ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK
3/22/2025 11:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LIttlepage-Buggs' return will help WBB on the boards versus Ole Miss
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – As if it isn't hard enough to take 6-1 junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs out of a game, the toughest part for Baylor coach Nicki Collen was "the look in her eyes" when she subbed her out in the first half of Friday's 73-60 win over Grand Canyon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"Buggs never drops her head," said Collen, whose fourth-seeded Bears (28-7) will host fifth-seeded Ole Miss (21-10) in the second round at 3 p.m. Sunday at Foster Pavilion.
"But it was more the look in her eye than anything for me, because it wasn't that she wasn't executing or not giving us her best. It was, I wanted to have some minutes in the second half to play with. It's not easy when you're someone that's used to playing 30, 32, 34, 36 minutes to be at that 15 to 20-minute restriction."
After missing the previous seven games with an injury to her right knee, the first-team All-Big 12 forward came off the bench for 18 minutes in Friday's opening-round game, scoring two points and grabbing four rebounds with two blocks and an assist.
"I was happy to be back out there with my teammates," said Littlepage-Buggs, who came off the bench for just the second time in the last two seasons. "I think for me, it was just switching from being a cheerleader to actually playing. It just shows me that I need to maximize my time out there and do what I need to do but stay ready."
Although ball security was an issue for the whole team, Littlepage-Buggs' biggest struggle in the game was having four of the Bears' 19 turnovers.
"Probably wasn't the easiest game for her to come back, but I thought she gave us really good minutes," Collen said. "They freaking attacked her dribble. There were two times when it was like she put the ball down and it was gone. I think understanding that you've got to play lower against a team like that, you've got to get your shoulder by them."
Rebounding, which has been Littlepage-Buggs' calling card throughout most of her career at Baylor, will come in handy against an Ole Miss team that makes a living on the offensive glass. In the Rebels' 83-65 first-round win over 12th-seeded Ball State, they dominated the boards 53-31 and scored 22 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.
"It helps having Buggs back," 6-3 junior center Kyla Abraham said, "because she was our leading rebounder. And losing her, we lost a big chunk of that. So, it's nice to have her back, because we know that if anybody else is going to crash, Buggs will."
Baylor is an elite rebounding team as well, averaging 41.14 rebounds per game, but Ole Miss is on another level in offensive boards with 15.7 per game.
In addition to the starting trio of 6-2 Madison Scott (12.0 ppg, 5.3 rebounds), 6-0 Kennedy Todd-Williams (11.5 ppg, 5.3 rebounds) and 6-0 Starr Jacobs (11.1 ppg, 6.2 rebounds), coach Yolett McPhee McCuin can rotate a steady bevy of 6-footers in Sira Thienou, Christeen Iwuala, Ayanna Thompson and Kharyssa Richardson.
Jacobs (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Todd-Williams (15 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles versus Ball State and combined for 10 of the Rebels' 18 offensive boards.
"They're elite getting the ball back," Collen said. "Sometimes, it reminds me growing up during the Pat Summitt era. So often, their perimeter shots were really assists that got the ball closer to the rim. They were shooting and almost fighting over who got the offensive rebound. I think they're elite athletically. They play really, really hard. That's just been a staple of Coach Yo, going back to when I was coaching at FGCU and she was the head coach at Jacksonville."
Littlepage-Buggs (13.9 ppg, 10.2 rebounds) said the key for the Bears will be to collectively "match their energy and just emphasize blocking out."
"They're long, they're tough," she said. "They're not going to let us get it easy. We just have to come match their energy, and we have to keep going."
Maybe an even bigger key to Baylor's rebounding efforts will be 6-3 Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh (14.9 ppg, 5.8 rebounds), who had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds versus GCU. In the last eight games, she has averaged 19.5 points and 8.4 rebounds but has also fouled out twice in the last four games and 17 times in her career.
"If Nettie had played like this for the first half of the season, she would have been an All-American," Collen said. "She is putting up All-American numbers right now. When we have the Nettie that we've had the last month, we just have a decided advantage. And I don't care who we're playing against. . . . Everybody's better when she's playing well. It's that simple. The attention she draws is going to create shots for other people."
Vonleh, who helped lead Colorado to the Sweet 16 last year, said it was "definitely a mindset shift."
"Just trying to do whatever it takes so we can keep playing college basketball as long as I possibly can," she said. "Just doing what I have to do, showing up for my teammates."
For this one, though, it will have to be an all-hands-on-deck (or on the boards) attitude. Even Baylor's smaller guards like 5-7 Jada Walker (11.1 ppg, 5.4 assists) and 5-6 Sarah Andrews (10.6 ppg, 5.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds) will have to fight for every rebound.
"I might have to go try to grab four or five of them off Nettie, even if I have to go get it off her head," said Andrews, who had three rebounds and seven assists in the first-round game. "But just to let her know that I'm out there helping her out rebounding. They're going to be focused on trying not to let her get it that I might just come through and come up with it."
Walker, who had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in Friday's game, said the Bears can't get caught "standing around looking" when a shot goes up.
"We need to go get the rebound, wherever it is," she said, "because we know they are. Just be first to the ball, be more physical, and I feel like we'll win the game."
The Baylor-Ole Miss winner will advance to the Spokane Region 1 semifinal in Spokane, Wash., to face either top-seeded UCLA (31-2) or No. 8 seed Richmond (28-6) in the Sweet 16.
Sunday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy calling the action.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – As if it isn't hard enough to take 6-1 junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs out of a game, the toughest part for Baylor coach Nicki Collen was "the look in her eyes" when she subbed her out in the first half of Friday's 73-60 win over Grand Canyon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"Buggs never drops her head," said Collen, whose fourth-seeded Bears (28-7) will host fifth-seeded Ole Miss (21-10) in the second round at 3 p.m. Sunday at Foster Pavilion.
"But it was more the look in her eye than anything for me, because it wasn't that she wasn't executing or not giving us her best. It was, I wanted to have some minutes in the second half to play with. It's not easy when you're someone that's used to playing 30, 32, 34, 36 minutes to be at that 15 to 20-minute restriction."
After missing the previous seven games with an injury to her right knee, the first-team All-Big 12 forward came off the bench for 18 minutes in Friday's opening-round game, scoring two points and grabbing four rebounds with two blocks and an assist.
"I was happy to be back out there with my teammates," said Littlepage-Buggs, who came off the bench for just the second time in the last two seasons. "I think for me, it was just switching from being a cheerleader to actually playing. It just shows me that I need to maximize my time out there and do what I need to do but stay ready."
Although ball security was an issue for the whole team, Littlepage-Buggs' biggest struggle in the game was having four of the Bears' 19 turnovers.
"Probably wasn't the easiest game for her to come back, but I thought she gave us really good minutes," Collen said. "They freaking attacked her dribble. There were two times when it was like she put the ball down and it was gone. I think understanding that you've got to play lower against a team like that, you've got to get your shoulder by them."
Rebounding, which has been Littlepage-Buggs' calling card throughout most of her career at Baylor, will come in handy against an Ole Miss team that makes a living on the offensive glass. In the Rebels' 83-65 first-round win over 12th-seeded Ball State, they dominated the boards 53-31 and scored 22 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.
"It helps having Buggs back," 6-3 junior center Kyla Abraham said, "because she was our leading rebounder. And losing her, we lost a big chunk of that. So, it's nice to have her back, because we know that if anybody else is going to crash, Buggs will."
Baylor is an elite rebounding team as well, averaging 41.14 rebounds per game, but Ole Miss is on another level in offensive boards with 15.7 per game.
In addition to the starting trio of 6-2 Madison Scott (12.0 ppg, 5.3 rebounds), 6-0 Kennedy Todd-Williams (11.5 ppg, 5.3 rebounds) and 6-0 Starr Jacobs (11.1 ppg, 6.2 rebounds), coach Yolett McPhee McCuin can rotate a steady bevy of 6-footers in Sira Thienou, Christeen Iwuala, Ayanna Thompson and Kharyssa Richardson.
Jacobs (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Todd-Williams (15 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles versus Ball State and combined for 10 of the Rebels' 18 offensive boards.
"They're elite getting the ball back," Collen said. "Sometimes, it reminds me growing up during the Pat Summitt era. So often, their perimeter shots were really assists that got the ball closer to the rim. They were shooting and almost fighting over who got the offensive rebound. I think they're elite athletically. They play really, really hard. That's just been a staple of Coach Yo, going back to when I was coaching at FGCU and she was the head coach at Jacksonville."
Littlepage-Buggs (13.9 ppg, 10.2 rebounds) said the key for the Bears will be to collectively "match their energy and just emphasize blocking out."
"They're long, they're tough," she said. "They're not going to let us get it easy. We just have to come match their energy, and we have to keep going."
Maybe an even bigger key to Baylor's rebounding efforts will be 6-3 Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh (14.9 ppg, 5.8 rebounds), who had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds versus GCU. In the last eight games, she has averaged 19.5 points and 8.4 rebounds but has also fouled out twice in the last four games and 17 times in her career.
"If Nettie had played like this for the first half of the season, she would have been an All-American," Collen said. "She is putting up All-American numbers right now. When we have the Nettie that we've had the last month, we just have a decided advantage. And I don't care who we're playing against. . . . Everybody's better when she's playing well. It's that simple. The attention she draws is going to create shots for other people."
Vonleh, who helped lead Colorado to the Sweet 16 last year, said it was "definitely a mindset shift."
"Just trying to do whatever it takes so we can keep playing college basketball as long as I possibly can," she said. "Just doing what I have to do, showing up for my teammates."
For this one, though, it will have to be an all-hands-on-deck (or on the boards) attitude. Even Baylor's smaller guards like 5-7 Jada Walker (11.1 ppg, 5.4 assists) and 5-6 Sarah Andrews (10.6 ppg, 5.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds) will have to fight for every rebound.
"I might have to go try to grab four or five of them off Nettie, even if I have to go get it off her head," said Andrews, who had three rebounds and seven assists in the first-round game. "But just to let her know that I'm out there helping her out rebounding. They're going to be focused on trying not to let her get it that I might just come through and come up with it."
Walker, who had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in Friday's game, said the Bears can't get caught "standing around looking" when a shot goes up.
"We need to go get the rebound, wherever it is," she said, "because we know they are. Just be first to the ball, be more physical, and I feel like we'll win the game."
The Baylor-Ole Miss winner will advance to the Spokane Region 1 semifinal in Spokane, Wash., to face either top-seeded UCLA (31-2) or No. 8 seed Richmond (28-6) in the Sweet 16.
Sunday's game will be broadcast by ESPN, with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy calling the action.
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