By Tyler White | Sports Writer
After losing two-straight games in conference play, No. 12 Baylor women’s basketball returned to the Foster Pavilion with a close win against the UCF Knights Saturday afternoon.
In the first game back in the Foster Pavilion since students returned to campus, the Bears were welcomed with a record-breaking student attendance for a women’s game as they beat the Knights 77-74.
“It’s always good to get in the win column,” Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said. “I think sometimes you just need the mojo back.”
The Bears (15-2, 4-2 Big 12) were in a close battle with the Big 12 newcomers throughout the game, with the largest lead being a short-lived eight-point lead by the Bears. The Knights (9-7, 0-6 Big 12) came up short of tallying their first Big 12 win.
Beginning the game with a 3-pointer from graduate forward Dre’Una Edwards, Baylor and UCF traded blows in the first quarter, with 10 lead changes throughout it. However, two free throws from graduate forward Aijah Blackwell put Baylor ahead by one going into the second quarter.
Through the first half, Blackwell totaled 10 rebounds, eliminating many of the Knights’ second-chance opportunities. She ended the game with a season-high 13 rebounds, helping the Bears out-rebound the Knights by 12. However, the Bears entered halftime trailing by two after double-digit point performances in the first half by UCF’s junior guard Kaitlin Peterson and freshman center Khyala Ngodu, with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Following halftime, sophomore forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs began the third quarter hot, hitting all her shots and totaling 12 points to put the Bears ahead by five heading into the final period. After remaining scoreless through the first half, senior guard Sarah Andrews notched seven points and continued to dish the ball out to her teammates.
Despite her low scoring and field goal percentage (2 of 14 overall, 1 of 9 from deep), Andrews recorded her second career double-double with 11 points and a season-high 10 assists. She said she loves to see everyone else on the team get it going and be able to get involved in ways other than just shooting.
“If we had some more time I was still going to shoot it,” Andrews said. “I know eventually the ball is going to fall in. It’s just one of those nights where my shot wasn’t falling, but I found other ways to be involved.”
After gaining the lead in the third quarter, the Bears never fell behind again. Despite a game-high 32 points by Peterson, the Bears held on and finished out the game with the win. Though Baylor shot 21% from beyond the arc, it found opportunities in the paint, relying on scorers Littlepage-Buggs and Edwards to be the difference.
Shooting perfect from the field, Littlepage-Buggs finished 9 of 9 with 24 points, tying her season high. She said it was great being able to find a groove offensively.
“We share the ball. … My teammates saw me open, and they dished it to me,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “We’re not a selfish team, so I’m just thankful that my teammates could get me open.”
The game was tight throughout, with neither team pulling out a deep run or insurmountable lead. Collen said a lot of mistakes were self-inflicted and allowed the Knights to hang in the game.
“When you take a seven-point lead, it’s time to put yourself in gear and get a 10-point lead, and I thought we let them hang around with bad decision-making, turnovers [and] fouls,” Collen said.
The Bears take on No. 7 Kansas State in the Foster Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. With another home game against a ranked team, Collen said the team needs to clean up the turnovers and stick to what they’re good at. Baylor totaled 23 turnovers against UCF.
“We have to take a care of the ball — it’s that simple,” Collen said. “ We were a team turning it over about 12 and a half times a game before conference play. … We’re going to have to continue to get good looks, but we have to take better care of the ball. I think we can be a really, really good team if we take care of the ball.”
