they gave it to her. That was the difference for her."
Littlepage-Buggs said it "wasn't weird" going against former high school and AAU teammate Jordan Harrison, who had 12 points and four assists for West Virginia. The Mountaineers also got 13 points from JJ Quinerly and 12 points and 15 rebounds from Kyah Watson.
"Our coaches have prepared us for this," Littlepage-Buggs said. "They've always told us, we're friends but not on the court. And we take that very personal. I'm not going to hurt her or anything, but you've got to get yours and I'm going to get mine, it's not friendship out there."
Baylor took its biggest lead of the game, 49-35, on a pair of free throws by Yaya Felder with 2:30 left in the third quarter. But West Virginia scored 20 fourth-quarter points and got within five, 63-58, on a Harrison layup with 37 seconds left.
Sarah Andrews, who had seven points with six assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes, forced a turnover and made two of four free throws to ice the game.
"I just feel like Sarah did a good job of not getting sped up," Collen said. "Sarah would have arguably played the perfect game . . . she had one layup she missed there at the end when she attacked and missed a couple free throws. I think she looked confident, and that's all I want for her."
Rounding out the double-figure scorers, Aijha Blackwell and Dre'Una Edwards had 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Bears also finished with a 17-5 edge in bench points and had 16 assists on 25 buckets.
Baylor will go back on the road to face 24th-ranked and league-leading Oklahoma (17-6, 11-1) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. Louisville transfer Payton Verhulst hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points in the Sooners' 80-72 road win at Iowa State on Saturday.
GAME NOTES
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Before Saturday's game against 22nd-ranked West Virginia, Baylor coach Nicki Collen got a text message from sophomore forward Bella Fontleroy saying, "We're going to win this one, Coach."
That confidence showed as the 18th-ranked Bears (18-5, 7-5) returned to the blueprint that helped them get off to a 14-0 start this year, shooting 48% and getting balanced scoring throughout the lineup in a 65-58 victory before a crowd of 4,944 at Foster Pavilion.
"I thought we were really poised," said Collen, whose team picked up its fifth top-25 win of the season. "We didn't allow some turnovers to really affect us. I thought our sudden-change defense was good. They certainly got a few easy ones, they do every game, but they never got those 8-0 runs where they just turn you over, shoot a layup, turn you over, hit a 3."
West Virginia (20-3, 9-3), which had won seven-straight coming into the game, did force 19 turnovers. But the Mountaineers finished with just a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers, shot a dismal 32.3% overall (21-of-65) and got beat on the boards, 41-33.
"Our coaches have been talking to us a lot about being confident in our shots," said Fontleroy, who recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. "If you're going to shoot the ball, don't shy away from it, lean into it, and just shoot with confidence. Tonight, I feel like I played with confidence on both ends of the floor."
Sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the first half, helping the Bears get up by as many as 13 and take a 34-26 lead at the break. She recorded her second-straight double-double, fourth of the season and 18th of her career, adding 10 rebounds and a block.
"That's kind of who Buggs is," Collen said. "She's going to show up every day. She's going to give you her best practice. . . . I thought she did a good job of sealing up early, of getting to the matchup zone, of making some jump shots when they gave it to her. That was the difference for her."
Littlepage-Buggs said it "wasn't weird" going against former high school and AAU teammate Jordan Harrison, who had 12 points and four assists for West Virginia. The Mountaineers also got 13 points from JJ Quinerly and 12 points and 15 rebounds from Kyah Watson.
"Our coaches have prepared us for this," Littlepage-Buggs said. "They've always told us, we're friends but not on the court. And we take that very personal. I'm not going to hurt her or anything, but you've got to get yours and I'm going to get mine, it's not friendship out there."
Baylor took its biggest lead of the game, 49-35, on a pair of free throws by Yaya Felder with 2:30 left in the third quarter. But West Virginia scored 20 fourth-quarter points and got within five, 63-58, on a Harrison layup with 37 seconds left.
Sarah Andrews, who had seven points with six assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes, forced a turnover and made two of four free throws to ice the game.
"I just feel like Sarah did a good job of not getting sped up," Collen said. "Sarah would have arguably played the perfect game . . . she had one layup she missed there at the end when she attacked and missed a couple free throws. I think she looked confident, and that's all I want for her."
Rounding out the double-figure scorers, Aijha Blackwell and Dre'Una Edwards had 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Bears also finished with a 17-5 edge in bench points and had 16 assists on 25 buckets.
Baylor will go back on the road to face 24th-ranked and league-leading Oklahoma (17-6, 11-1) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. Louisville transfer Payton Verhulst hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points in the Sooners' 80-72 road win at Iowa State on Saturday.
GAME NOTES
- The No. 18 Baylor women's basketball team picked up the 65-58 win over No. 22 West Virginia at Foster Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
- The Bears collected their conference-leading fifth top-25 win with the victory over the Mountaineers.
- Baylor is one of five programs in the country with five wins over ranked opponents this season joining UConn, NC State, South Carolina and UCLA.
- The 58 points scored by West Virginia were its third-lowest scoring output of the season, tallying just 49 against Texas (Jan. 6) and 54 against George Washington (Nov. 23).
- Four Bears finished in double figures led by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs for the second-straight outing.
- The sophomore added 10 rebounds for her second-straight double-double, fourth of the year and 18th of her career.
- Fellow sophomore Bella Fontleroy recorded 12 points and 10 boards off the bench, registering her second double-double of the season and fifth of her career.
- Dre'Una Edwards reached double figures for a team-leading 18th time, finishing with 10 points.
- Aijha Blackwell tallied her 10th double-digit outing of the season with 12 points added a pair of blocks to lead the Bears in the defensive category.
- Sarah Andrews dished out a team- and game-high six assists to lead BU in the category for the seventh time this season. She went without a turnover in 34 minutes of action.
- The Bears moved to 16-2 this season when leading at the half.
- Baylor shot 48.1% from the floor, compared to WVU's 32.3%, improving to an impressive 15-0 when shooting higher than its opponents this season.
Team Stats
WVU
Baylor
FG%
.323
.481
3FG%
.217
.389
FT%
.647
.571
RB
33
41
TO
11
19
STL
11
6
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
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