Baylor
UCLA
WBB Awaits UCLA in Inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic
1/19/2025 1:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears and Bruins face off on FOX
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RV/24 BAYLOR BEARS (16-3, 6-1 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
RV/24 BAYLOR (16-3, 6-1 Big 12) vs 1/1 UCLA BRUINS (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) Jan. 20, 2025 • 2 p.m. CT Newark, N.J. • Prudential Center (16,755) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: FOX TALENT: Dave Sims (pxp), Sarah Kustok (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Jana Van Gytenbeek (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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1/1 UCLA BRUINS (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) Location: Los Angeles, Calif. Conference/Affiliation: Big Ten Head Coach: Cori Close (UC Santa Barbara, 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
NEWARK, N.J. – Preparing for a top-ranked and undefeated UCLA team has to feel a little like when Nicki Collen was trying to figure out how the WNBA's Atlanta Dream were going to stop Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury.
"Certainly, when we scheduled this, we did not know UCLA would be undefeated or that they would have added a haul in the portal like they did," said Collen, whose Baylor Bears (16-3) will face the Bruins (17-0) in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic at 2 p.m. CT Monday at the Prudential Center in Newark.
"We have to understand, we are the underdog. We have nothing to lose, and to play our style and to play fast, because (6-7) Lauren Betts is an elite shot blocker. . . . We have to play our style better than they play their style. They're enormous. We've got to be quicker, we've got to get in transition. There's a lot of things we have to do well, but that's a really elite team."
More than two months into the season, UCLA is just the second ranked team the Bears have faced after beating 23rd-ranked Utah, 70-61, last Tuesday behind double-double performances from junior forward Bella Fontleroy (17 points, 10 rebounds) and senior guard Jada Walker (12 points, career-high 12 assists).
They followed that up with a 70-51 drubbing of the Houston Cougars on Friday. Returning from a one-game suspension for a fighting technical, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (14.5 ppg, 10.1 rebounds) had 16 points, while Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh (14.2 ppg) had 18 points and nine rebounds.
"We're at a point in the season where nothing's going to be given to us. It's not going to be easy," Littlepage-Buggs said. "We have to focus on each team we play, not look ahead and ust really fix our mistakes, because there's no time for mess-ups and do-overs. Just really have to be focused from here on out."
With previous Pac-12 stops at Colorado and Arizona, the 6-3 Vonleh has already played UCLA four times, averaging 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. She was a first-team All-Pac-12 pick last season, averaging 14.0 points and 5.1 boards per game.
"Definitely familiar with UCLA," Vonleh said. They're always a really good team. And them being No. 1, I feel like this is a good opportunity for us to get back into the ranks and also back into the conversations of a team that's capable of winning a championship. So, definitely going to make the most of this opportunity."
Outscoring their opponents by over 29 points per game, the Bruins are led by Betts, who is averaging 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Point guard Kiki Rice checks in at 12.8 points and 3.9 assists, while 6-0 junior guard Gabriel Jaquez contributes 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds.
UCLA's rise to the top of a first-ever No. 1 ranking came on the heels of a 77-62 win over then-No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 24, ending the Gamecocks' 43-game winning streak. The Bruins also have wins over then-No. 17 Louisville and 24th-ranked Michigan.
"When you're scouting an opponent, you're really focused on wins versus losses," Collen said. "When you're facing an undefeated team, there's no wins versus losses, because nobody's figured it out yet. So, it's a fun challenge as a coach. It'll be a fun challenge, I hope, for our players.
"But ultimately, it's a really cool opportunity to represent Baylor on the national stage in the first Coretta Scott King Classic on Martin Luther King Day. Just a special opportunity for our team."
Baylor is 7-3 all-time against UCLA and 2-11 against No. 1-ranked teams, losing to UConn, 69-67, in an Elite Eight game in the 2021 NCAA Tournament in San Antonio. The Bears' two wins against top-ranked teams came against UConn in meetings at the on-campus arena in Hartford, Conn.
Monday's game, broadcast by FOX, will have Dave Sims and Sarah Kustok calling the action. They will also handle the back half of the Coretta Scott King Classic doubleheader, with 17th-ranked Texas (17-2) facing No. 8 Maryland (16-1) at 4:30 p.m. at the same venu.
Game notes
• Baylor faces off against No. 1 UCLA in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT.
• Baylor has its best start to conference play in the Nicki Collen era with a 6-1 record. The Bears are riding a five-game winning streak split 3-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.
• The Bears got their first ranked win of the season in the first attempt on Tuesday against 23rd-ranked Utah, defeating the Utes by nine points in Waco.
• First getting the top nod from the AP Poll voters in Week Five to begin the month of December, UCLA is unblemished 17 games into the 2024-25 season.
• With a schedule change made in response to the fires in LA, UCLA has only played two games in the two weeks leading up to the clash against the Bears in the Coretta Scott King Classic. In those two games, the Bruins downed Purdue 83-49 and Penn State 86-67.
• Baylor leads the all-time series against UCLA, 7-3, but the Bruins saw victory in the previous game played in Los Angeles in the 2017-18 season.
• Lauren Betts is the leading scorer for UCLA, averaging 19.7 points per game, joining Kiki Rice (12.8) and Gabriela Jaquez (10.3) in double figures. Betts is also the leading rebounder with 9.9 rebounds per game.
• The Baylor women's basketball squad is 2-11 against the No. 1 team in the nation all-time with the most recent of the two wins coming in Hartford against a top-ranked UConn squad in January 2020. BU held the Huskies to just four points in the final six minutes of action to pull away and secure the 16-point win.
• BU was 0-10 all-time against No. 1 foes, but got its first win on Jan. 3, 2019, over UConn in Waco.
• Head coach Nicki Collen has never faced the top of the AP Top 25 in her four years at the helm of the program. The last top-ranked matchup BU saw was against No. 1 UConn in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The game ended in a 69-67 decision that came down to the final seconds in the paint.
• BU got its fifth straight win in a Friday night contest against the Houston Cougars at Foster Pavilion in the first of two games played against the two squads this conference season.
• Baylor held UH to just 27.3% from the floor while the Bears had their worst performance at the arc in the Collen era at 14.3% (3-21).
• Aaronette Vonleh led scoring for the second-straight game with 18 and nine rebounds.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Aliyah Matharu each scored double figures.
• Freshman Kayla Nelms had her best game against a Big 12 foe so far, scoring six in eight minutes.
• The Coretta Scott King Classic was created to honor the legacy of Mrs. King and celebrate female empowerment in sports and is the first time the names of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King have been licensed for a sporting event.
• The first-of-its-kind DH was formed through The King Center, FOX Sports, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Playfly Sports.
