By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
No. 15 Baylor had clear eyes, full stomachs and a comfortable home court all Sunday afternoon, cruising past Grambling State 76-35 in its return from Thanksgiving break for game two of a five-game home stand.
Powered by senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs’ 16-point double-double and the starting five’s 5-for-9 mark from behind the arc, Baylor (7-1) looked as comfortable as ever to open the game, as the Tigers’ discomfort would never settle.
“It’s been a hard November for us, game-wise, travel-wise and juggling everything with school, so these wins at home mean a lot,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “The energy, the comfortability, just being home, you don’t want to be anywhere else.”
That sense of comfort showed in her performance, one that head coach Nicki Collen says is part of who she is and the standard she sets every day.
“This is who Buggs is; it’s not something I ever have to challenge,” Collen said. “Why is she a good rebounder? Because she pursues the ball off the rim every time. I was trying to explain her mentality and why she’s such an elite rebounder, and it’s not because she’s the biggest or the strongest or jumps the highest. It’s because she wants it.”
Leading Grambling State (1-7) across the board, the Bears took the opening half by storm, shooting 61% from the field and pulling down 26 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Baylor kept the Tigers out of the paint, off the free-throw line and away from the arc, holding them to just five made field goals to close the half with a 27-point lead.
“I thought we figured some things out as the game went along,” Collen said. “Whether we made or missed the shot, that’s one thing, but I thought we got a lot of really good shots and was happy to have a positive assist-to-turnover [ratio] today.”
The second half quickly became a mirror image of the first, as buckets continued to fall and Baylor’s frontcourt controlled the glass. Collen leaned on her bench for most of the final 20 minutes, as every Bear who touched the floor finished with four or more points.
True freshman Marcayla Johnson made up the largest share of those bench minutes with 20, and she said this team’s depth is already showing its value.
“With this group, we have a lot of great talent and big pieces who can do a lot of different things,” Johnson said. “Being able to share that talent with each other, as we get deeper into the season, is going to make us really good.”
Despite 13 turnovers, the Bears’ 47 boards — led by Big 12-leading rebounder Littlepage-Buggs — and 21 assists on 29 made field goals gave the team plenty of margin. Baylor rolled into its seventh win of the season to remain undefeated at home.
Baylor returns to Foster Pavilion on Wednesday to take on Southeastern Louisiana. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
