Baylor
Iowa State
No. 17/18 WBB Prepped for Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City
3/6/2025 12:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bears face Iowa State Friday at 5:30 in quarterfinal round
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17/18 BAYLOR BEARS (25-6, 15-3 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
17/18 BAYLOR (25-6, 15-3 Big 12) at PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP March 7-9, 2025 Kansas City, Mo. • T-Mobile Center (18,000) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: ESPN+/ESPN LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Lori Fogleman (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinal: March 7 at 5:30 p.m. CT Semifinal: March 8 at 5:30 p.m. CT Final: March 9 at 4 p.m. CT Ticket Information | Bracket |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In a season when Jana Van Gytenbeek had a season-ending knee surgery in the first game, Madison Bartley medically retired and first-team All-Big 12 pick Darianna Littlepage-Buggs missed the last four games with a knee injury, the 17th-ranked Baylor Bears have shown a resiliency that's hard to fathom.
Seeded second for the Big 12 Tournament after a 51-48 loss to No. 10 TCU on Sunday, the Bears (25-6, 15-3) will face Iowa State (22-10, 12-6) in Friday's 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
"I think sometimes you have to understand that, ironically, less is more," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. "It doesn't mean that in a lot of those moments, you're not missing what Buggs brings. But I think it's made (Waiata Jennings) a lot more invested. Not because she wasn't a great teammate or ever had a bad attitude. But you hit that point as someone who doesn't get a ton of minutes where you begin to check out, whether you want to or not."
Until Littlepage-Buggs' injury, Jennings had played double-digit minutes in conference play just once, in a blowout victory at Houston. But in the last four games, she has averaged more than 15 minutes, scoring seven points with three rebounds, two steals and a block in a road win at Colorado.
"Losing a lot of players from injury, it means we all have to step up," said Jennings, who has had to fill in for Littlepage-Buggs at the power forward spot at times. "I think encouraging people to play roles and pick up slack has been important. We've had to come together not rely on certain people to do all of it. I think my job is just coming in, bringing energy and doing my job and being reliable at it."
The biggest adjustment for Jennings and Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year Yaya Felder (10.6 ppg) is remembering to take the ball out of bounds when they're in that spot.
"I'm so used to sprinting back. That's what I've been trained to do here," Jennings said. "I've sprinted halfway down the court, and then I have to sprint all the way back. But it's good, everyone's really been patient with me. The coaches have been patient with me and Yaya. But in (junior college), I played all spots. So, it's not really an adjustment. I'm used to all that."
The loss of Littlepage-Buggs (14.3 ppg, 10.5 rebounds) has forced the Bears to rely even more on a balanced attack that features four other double-figure scorers and a fifth in 6-0 junior forward Bella Fontleroy that is averaging 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Even when Fontleroy went out with a shoulder injury two minutes into the second half, Baylor defeated 14th-ranked Kansas State, 79-62, on the road.
"I didn't prepare for Bella going down," Collen said. "But I think the team has shown resilience. They've figured out, how are we going to win this game with these people, and what are our advantages? Our advantage in that game was being small and quick and getting a piece of the paint and then utilizing (Aaronette Vonleh). And I thought Nettie was, obviously, great all night there."
A first-year transfer from Colorado, the 6-3 Vonleh is a second-team All-Big 12 pick who is averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebound per game while shooting 58.5% from the floor. Backcourt mates Jada Walker and Sarah Andrews are averaging 10.9 and 10.8 points, respectively.
"It's really just taking every day serious, being intentional about every practice, just keeping our momentum going," Walker said. "Just taking it seriously and knowing that everyone's coming to win now. Records and all that go out the window. It's tournament time, win or go home, and we don't want to go home."
At 16th in the latest NET rankings, Baylor is still in line for a possible host site for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Charlie Creme's latest bracketology has the Bears traveling to Oxford, Miss., as a No. 5 seed with Ole Miss as the No. 4 seed and host.
"You don't want your last memory, your Senior Day memory, your last game in a place that's been so good to you, to be painful," Collen said of the loss to TCU. "From that perspective, everyone would love to get a win in Foster to finish the year, because we know that if we get a win, that means we're on to another Sweet 16."
Iowa State advanced with a 96-88 second-round win over 15th-seeded Arizona State, with Addy Brown going off for 41 points. In their second game without Littlepage-Buggs, the Bears defeated the Cyclones, 67-52, at Foster Pavilion.
"Really, just sticking to what worked the last time," Walker said. "We did a good job on Audi (Crooks), so continuing to do that and then just picking up the slack on the extra players that may have hit shots that we didn't want them to hit, just limiting their 3-point attempts. Our 3-point defensive percentage has been high, so just continuing to keep that going."
Friday's game and a potential semifinal matchup with 21st-ranked Oklahoma State (24-5) at 5:30 p.m. will be streamed by ESPN+ and the 4 p.m. championship game on Sunday will be broadcast by ESPN, with Brenda VanLengen and Andrea Lloyd calling the action.
Game notes-
• Baylor awaits its fate for the opening matchup in the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, facing either Arizona State, Cincinnati or Iowa State on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT.
• The Bears finished the regular season Big 12 slate with a 15-3 record for second place, dropping their final game that decided the Big 12 Champion to TCU by three points at Foster Pavilion. 15-3 ties the 2021-22 squad's Big 12 Championship season as the best conference record under head coach Nicki Collen in her fourth year.
• Sarah Andrews is now the keeper of both the Baylor program and Big 12 Conference career games played record at 163 in her fifth year as a Bear.
• The Bears remain the leading rebounding team in the Big 12 Conference, averaging 42.00 per game, enough for 15th in the NCAA, and hold an average margin of 8.6 boards over their opponents.
• Back in the AP Top 25, the Bears reentered the rankings on Monday, February 10. Placed at No. 17 in its eighth appearance of 2024-25 (week of Feb. 10), BU received votes in eight editions while being left out twice.
• BU owns a 49-16 record in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, going 3-3 in the first three years with Nicki Collen at the helm of the team.
• Last season, Baylor defeated Oklahoma State in the second round before falling to Iowa State by five points in the quarterfinal.
• The Bears played for a championship in Collen's first season, but lost to Texas, 67-58.
• Against possible opponents in the championship: ASU- first meeting; Cincinnati- first meeting; Iowa State- 4-3.
• Through games on March 4, Baylor is ranked 16th in the NET, going 3-4 against Quad 1 programs and 5-2 over Quad 2.
• BU's highest-ranked NET win is over No. 9 Kansas State. The Bears upset the Wildcats on their home court, 79-62, led by 24 points and 12 rebounds from Aaronette Vonleh.
• Six Baylor players tallied seven All-Big 12 Yearly honors at the conclusion of the regular season, the Big 12 Conference announced on March 4.
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs headlined the release for the Bears with a first-team recognition, and Yaya Felder was named Sixth Player of the Year, while Sarah Andrews and Aaronette Vonleh had a second-team placement. Bella Fontleroy and Jada Walker were given honorable mention, and Fontleroy received a second nod on the All-Defensive Team.
• At the end of the regular season, Littlepage-Buggs was the only player to average a double-double in the Big 12 while leading in rebounds per game and Felder was the only player in the league to come off the bench averaging 10 or more points per game.
• The six individuals for BU was the most for the program in the Nicki Collen era and seven awards is second behind the eight bestowed to Baylor in 2021-22.
