Friday, March 21
Waco, Texas
2:30 PM
Baylor
28-7,15-3Big 12
73
vs
60
Grand Canyon
32-3,16-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
18
10
19
13
60
Baylor
17
14
22
20
73
Vonleh, Walker Push Baylor WBB to First-Round Win
3/21/2025 4:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Duo combined to score first 27 points of second half for Baylor
WACO, Texas -- Aaronette Vonleh and Jada Walker formed a dynamic duo in the second half to push No. 4 seeded Baylor women's basketball to a 73-60 win over No. 13 seed Grand Canyon, snapping a 30-game winning streak for the Lopes, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, played on Friday afternoon at the Foster Pavilion.
Baylor (28-7) battled the fiery Lopes throughout the game, with GCU opening up the game strong with an early 18-13 lead. The Bears managed to outscore the Lopes 58-42 over the final 32 minutes to escape with the win, enlarging the lead to double digits in the closing two minutes of the game.
Grand Canyon (32-3) got a heroic performance from senior guard Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year Trinity San Antonio, a native of Moreno Valley, Calif. San Antonio scored a season-high 27 points, including 23 in the second half, keeping the Lopes in the game throughout.
Vonleh and Walker combined scored the first 27 points of the second half for the Bears, with Vonleh chipping in 14 of the 27. The duo opened the second half by combining to make 12 of 14 shots.
Vonleh, a 6-foot-3 native of West Linn, Ore., had her fifth double-double of the year, collecting 25 points on 10 of 13 from the field, with 11 rebounds and two assists. Walker chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Bears also got 12 points from Yaya Felder, who added six boards, and nine points and nine rebounds from Bella Fontleroy.
GCU got 11 points from Sydey Erikstrup and seven points from Tiarra Brown.
No. 14/15 Baylor moves on to the second round at Foster Pavilion and will face the winner of Ball State vs. Ole Miss. Timing and broadcast network is to be determined.
The Lopes opened the game strong, scoring 10 of the first 16 points in the starting three minutes. Buckets from Trinity San Antonio, Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Sydney Erikstrup and Tiarra Brown started a balanced scoring effort for GCU, who scored all 10 of its opening points in the paint, prompting a Baylor timeout.
After the first quarter, GCU held an 18-17 lead, making 8-of-19 shots, while holding the Bears to 4-for-12 from the field. BU did its damage at the free-throw line, making 7-of-10 but GCU owned a 14-4 margin in points in the paint.
The Bears used a late second-quarter 9-0 run to take a 31-25 lead in the closing minute of the period, getting three baskets from Vonleh and a pair at the charity stripe from Felder. GCU answered to close the half, with Anna Ostlie sinking a 3-pointer to narrow the halftime lead to 31-28.
At the break, BU shot 36 percent on 9-of-25 from the field and GCU was 11-of-31 for 35 percent. Baylor owned a 23-16 margin in rebounds and narrowed the gap in points in the paint from the first quarter to 16-12, with a 10-0 lead in fastbreak points. GCU had seven steals in the first half. A 6-foot-2 graduate student from Portland, Ore., Erikstrup led the Lopes with seven points, while Vonleh chipped in 11 points and six boards for the Bears.
Out of halftime, the Bears scored six of the first eight points of the second stanza to build a 37-30 lead, featuring a pair of baskets from Vonleh in the paint and a layup from Jada Walker. Baylor owned a narrow 22-19 margin in the third quarter, despite Trinity San Antonio going for 14 of GCU's 19 points in the period. Walker and Vonleh had 11 each in the period, accounting for all of BU's scoring. The Bears made 10 of 14 shots in the third period, with 16 of 22 points coming in the paint.
The Bears outscored GCU 19-13 in the fourth quarter, including five points each from Felder and Walker.
- BaylorBears.com -
Baylor (28-7) battled the fiery Lopes throughout the game, with GCU opening up the game strong with an early 18-13 lead. The Bears managed to outscore the Lopes 58-42 over the final 32 minutes to escape with the win, enlarging the lead to double digits in the closing two minutes of the game.
Grand Canyon (32-3) got a heroic performance from senior guard Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year Trinity San Antonio, a native of Moreno Valley, Calif. San Antonio scored a season-high 27 points, including 23 in the second half, keeping the Lopes in the game throughout.
Vonleh and Walker combined scored the first 27 points of the second half for the Bears, with Vonleh chipping in 14 of the 27. The duo opened the second half by combining to make 12 of 14 shots.
Vonleh, a 6-foot-3 native of West Linn, Ore., had her fifth double-double of the year, collecting 25 points on 10 of 13 from the field, with 11 rebounds and two assists. Walker chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Bears also got 12 points from Yaya Felder, who added six boards, and nine points and nine rebounds from Bella Fontleroy.
GCU got 11 points from Sydey Erikstrup and seven points from Tiarra Brown.
No. 14/15 Baylor moves on to the second round at Foster Pavilion and will face the winner of Ball State vs. Ole Miss. Timing and broadcast network is to be determined.
The Lopes opened the game strong, scoring 10 of the first 16 points in the starting three minutes. Buckets from Trinity San Antonio, Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, Sydney Erikstrup and Tiarra Brown started a balanced scoring effort for GCU, who scored all 10 of its opening points in the paint, prompting a Baylor timeout.
After the first quarter, GCU held an 18-17 lead, making 8-of-19 shots, while holding the Bears to 4-for-12 from the field. BU did its damage at the free-throw line, making 7-of-10 but GCU owned a 14-4 margin in points in the paint.
The Bears used a late second-quarter 9-0 run to take a 31-25 lead in the closing minute of the period, getting three baskets from Vonleh and a pair at the charity stripe from Felder. GCU answered to close the half, with Anna Ostlie sinking a 3-pointer to narrow the halftime lead to 31-28.
At the break, BU shot 36 percent on 9-of-25 from the field and GCU was 11-of-31 for 35 percent. Baylor owned a 23-16 margin in rebounds and narrowed the gap in points in the paint from the first quarter to 16-12, with a 10-0 lead in fastbreak points. GCU had seven steals in the first half. A 6-foot-2 graduate student from Portland, Ore., Erikstrup led the Lopes with seven points, while Vonleh chipped in 11 points and six boards for the Bears.
Out of halftime, the Bears scored six of the first eight points of the second stanza to build a 37-30 lead, featuring a pair of baskets from Vonleh in the paint and a layup from Jada Walker. Baylor owned a narrow 22-19 margin in the third quarter, despite Trinity San Antonio going for 14 of GCU's 19 points in the period. Walker and Vonleh had 11 each in the period, accounting for all of BU's scoring. The Bears made 10 of 14 shots in the third period, with 16 of 22 points coming in the paint.
The Bears outscored GCU 19-13 in the fourth quarter, including five points each from Felder and Walker.
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
GCU
Baylor
FG%
.343
.500
3FG%
.190
.385
FT%
.588
.645
RB
33
44
TO
12
19
STL
11
2
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
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