By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Despite a 17-2 run in the fourth quarter, No. 12 Baylor women’s basketball couldn’t find its footing until too late as the Bears’ comeback effort came up short. Senior guard Jada Walker inspired the charge with a game-leading 24 points as the green and gold fell to Oregon, 76-74, on Sunday night at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
Walker hit 9-of-20 shots and led the Bears (1-1) with four steals. Junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs tallied her first double-double of the year with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting and a team-high 10 rebounds. Graduate guard Sarah Andrews was the only other Baylor player who finished in double figures with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists.
“When our backs were up against the wall, I was proud that we competed,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “I still think you want to play games on the road. You want to win games against good opponents. We’ve got to get the details right. We had too many breakdowns on the defensive end.”
The Bears struggled out of the gate, missing their first seven shots and falling behind 6-0 before Littlepage-Buggs broke the spell. To make matters worse, junior forward Bella Fontleroy hobbled off the court with a lower leg injury less than two minutes into the game.
“Bella’s our best defender, our most versatile defender, our biggest defender,” Collen said. “She had 14 rebounds in the last game. We’re going to have to adjust, depending on what we find out about Bella. We may have to play differently.
“It’s frustrating because 48 hours ago, we had all this depth and we felt like we could wear them down. All of a sudden, I thought that the opposite happened.”
With the frustrations of a slow start looming, Oregon graduate student guard Peyton Scott celebrated a made shot over Walker with a “too small” gesture while running back on defense and hovering her hand barely above the floor. On the next defensive possession, Walker forced a bad shot from Scott. As the ball flew out of bounds, Walker shoved the Duck guard after it. Walker earned an intentional foul, but it sparked her offensive output.
Walker went on to lead the Bears with 10 points in the first half and helped the Bears claw back to a 15-14 deficit by the end of the first quarter. Andrews drilled Baylor’s first and only 3-pointer of the half with 9:23 in the second quarter to even the game at 17-17. Behind Walker and Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor took a 25-20 lead with 6:55 on the clock. But the shooting struggles came right back.
The Bears’ lead vanished as Oregon finished the first half on an 11-0 run, and Baylor went without a field goal for the final 6:54 of the second quarter. The green and gold shot just 28.6% from the floor in the half, while the Ducks hit 13-of-26 first-half attempts (50%) to take a 35-27 lead into halftime.
Walker bookended a rough third quarter with a 3-pointer out of the half and a buzzer-beater layup to close the quarter. The senior led the green and gold with seven points in the quarter, but six turnovers allowed Oregon to extend their lead to 62-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
As Baylor struggled to break the Ducks’ zone, senior guard Yaya Felder provided a spark off the bench. Felder and Andrews each converted and-1 layups, and the Bears rallied together with an 8-0 run that forced an Oregon timeout. Out of the break trailing 66-58, Walker stole an inbounds pass and rushed down the court. Walker worked through contact and provided another basket to silence the home crowd further and cut the lead to six.
Senior center Aaronette Vonleh scored her first bucket of the game before Oregon snapped the Baylor run. Not done yet, Walker hit her second 3-pointer of the evening and stole another inbounds pass while pressing. Her steal led to a couple of free throws for Littlepage-Buggs, and the Bears trailed only 68-67 when a timeout was called on the floor with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
After Baylor mustered a 17-2 run, Oregon prevented a Baylor basket for just over two minutes before Andrews knocked down a contested wing 3-pointer to bring the Bears within two, 72-70. A few defensive stops prevented progress on both sides and when Littlepage-Buggs brought down her 10th rebound, Walker’s fast break led to game-tying free throws, 72-72.
Collen called a timeout on the ensuing possession. Out of the break, Vonleh snagged an offensive rebound and threw up a putback that gave the Bears their first lead since the second quarter. The lead wouldn’t last for long as Oregon tied it up 20 seconds later and took a 76-74 lead with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Baylor talked things over before hoisting up one more shot, but out of the timeout, an errant pass put the ball under the rim. After a second inbounds, Andrews lined up a deep 3-pointer that was too strong and clanged off the back rim. With seven seconds left, the Ducks called timeout and scrambled away from the pressure to avoid a foul and seal a 76-74 win.
“I thought Yaya had Netty (Aaronette Vonleh) open under the basket, and we underthrew a couple passes, even on the baseline out of bounds,” Collen said. “I thought Sarah got a good look that would have led to given us a one-point lead. But certainly, it’s been a pretty tough blow over the last 48 hours with Jana and Bella.”
The Bears will be back in action against Texas A&M-Commerce (1-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Foster Pavilion.
