By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor, Claire Marie Scott | LTVN Sports Reporter
Junior forward Bella Fontleroy brought down a career-high 14 rebounds, senior guard Jada Walker tied a career-high with 10 assists and junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs knocked down her first two career 3-pointers as No. 12 Baylor women’s basketball rocketed past Incarnate Word, 85-33, on Thursday night at the Foster Pavilion.
LTVN’s Claire Marie Scott breaks down the Bears’ dominant win over Incarnate Word.
Littlepage-Buggs was one of three Bears in double figures and led the team with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting. The junior added six rebounds, two steals and one blocker. In her first game wearing the green and gold, senior center Aaronette Vonleh scored 16 points (6-8 FG), three rebounds and two steals.
“The thing that Buggs has consistently done well in her career is move the ball, attack the glass, drive the ball, run the floor. And [3-point shooting] was the missing piece to create closeouts,” head coach Nicki Collen.
Starting at guard, Walker finished with six points and a team-high 10 assists, while graduate guard Sarah Andrews went 2-of-6 from the floor with five points and four assists. Fontleroy was one point from a double-double (nine points on 4-for-14 shooting), but made up for her shooting with 14 rebounds, one block and two steals.
The Cardinals (0-2) added to the scoreboard first with a 3-pointer on their first possession. After two missed layups, the Bears (1-0) snagged both offensive rebounds, and Vonleh put Baylor on the board for the first time this season with an up-and-under layup.
After a slow start, an angry Collen screamed for a timeout with her Bears trialing 7-5. The green and gold started the game hitting just three of their first 13 shots. Looking for a boost, Littlepage-Buggs dropped in layups on three straight possessions and Baylor took a 13-7 lead while the Cardinals went without a bucket for more than five minutes.
Baylor’s momentum swings kept coming in the second quarter. With 7:12 on the clock, Vonleh capped off a 7-0 Baylor run and extended the Bears’ lead to 24-12 by knocking in a contested wing 3-pointer. Coming into the season, Vonleh was only 2-for-15 from 3-point range in her career and made just one during the 2023-24 season.
“I just try to be nonchalant, but in my head, it just was nice because I spent a lot of time in the offseason working on my three,” Vonleh said. “To see it go in just helps build that confidence. So hopefully that’s the first of many.”
The green and gold rallied another 7-0 swing in their favor just minutes later to take a 33-15 advantage. Junior forward Kyla Abraham swatted away the last Cardinal attempt of the half. Graduate guard Jana Van Gytenbeek added one more 3-pointer before halftime, and the Bears trotted into the locker room with a 39-18 advantage.
Feeling hot, Littlepage-Buggs dialed up and knocked down a first-career 3-pointer, and senior guard Yaya Felder drilled another on the ensuing possession. With pressure reigning down on Incarnate Word, the Cardinals called timeout to try and cool off the Bears’ 15-0 run.
“I think you saw her joy, but also her teammates’ joy because she’s celebrated a lot of threes by her teammates for the last two-plus years,” Collen said. “And so it was fun to see them get to celebrate hers. I knew when she made one this season, that there would just be a different confidence level.”
Driving to the rim out of the timeout, Van Gytenbeek went down under the rim and was helped off the court. After the game, Collen said she was “being evaluated” but didn’t have any further update on the senior’s status.
Without its standout bench guard, who finished with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with five assists, Baylor steamrolled the explosive run into the fourth quarter with a 64-28 lead. The defense pulled out all the stops in the final 10 minutes as the Bears held Incarnate Word to only five points.
“This group is going to do a lot of special things this year. I think anyone who’s watching the game tonight can see how we’re starting to gel,” Fontleroy. “It can be any one of us on any given night, but it’s super nice to be out of practices and finally playing somebody else.”
The shooting caught fire once more as Littlepage-Buggs powered up and-1 layup and drilled her second 3-pointer of the night to cap off a 12-2 run with 2:07 remaining. The green and gold rode the wave en route to an 85-33 season-opening win.
“I think we need to get some more people out here and support us because we deserve it,” Vonleh said. “I think we just need to keep building and getting people more involved and engaged and keep getting fans and Foster.”
The Bears will be back in action against Oregon at 9 p.m. Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
