By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
After a bitter loss to No. 1 TCU in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, No. 4 seed Baylor women’s basketball walked onto the court ready for a deep NCAA Tournament run starting against No. 13 Grand Canyon in what head coach Nicki Collen called a “potentially bracket-busting game.”
Eyes up and catching their breath after a tough first half in which the Bears managed to maintain a 31-28 lead, the green and gold came alive after a halftime speech from Collen that sparked the 73-60 Round of 64 victory.
“Coach Nicki’s speech to us was we started off a little slow on defense, but we knew what our mistakes were and how we can make adjustments,” graduate guard Aliyah Matharu said. “So just coming in and focusing on defense and getting through screens and guarding players with the right coverage.”
Taking Collen’s speech into the second half, senior guard Jada Walker scored all 17 of her points after halftime. When Walker caught fire, GCU never led.
“We went in at halftime, and we always write down what we did and what we need to improve so that going into the third quarter, it showed up,” Walker said. “So really just hoping we can start from the game, doing that, make those adjustments quicker, so we won’t have to be in a hole, or we won’t have to be down.”
Regaining momentum in the third quarter, Walker and Vonleh each scored 11 points to put the Bears on top 53-47. The duo fought against GCU senior guard Trinity San Antonio, who scored 26 points in 26 minutes.
“Very talented player, props to her,” junior forward Bella Fontleroy said about San Antonio. “She’s lanky and gets downhill really quick, so that’s hard to stay in front of. When she gets to her spot, anywhere between elbow to elbow, she’s likely gonna knock it down.”
While Vonleh drew double and triple teams against a “scrappy” Lopes defense, she and her teammates focused on piecing together the necessary elements to finish with a postseason win.
“I think for sure at the beginning of the game, it was just hard to get touches because they were being so aggressive defensively,” Vonleh said. “But I just made it an emphasis to keep posting up hard, knowing like it was going to open eventually, and my teammates eventually figured out how to get it to me successfully.”
Due to their defensive toughness, Grand Canyon was picked to be a potential upset. With the Lopes riding a 30-game win streak, the Bears knew the fight would be bloody.
“I think you tell them, ‘Hey, they’re going to reach, claw, scrap,’” Collen said. “I told them, ‘You’re going to have claw marks on your arms at the end of the day,’ and we do. We have blood all over us. They play so hard, but also slapping. They’re reaching and grabbing. And so you have to get used to that. You have to play through it, and I thought we allowed that to speed us up.”
After scoring a career-high 37 points in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals against Oklahoma State, Vonleh continued her impressive shooting trend with a team-high 25 points.
“Netty is just continuing that streak she’s had,” Fontleroy said. “She has a greatness streak going on right now, and she has that within her at any given time. But she is showing up big for us at the time that matters the most. This is the third and final season of this season, March Madness is here. So very thankful that she showed up and continued to bring good energy and effort.”
Bouncing off the team’s success, Vonleh said that Walker’s drive to win complements her play on the court.
“She’s a very good point guard,” Vonleh said. “She creates for us and also knows how to create for herself. I’m proud of her for how aggressive she was in that quarter and proud of her for finding me when I was open.”
The Bears will face No. 5 seed Ole Miss (21-10) at a to-be-determined time on Sunday at Foster Pavilion.
