By Matt Nevarez | Reporter
After suffering its first road loss of the season earlier this week, No. 15 Baylor women’s basketball bounced back Wednesday night, holding on for a 76-70 road win over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bears (20-4, 9-2 Big 12) shot 5-for-15 from the field in the first quarter, trailing the Bearcats (8-15, 3-8 Big 12) 15-11 at the end of the frame. The Bears got into a groove going in the second half, though, as redshirt sophomore Taliah Scott led the team on an 11-2 run. Baylor made three 3-pointers in the second quarter to enter halftime up 36-33.
“I thought we started to look like us in the second quarter,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “Moved the ball better, go to open shots, I just think this was a game that I thought they did a good job of getting pieces of the paint, and finding ways to get the ball up on the rim.”
The Bears outbattled the Bearcats 40-37 in the second half, led by Scott and graduate guard Jana Van Gytenbeek, who led the team in scoring and hit five 3-pointers apiece.
Scott scored 26 points and tied for the team lead in assists.
“When she gets going, she’s super hard to guard,” Collen said. “I thought when she got hot from three, that makes her hard to guard, and she’s fearless when it comes to the offensive end of the floor.”
Van Gytenbeek, provided much help for the Bears as well, tying her career high with 19 points. Van Gytenbeek was a part of a second-half surge that helped the Bears get a much-needed win in conference play.
Another player who helped Baylor get the win was senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who was in the paint all night for the Bears. Littlepage-Buggs finished the game with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double.
The Bears will look to keep the momentum going Saturday night, when they’ll host Arizona State (19-5, 6-5 Big 12) at Foster Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m on FS1.
