No. 25 WBB Comeback Falls Short at No. 9 TCU

Sunday, January 26

Fort Worth, Texas

2 PM

Baylor

16-5,6-2Big 12

TCU

20-2,8-1Big 12

Baylor

TCU

No. 25 WBB Comeback Falls Short at No. 9 TCU

1/26/2025 4:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Andrews hits five 3-pointers, scores team-high 21 points in loss

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

FORT WORTH, Texas – After back-to-back losses to top-10 teams, including falling to No. 9 TCU, 80-75, Sunday afternoon at Schollmaier Arena, the 25^th-ranked Baylor Bears may very well get bumped from the Top 25 polls.

But just like Monday's 72-57 loss to top-ranked UCLA in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic in New Jersey, the Bears (16-5, 6-2) "showed that we fight to the end," said Baylor fifth-year senior guard Sarah Andrews.

Facing a 55-33 deficit five minutes into the third quarter, Baylor came all the way back to make it a one-possession game twice in the last 30 seconds before falling short to a TCU team (20-2, 8-1) that won its 18^th consecutive home game.

"That was a really good basketball game, really good atmosphere," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. "I thought we really battled to get back into it. I think the difference in the game was their big three. . . . It's going to be another good matchup when we play them again (March 2, in Waco), but awesome game, awesome effort by them; elite shooting, in particular, by TCU."

TCU's "big three" of Sedona Prince, Madison Conner and Hailey Van Lith combined for 64 points and helped the Horned Frogs beat Baylor for the first time in 35 years, ending a 37-game losing streak that dated back to 1990 when both teams were in the Southwest Conference.

"This was a big one. It's a historic one, to be honest," said second-year TCU head coach Mark Campbell. "This group wanted to be the one that broke the streak. It was something we talked about. You don't hide from it, you attack stuff. That was a challenge, and these guys are built for it. They kind of love when there's something that's a first, that hasn't been done."

The Horned Frogs came out attacking, jumping out to a 9-0 lead on 3-pointers by Conner and Van Lith, who scored 21 and 19 points, respectively. Baylor missed its first six shots and failed to take advantage of TCU's seven first-quarter turnovers, but closed to within 17-11 by the end of the period on a 3-pointer by Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu and a driving layup by Yaya Felder.

Sarah Andrews scored 13 of her team-high 21 points in the second quarter, even with missing a couple and-one opportunities, and helped the Bears stay within striking distance. Van Lith knocked down a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that gave the Frogs a 42-31 lead going into the break.

"Just seeing the ball go in, and my teammates finding me in the right spot," said Andrews, who was 5-of-9 from outside the arc. "I felt like I got hot. Being at home (close to Irving), I wanted to put on a little show. But my teammates found me in the right spot, and I just saw the ball go in a few times."

Prince, who had a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds, had bookend three-point plays in a 13-2 run to start the third quarter that pushed TCU's lead to 55-33. But the Bears were able to whittle away at the deficit and trailed 62-49 going into the final period.

Still down by double digits with just over two minutes to play, Baylor scored six-straight points on a pair of buckets by Bella Fontleroy and a pull-up jumper by Matharu, closing the gap to four, 75-71, with 43.7 seconds left on the clock.

"They don't play a lot of people, so I thought we could start to get stuff in transition later in the game. And that's kind of how it went," Collen said. "We started to play downhill, we started to get to the rim, get to the foul line. I think when everything turned up, it was when we went to the three-guard lineup, and they were just flying to the glass. We were scrapping and clawing, and I think that changed the energy of the game."

The Horned Frogs kept the door slightly open, missing three of eight free throws down the stretch. With timeouts still in her pocket, Collen was able to work the clock down the stretch, pulling back within three on buckets by Aaronette Vonleh and Matharu.

But Andrews missed a trey that would have made it a one-point game with about six seconds left.

"I thought our execution late was really, really good," Collen said. "You can't get a better shot for a better player than we got for Sarah on that last play. Just elite execution by our team."

Matharu pumped in 14 points, hitting two 3-pointers, while Jada Walker scored six of her 11 points in a third-quarter run. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs struggled from the floor, hitting just 1-of-8, but finished with seven points, four assists, two steals and 14 rebounds.

Conner knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 21 points and eight boards for TCU, with Van Lith scoring 19 points while turning it over seven times.

Baylor scored 17 points off the Frogs' 16 turnovers, while turning it over just four times, but the Bears were outrebounded, 45-34.

"We've got to make free throws," Collen said of BU going 11-for-17 from the line. "That's what we have to do to get over the hump, we've got to make our free throws."

Going back on the road, the Bears will face last-place UCF (7-11, 0-8) at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla. Coached by former Baylor assistant Sytia Messer, the Knights have dropped nine straight, their last win coming on Dec. 7.