Tuesday, February 11
Waco, Texas
7 PM
Baylor
75
vs
65
West Virginia
No. 25 WBB Pulls Off Upset of No. 18 WVU
2/11/2025 9:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Vonleh scores 15 of her game-high 21 points in 2nd half
Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – If the 25th-ranked Baylor women are feeling the pressure of being in the thick of a Big 12 championship race for the first time in three years, they're certainly not showing it.
"There was a lot of singing and dancing in the locker room pregame today, so I think they were pretty loose," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said.
Not even 18th-ranked West Virginia's full-court press could rattle the Bears, who took another step toward a Big 12 title with a 75-65 win over the Mountaineers Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.
"I always thought I would rather be tight and them be loose," said Collen, whose team won its fifth in a row, improving to 21-5 overall and tied with 11th-ranked TCU (22-3) atop the conference standings at 11-2. "They're young, this should be fun. The pressure should be on us to get it right and help them. But I think the lighter we can make it for them."
An efficient 10-of-12 from the floor, Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh finished one off her season high with 21 points, four rebounds and two blocks. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had nine points, 13 rebounds and a career-high seven assists, finishing one point shy of her 11th double-double of the season.
"We do talk about it, especially right now with what, we have five games left now," Vonleh said of the Big 12 title race. "We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to finish at the top. So, just taking every game seriously, knowing that there's not really much room for slippage or error."
Starting the day just a game of first place, the Mountaineers had a three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the Big 12 despite a team-high 20 points from junior guard Jordan Harrison.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, there were five lead changes before Bella Fontleroy hit a pair of 3-pointers to put the Bears up 19-16 at the end of the period. Matching her season high with four made 3-pointers, Fontleroy was 4-for-6 from distance and scored in double figures for the 11th time this season with 15 points.
"I feel like I finally moved," Fontleroy said. "Nicki tells me all the time, she's like, 'Bella, you have to move when you're off the ball. I get in a bad habit of standing in the corner. . . But I found those windows, and my teammates found me whenever I took even just one or two steps up and got to gaps. They hit me in the shooting pocket, and I was ready to shoot it."
The game remained tight through the first five minutes of the second quarter, but Fontleroy and Sarah Andrews drained 3-pointers in a closing 12-4 run that gave Baylor a double-digit lead at the half, 36-26.
Going to Vonleh for 13 of the team's 25 points in an explosive third quarter, the Bears stretched the lead out to 50-34. But West Virginia hit three-straight 3-pointers to get within seven twice and trailed 61-49 going into the fourth.
Five of Littlepage-Buggs' seven assists came on high-low passes to Vonleh, who was close to unstoppable inside the paint.
"We spent a lot of time on that specific action in practice and shoot-around," Vonleh said of the connection between her and Littlepage-Buggs. "We knew we were both supposed to be ready for her to pass to me, to find me, or for her to take the shot. But I love playing with Buggs. She's really an intelligent player, a hustle player. She does a lot of things well, so I'm glad we had that connection tonight."
Senior guard Jada Walker scored eight of 13 points in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-5 from the line, as Baylor was able to keep the Mountaineers at bay despite struggling offensively in the period.
Fontleroy and Andrews were both 4-of-6 from distance and scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Andrews dished out seven assists for the game. JJ Quinerly scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, but she was just 5-of-19 overall and 1-for-6 from behind the arc.
Jordan Harrison scored a game-high 20 points before fouling out late, with JJ Quinerly scoring 15 of her 17 points in the second half. Walker and Baylor's defense made it challenging for the 5-8 Quinerly, forcing her to go 5-for-19 and 1-for-6 from outside the arc.
"JJ Quinerly, you have to give her flowers. Like, that girl can hoop," Fontleroy said. "She gets downhill, she puts you in tough spots where you've to think, 'Do I wall up? Do I try to go for the block?' I feel like the things that we tried not to give up, we did really well. And just our points of emphasis and our focus, we executed and finished strong to win."
Baylor will play three of its next four on the road, facing Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock and Colorado (16-7, 7-5) at 8 p.m. CT next Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Boulder.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – If the 25th-ranked Baylor women are feeling the pressure of being in the thick of a Big 12 championship race for the first time in three years, they're certainly not showing it.
"There was a lot of singing and dancing in the locker room pregame today, so I think they were pretty loose," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said.
Not even 18th-ranked West Virginia's full-court press could rattle the Bears, who took another step toward a Big 12 title with a 75-65 win over the Mountaineers Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.
"I always thought I would rather be tight and them be loose," said Collen, whose team won its fifth in a row, improving to 21-5 overall and tied with 11th-ranked TCU (22-3) atop the conference standings at 11-2. "They're young, this should be fun. The pressure should be on us to get it right and help them. But I think the lighter we can make it for them."
An efficient 10-of-12 from the floor, Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh finished one off her season high with 21 points, four rebounds and two blocks. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had nine points, 13 rebounds and a career-high seven assists, finishing one point shy of her 11th double-double of the season.
"We do talk about it, especially right now with what, we have five games left now," Vonleh said of the Big 12 title race. "We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to finish at the top. So, just taking every game seriously, knowing that there's not really much room for slippage or error."
Starting the day just a game of first place, the Mountaineers had a three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the Big 12 despite a team-high 20 points from junior guard Jordan Harrison.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, there were five lead changes before Bella Fontleroy hit a pair of 3-pointers to put the Bears up 19-16 at the end of the period. Matching her season high with four made 3-pointers, Fontleroy was 4-for-6 from distance and scored in double figures for the 11th time this season with 15 points.
"I feel like I finally moved," Fontleroy said. "Nicki tells me all the time, she's like, 'Bella, you have to move when you're off the ball. I get in a bad habit of standing in the corner. . . But I found those windows, and my teammates found me whenever I took even just one or two steps up and got to gaps. They hit me in the shooting pocket, and I was ready to shoot it."
The game remained tight through the first five minutes of the second quarter, but Fontleroy and Sarah Andrews drained 3-pointers in a closing 12-4 run that gave Baylor a double-digit lead at the half, 36-26.
Going to Vonleh for 13 of the team's 25 points in an explosive third quarter, the Bears stretched the lead out to 50-34. But West Virginia hit three-straight 3-pointers to get within seven twice and trailed 61-49 going into the fourth.
Five of Littlepage-Buggs' seven assists came on high-low passes to Vonleh, who was close to unstoppable inside the paint.
"We spent a lot of time on that specific action in practice and shoot-around," Vonleh said of the connection between her and Littlepage-Buggs. "We knew we were both supposed to be ready for her to pass to me, to find me, or for her to take the shot. But I love playing with Buggs. She's really an intelligent player, a hustle player. She does a lot of things well, so I'm glad we had that connection tonight."
Senior guard Jada Walker scored eight of 13 points in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-5 from the line, as Baylor was able to keep the Mountaineers at bay despite struggling offensively in the period.
Fontleroy and Andrews were both 4-of-6 from distance and scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Andrews dished out seven assists for the game. JJ Quinerly scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, but she was just 5-of-19 overall and 1-for-6 from behind the arc.
Jordan Harrison scored a game-high 20 points before fouling out late, with JJ Quinerly scoring 15 of her 17 points in the second half. Walker and Baylor's defense made it challenging for the 5-8 Quinerly, forcing her to go 5-for-19 and 1-for-6 from outside the arc.
"JJ Quinerly, you have to give her flowers. Like, that girl can hoop," Fontleroy said. "She gets downhill, she puts you in tough spots where you've to think, 'Do I wall up? Do I try to go for the block?' I feel like the things that we tried not to give up, we did really well. And just our points of emphasis and our focus, we executed and finished strong to win."
Baylor will play three of its next four on the road, facing Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock and Colorado (16-7, 7-5) at 8 p.m. CT next Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Boulder.
Players Mentioned
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