By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
While school was out of session for students to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families, Baylor Athletics continued trucking as it feasted. Across four different sports, the Bears combined to go 8-1 during the weeklong vacation. Here’s everything you may have missed in Baylor Athletics over Thanksgiving break.
Baylor football powers past Kansas in regular-season finale, 45-17
Baylor football racked up 603 yards as it stormed past Kansas, 45-17, on Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium. It marked the first time the Bears accumulated more than 600 yards against a Big 12 opponent since Nov. 25, 2016, when the green and gold totaled 634 against Texas Tech.
The Bears extended their winning streak to six, the longest single-season streak under head coach Dave Aranda. Redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson completed 23-of-31 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns while redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington took 28 carries for 192 yards and two touchdowns, netting each player Co-Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
The bowl-bound Bears await the announcement of their final game of the year on Selection Day. Matchups will be announced on Dec. 8 and broadcast on ESPN.
Volleyball set to host NCAA Regional, ends regular season on four-game winning streak
No. 16 Baylor closed the regular season with a pair of road bouts, resulting in a 3-2 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday and a clean 3-0 sweep of West Virginia on Friday. Graduate setter Jackie Barrett Frazier racked up 69 assists over the course of the week and outside hitters Kendal Murphy and Elise McGhee each racked up a double-double.
On Sunday, the Bears were dubbed the No. 4 seed in the Lower Right Regional, 15th overall, in the 2024 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The green and gold open their postseason run with a First Round matchup against Wofford (23-8), who won the Southern Conference Tournament, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Ferrell Center.
No. 15 Men’s Basketball knocks off New Orleans, 91-60
After wrapping up its stay in Baha Mar with a 77-62 loss to No. 11 Tennessee, Baylor (5-2) rebounded with a dominant 91-60 win over New Orleans at the Foster Pavilion on Wednesday. Senior guard Jayden Nunn scored a team-high 23 points with seven made 3-pointers, while fifth-year forward Norchad Omier totaled 12 points and 13 rebounds to secure his fifth double-double of the year.
The Bears will be back in action against No. 25 UConn (5-3) as a part of the Big 12-Big East Battle at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
Women’s basketball takes four of five during Thanksgiving stretch
It was a busy break for Baylor as it won two of three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and returned home to take down New Orleans, 84-58, on Friday and Louisiana Tech, 98-54, on Sunday.
During Baylor’s 98-54 win over Louisiana Tech, graduate guard Sarah Andrews broke the program record for career 3-pointers made after she splashed in No. 259. Senior center Aaronette Vonleh, who scored 20 points and recorded a double-double against New Orleans, set a season-best mark of 22 points against LA Tech.
Over the course of the green and gold’s two home games, four players recorded double-doubles, with junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Bugss doing so in both. Baylor is now 7-2 after falling out of the AP Top 25 due to losses to Oregon and Indiana.
The Bears continue their five-game homestand when they take on Texas Southern (1-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday before clashing with UNLV (6-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Foster Pavilion.
