By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Head coach Nicki Collen and Baylor women’s basketball won their fifth straight game and stayed in a two-way tie for first place in the Big 12 after upsetting No. 18 West Virginia 75-65 Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.
The 25th-ranked Bears (21-5, 11-2 Big 12) picked up their second ranked win of the year and led for the final 35 minutes of the game. They assisted on 19-of-26 made baskets and shot 50% from the floor as the starting lineup accounted for 70 points.
“The fact that we made 26 baskets is not a lot compared to what we’ve been making, but 19 of our 26 baskets were assisted,” Collen said. “We are an assist team. You’re never going to see us have 26 baskets and five assists like some teams.”
Senior center Aaronette Vonleh led all players with 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting, her fifth game with 20 or more points this season. With Vonleh commanding the paint, junior forward Bella Fontleroy (15 points) and graduate guard Sarah Andrews (12 points) combined for all eight of Baylor’s 3-point field goals.
“I feel like each time we step on the court, our synergy as a group just shows and it only gets better with each time that we play,” Fontleroy said. “I’m just really proud of us and hopeful that we can keep this energy.”
Mountaineers (19-5, 9-4 Big 12) junior guard Jordan Harrison hit her first four shots of the game and finished with 10 of West Virginia’s 16 first-quarter points. The 5-foot-6 guard sliced apart Baylors defense, darting from the perimeter to the rim with Kyrie Irving-esque handles and touch. Harrison finished with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting before fouling out with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“I was just trying to get downhill, get the high percentage shot, and it was open, so I just kept rolling,” Harrison said. “I feel like it was still kind of there in the second half.”
The Bears combated Harrison’s strong start with a barrage of triples, going 6-of-11 from long range in the first half. While the 3-point shots were dropping, junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Vonleh were active on the glass. Behind the post tandem, the Bears brought down eight offensive boards in the half.
Selfless basketball allowed Baylor to dish out 11 assists on 14 made buckets in the half and take a 36-26 lead into halftime. West Virginia forfeited seven turnovers, and its 26 points were the second fewest they had scored in a first half all season.
Only nine fouls were called in the first half, but it wasn’t for a lack of contact. Both teams banged around in the post and on the perimeter, leading the officiating crew to blow a tighter whistle in the second half. It took just four minutes in the third quarter for the teams to combine for seven fouls.
“We fouled a little too much, but it was a unique game,” Collen said. “There were no fouls in the first half, there was no such thing as a foul. And then the third quarter, we were making up for it. So, it was just like a unique game that way, the players had to figure out in the middle of the game. In the first half, we were mauling each other, and now we cannot touch each other.”
Vonleh took control in the third quarter with 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting. The 6-foot-3 center ate up every low post feed from Littlepage-Buggs, who set a career-high with seven assists and backed down a defender three inches shorter before pushing an easy floater through the net. Vonleh capped off the stellar quarter with a free-throw line hook shot with time expiring on the shot clock to push Baylor’s lead to 58-46.
“It was really successful,” Vonleh said. “We spent a lot of time working on that specific action in practice and shootaround. So, we knew we were both supposed to be ready for her to pass me and find it or for her to take the shot. I love playing with Buggs.”
Baylor senior guard Jada Walker and Mountaineers senior guard Ja’Naiya Quinerly were each fouled while taking deep 3-pointers with less than eight seconds left in the quarter. Walker threw the ball over her head with less than a second on the shot clock when Harrison ran into her; then Walker did the same to Quinerly with less than a second on the game clock. Each guard hit all their free throws, and the Bears rode a 61-49 advantage to the fourth. Walker finished with 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting and 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
The Bears’ lead never dropped below double-digits in the fourth quarter as West Virginia missed all six of their 3-point attempts. Walker drained the shot clock each time down the floor and sealed Baylor’s 75-65 win with four made free throws.
“This is the momentum we need to continue to carry with us,” Fontleroy said. “We have a lot of seniors on this team, a lot of seniors who aspire to go do things beyond just college basketball, but in these moments right now, we all have to do it for each other…. We’re trying to have fun and just enjoy these last few regular season games together.”
Baylor will be back in action against Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10 Big 12) at 2 p.m. Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
