By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Just three games into the season, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs is having a career year as the team’s leader in points and rebounds. Littlepage-Buggs led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds as No. 17 Baylor women’s basketball dropped East Texas A&M, 104-55, Thursday night at the Foster Pavilion.
Head coach Nicki Collen has had a different game plan for Littlepage-Buggs each game, but on Thursday the goal was drawing fouls. The junior drew eight fouls and hit a career high 10 free throws after bodying the persistent defense.
“She’s combining her motor, which she’s had since the day she stepped off campus, with her process of continuing to just get better,” Collen said. “She just never slows down. You know, when other people slow down, she speeds up.”
Baylor (2-1) wasted no time rebounding from its tight loss to No. 25 Oregon, as the green and gold stormed out to an 8-0 lead behind the post presence of senior center Aaronette Vonleh. Backing down defenders, Vonleh finished the evening with 18 points, going 8-for-14 from the floor and pulling down 11 rebounds.
Senior guard Jada Walker partnered with Littlepage-Buggs to give the Bears a 23-18 lead over East Texas A&M (2-2), recently renamed from Texas A&M Commerce, after 10 minutes of play. Walker finished with 11 points, seven assists and three of Baylor’s season-high 14 steals.
Freshman forward Kayla Nelms and junior guard Waiata Jennis each scored their first points in the green and gold to open the second quarter. Nelms finished with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with six rebounds, while Jennings totaled five points and three rebounds.
“I thought Wise (Waiata Jennings) was phenomenal,” Collen said. “She played, I want to say, seven or eight minutes straight in that second quarter, and that’s when we started to extend the lead.”
Junior forward Kyla Abraham put on a defensive clinic in the second quarter with blocks on back-to-back possessions, which each led to Littlepage-Buggs layups on the other end as Baylor led 31-18. Later, Littlepage-Buggs helped the Bears go on 10-0 run as she knocked down five free throws and two layups, forcing a Lions timeout. By halftime, the junior forward had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“I know what role I play and I have to just bring it every night. It’s not just me, but also my teammates. I’m the energy. That’s my role,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “I come in with that every night, that just pushes me. And yeah, I’ve had some good games so far, but [I’m] nothing without my team.”
The green and gold rode the wave on both sides of the ball, only allowing 10 points in the quarter and taking a 51-28 lead into halftime.
Junior forward Bella Fontleroy returned to the starting lineup for Baylor after rolling her ankle against the Ducks on Sunday. Fontleroy was one of five Bears in double figures with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and five assists.
“Everyone in their career has played with an ankle sprain. And I think with the adrenaline of the game, you get warmed up, you just play,” Collen said. “When Bella sees threes goes through the basket, it hurts even less.”
The Lions and Bears traded blows early in the second half before Baylor hit six straight field goals and extended its lead to 68-38, provoking a timeout from the visitors.
Behind senior guard Yaya Felder’s tenacious defense and nose for the rim, the Bears finished the third quarter on an 11-0 run and held the Lions without points for the final 3:07 (0-8 field goals). Felder racked up five points and a block in the quarter and finished with 11 points and three assists.
“She’s got a spark. I don’t think anybody can stop Yaya when she’s going downhill,” said senior guard Sarah Andrews, who finished with nine points and eight assists. “When she comes off the bench, we get a second boost of energy.”
Vonleh sparked Baylor’s charge to triple digits in the fourth quarter as she knocked down a top-of-the-key 3-pointer one minute in and picked up three offensive boards to secure her first double-double with the Bears. In the first five minutes of the quarter, Vonleh had five rebounds and the green and gold led 90-49.
As the student section chanted, “We want Bartley,” Collen grinned and obliged, letting graduate forward Madison Bartley check into the game with a 96-51 lead and 2:01 left in the game. In poetic fashion, a layup from Felder set up Bartely for the bucket to crack the century mark. Off the feed from Walker, Bartley’s hook shot was true as the Bears knocked down their last seven shots of the night, running away with a 104-55 victory.
“It was a team tonight, I’m gonna give them a lot of credit because I know the score wasn’t close, but they’re frustrating to guard,” Collen said of East Texas A&M. “They were a challenge to guard. So, I just thought that for us, it was good as well to have to force us into some uncomfortable matchups.”
The Bears will be back in action against Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Foster Pavilion. The game acts as the matinee of a doubleheader as No. 12 Baylor men’s basketball clashes with Tarleton at 7 p.m. in the Pavilion.
