By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Two-straight matchups against undefeated Big 12 foes, two-straight victories.
That’s how No. 6 Baylor women’s basketball has opened conference play, beating No. 23 TCU 71-50 on Wednesday night in their first game in the Foster Pavilion.
The Bears (13-0, 2-0 Big 12) trailed at the half for the first time this season but outscored the Horned Frogs (14-1, 1-1 Big 12) 49-24 in the second half to secure the 21-point victory. Wednesday marked the ninth time this season that Baylor beat an opponent by 20 or more points.
Head coach Nicki Collen and her squad also secured their fourth ranked win of the year, joining No. 12 UConn, No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 UCLA as the only four teams in the country this season with three-or-more AP Top-25 wins.
Collen said TCU graduate student center Sedona Prince, who stands at 6-foot-7, made it difficult for the Bears to penetrate in the first half. The Horned Frogs were running a 2-3 zone with Prince at the base of it for most of the game, and Collen said she had to open the floor up with a four-out attack on offense.
“We usually play short and high posts, and we feel like when we get [the ball] into the high post good things happen,” Collen said. “But in most 2-3 zones when you get in the high post the 5 steps up, and [Prince] doesn’t step up. You have to go to her. And that just is uncomfortable to us.
“And so it was almost like we were in tighter space, so those decisions didn’t unfold as easily. Once we went four-out the decisions were easier. When we would attack we would see [Prince]. We would already be one [or] two dribbles, and we would see the drop-off pass, we would see the drift pass. And so that just changed everything.”
Baylor went from shooting 28% from the field in the first half to 50% in the second after Collen’s offensive adjustment. The Bears also saw sophomore guard Bella Fontleroy and senior guard Sarah Andrews combine for 29 second-half points on 7-of-8 shooting from 3-point land.
Fontleroy finished with a career-high 21 points on a career-best five made shots from deep.
“It’s really easy to play with a team that sees the court well and knows how to read each other and where we’re going to be,” Fontleroy said. “I was in my spot and tonight they fell.”
Andrews and junior guard Yaya Felder were the only other Bears in double figures, as they finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively. As a team, Baylor shot 52% from beyond the arc, which was just shy of the team’s 53% mark set against McNeese on Nov. 24, 2023.
Neither team could lift the lid off the basket in the first quarter, but Baylor was able to cling to a three-point lead thanks to a buzzer-beating layup by graduate student forward Aijha Blackwell. TCU outscored the Bears 18-11 in the second quarter to take a 26-22 lead into the halftime break.
https://twitter.com/BaylorWBB/status/1742718335492423876?s=20
Baylor proceeded to score more points in the third quarter (23) than it did in the entire first half — outscoring TCU by 13 points in the process — to hold a nine-point lead going into the fourth. The Bears went 5 of 8 from deep in the fourth quarter to steer them toward the 21-point victory on their opening night of the Foster Pavilion.
With the win, Baylor matched its best start to a season (13-0) since the 2015-16 campaign. It also marked the 37th-straight win over TCU, dating back to the 1989-90 season.
On top of that, the Bears won in front of 5,905 people in their first-ever game in the Foster Pavilion, just 24 hours after the men won their inaugural game. Andrews said the new-look crowd made a big impact on Wednesday.
“[The crowd] brought a different type of energy that I’ve never experienced since I’ve been at Baylor,” Andrews, who’s the longest-tenured Bear on the roster, said. “I think we need that at every home game because it’s going to be a fun season.”
#TCU guard Jaden Owens after the game:
"I graduated from here so it always holds a special place in my heart. … I love those girls to death. Those are still my girls. Regardless after a win or after a loss — I'm going to still show them love. Those are my sisters." https://t.co/xF5FzqkrTU
— Michael Haag (@MichaelHaag_) January 4, 2024
Collen added that the Foster Pavilion crowd can continue to make a difference by showing up and supporting the Bears on a nightly basis.
“I had tears in my eyes walking out of the tunnel,” Collen said. “And a lot of it is because it’s what these players deserve. It’s never going to be about me at Baylor. It’s always going to be about the five on the court and however many we have on the sideline with us, and their heart has to beat together. And when the fans get behind them and give them that edge, it’s just this special combination.”
Baylor will stay put and play host to Houston for a 2 p.m. bout on Saturday in the Foster Pavilion. Live coverage of the contest can be viewed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
