By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor, Braden Murray | LTVN Sports Director
Behind junior forward Bella Fontleroy’s career-high 29 points and seven 3-pointers, Baylor women’s basketball shot 61% from long range to down Cincinnati, 98-59, Sunday afternoon at the Foster Pavilion.
LTVN’s Braden Murray details the Bears’ blowout.
Fontleroy made a career-high 10 field goals on 12 attempts and drilled 7-of-8 triples. She was joined in double figures by graduate guard Aliyah Matharu (17 points), senior center Aaronette Vonleh (16 points) and senior guard Yaya Felder (13 points). Head coach Nicki Collen’s Bears (18-5, 8-2 Big 12) assisted on 31-of-37 made field goals while shooting 57% from the floor and hitting a season-high 17-of-28 from beyond the arc.
“Bella was in my office Friday,” Collen said. “I said I’m still waiting for this team to have ‘the game.’ Every team has ‘the game.’ I don’t think this team had had that game, and I think this was a little bit of a glimpse of that… I think it can do a lot for a team’s confidence.”
The Bearcats (13-6, 5-4 Big 12) landed the game’s first points with a fast-break score off of a turnover by Vonleh. The senior center instantly made up for the mistake, scoring six points during a 16-1 Baylor run. During the streak, the green and gold held the Bearcats without a field goal for seven minutes, and Cincinnati hit just 1-of-4 free throw attempts.
Fontleroy capped off the quarter by darting down the lane and finishing a layup while flying like Superwoman. The junior forward tripped over a defender and, while horizontal in mid-air, threw a spinner off the glass and into the cup. With a 21-9 advantage into the second quarter, Fontleroy caught fire.
She knocked down her first three 3-pointers in the quarter, spurring an 11-3 Baylor run. The Bearcats once again went without a field goal for five minutes as Fontleroy and Felder took multiple charges. Senior guard Sarah Andrews sent the Bears to halftime on a high note, swishing a logo 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock to give Baylor a 42-25 lead. Andrews scored just six points but dished out a season-high 12 assists, the second-most in her career.
“That girl sees the court like nobody I’ve ever played with before,” Fontleroy said. “From the point, from the two, no matter where you are, if you’re getting to your spots where you need to be, and Sarah has the ball, bringing up with you, you’re gonna get a look.
Vonleh scored eight of the Bears’ first 13 points in the third quarter and swatted away two shots as the home lead reached 20 points. Fontleroy took only two shots, both from long range during the quarter, and drilled both of them to match her single-game career-high of five made 3-pointers in a game.
The Bearcats went without a bucket for the final 4:31 of the frame, and Matharu closed the quarter with her first bucket of the game, a corner 3-pointer, to give Baylor a 64-39 edge. When Matharu trotted back onto the floor for the final quarter, she didn’t miss a step, draining three more 3-pointers in the first two minutes.
Fontleroy one-upped Matharu, swishing her sixth and seventh 3-pointers of the game, plus a wing jumper, to give the green and gold an 83-50 lead with 5:18 to play. When she subbed out of the game seconds later, the Foster Pavilion gave the three-year Bear a standing ovation.
“We absolutely build on this game,” Fontleroy said. “This momentum is going to be huge for us from an offensive perspective. I think that there are so many things we did well.”
Matharu went 6-for-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 from deep, all of which came in the second half. Her 17 points were a season-high as she tied a career-high of five made 3-pointers for the seventh time in her five-year career.
“I was honestly thinking before the game that I felt like whenever we play at home, I kind of get shy,” Matharu said. “But it felt really good to shoot the ball well, that’s something I’ve been working on for a while now.”
Junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who scored seven points and led the team with eight rebounds, drained one last 3-pointer before time expired to put an exclamation point on Baylor’s 39-point victory, its largest Big 12 win of the year.
The Bears will be back in action against Houston at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Fertitta Center in Houston. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
