No. 21 WBB Falls Short at No. 23 Oklahoma

Wednesday, February 14

Norman, Okla.

6 PM

Baylor

18-6,7-6Big 12

Oklahoma

18-6,12-1Big 12

Baylor

Oklahoma

No. 21 WBB Falls Short at No. 23 Oklahoma

2/14/2024 8:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears return home on Sunday to face Texas Tech

NORMAN, Okla. – Time and time again, 21^st-ranked Baylor's bench came to the rescue Wednesday night against No. 23 Oklahoma, helping the Bears dig out of a 10-point hole in the first quarter and then going on a 9-0 run to make a game of it in the fourth.

Maybe they just ran out of gas.

After Jada Walker capped off the 9-0 run with a layup off a steal by Dre'Una Edwards to make it a four-point game, the Bears turned it over three-straight times in a little over a minute and then missed their last three shots in falling to the Sooners, 84-73, at the Lloyd Noble Center.

"I thought the bench was fantastic," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said of guards Jana Van Gytenbeek and Yaya Fielder and sophomore forward Bella Fontleroy, a trio that combined to knock down five 3-ointers and score 27 points for the Bears (18-6, 7-6).

"They bailed our butts out twice tonight. "They were the difference when they came into the game in the first quarter when we were down (13-3). . . . And then, when they hit six of their first seven, including three 3's, I went back to them again (in the third quarter) and they got us back in it again."

Playing a season-high 31 minutes, Van Gytenbeek hit two fourth-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, four assists and no turnovers. In the Bears' run of nine unanswered points, she hit a 3-pointer that closed the gap to 72-66.

"The one thing about Jana is she never gets tired," Collen said. "I love how her confidence is growing in her shot and just in general. She did exactly what the gameplan was. The minute she got in the game, the tempo increased, she got in step-ups, she played downhill. And we hit a 3 on her first possession she was in because she attacked."

Sarah Andrews and Edwards scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Fontleroy had nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Felder, who played limited minutes after hurting her hand, had five points, four rebounds and three assists.

"We've got to do a better job 1 through 8 – if I play eight – how we start and really be focused on what we're doing offensive and defensively and finishing with a rebound," Collen said. "I thought what hurt us was the way we came out in the third quarter, giving up 6-for-7, including three 3's, after they'd only hit one 3 in the first half."

Shooting 1-for-12 from outside the arc in the first half, the Sooners (18-6, 11-1) weren't able to create separation in the first half, even when they got out to a 13-3 lead in the first 5 ½ minutes.

Baylor trailed by just two after the first quarter and took its biggest lead of the game, 24-21, on a 3-pointer by Edwards just 47 seconds into the third quarter. OU's Payton Verhulst, who had a monster game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks, scored twice in the last minute of the half to put the Sooners up six, 35-29.

Extending the lead by hitting six of their first seven shots, including three 3-pointers, the Sooners were up 64-51 going into the final period. That lead all but disappeared in the fourth, when Andrews, Fontleroy and Walker made buckets and VanGytenbeek knocked down a trey.

Slowed by early foul trouble, Skylar Vann answered the Bears' run with back-to-back jumpers and scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. Nevaeh Tot and freshman Sahara Williams scored 14 points apiece for the Sooners, who have won nine in a row to stay on top of the Big 12 standings.

Baylor, which fell into a tie for sixth in the Big 12 with Kansas, returns home to face Texas Tech (16-10, 5-8) at 3 p.m. Sunday at Foster Pavilion. Before the game, former Baylor All-American Brittney Griner will have her No. 42 jersey retired.

Tech has dropped four in a row, falling at home to Oklahoma State, 60-50, Wednesday night in Lubbock.

GAME NOTES

The No. 21 Baylor women's basketball team suffered the 84-73 setback to No. 23 Oklahoma on the road Wednesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Three Bears finished in double figures led by Sarah Andrews' 14 points.
The senior guard has led BU offensively in five contests and she's finished in double figures 16 times this season.
Jana Van Gytenbeek put up a season-high 13 points, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
The trio of 3-pointers by Van Gytenbeek mark the third time this season she has made at least three from behind the arc and second time in three outings.
Andrews and Van Gytenbeek each dished out a team-high four assists.
Bella Fontleroy led the Bears on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds. It marked the fourth time this season the sophomore has led BU in the category.
Fontleroy matched a career high with three steals, while Dre'Una Edwards fell a steal shy of matching her career best, leading the team with four.
Edwards added 13 points and she has now finished in double figures a team-leading 19 times this season.
The Bears turned in their second-best performance from the charity stripe this season, going 15-of-16 (93.8%).