Baylor
Southern Miss
No. 18/17 WBB Opens Battle 4 Atlantis against Southern Miss
11/22/2024 9:55:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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18/17 BAYLOR BEARS (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Nicki Collen (Marquette, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
18/17 BAYLOR (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. SOUTHERN MISS LADY EAGLES (2-2, 0-0 SBC) Nov. 23, 2024 • 12:30 p.m. CT Paradise Island, The Bahamas • Imperial Arena (3,500) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: FloCollege Talent: Evan Stockton (pxp), Lexi Ayala (analyst) LISTEN: Baylor Sports Media Network via FOX Sports Radio 93.9FM in Central Texas and worldwide at centexsportsfan.com. Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Lori Fogleman (analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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SOUTHERN MISS LADY EAGLES (2-2, 0-0 SBC) Location: Hattiesburg, Miss. Conference/Affiliation: Sun Belt Head Coach: Joye Lee-McNelis (Southern Miss, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – With two players sidelined with injuries and another one not expected to arrive until mid-December, at the earliest, the 18th-ranked Baylor women (3-1) will have a shorter rotation for the grind of three games in three days at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
But it's fitting, considering they're playing on an island, that all eight teams are in the same boat.
"I think everyone is in the same situation. They're not playing 12 players," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose Bears will face Southern Miss (2-2) in the tournament's opening game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Imperial Arena on. Paradise Island. "It wasn't that long ago that these guys were playing two games a day in AAU.
"When I played, not to sound like I walked 10 miles to school, but you literally played five games a day in AAU when I was in high school. I think they're down to two games, at least in elite tournaments. They're capable of playing these high-level games. I don't think you can compare a club game to a potential top-25 matchup. But the only games where you see people play 12-14 players are blowouts, one way or another."
Junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (18.8 ppg, 9.8 rebounds), who's averaging right at 32 minutes per game, said there was "no concern" about the Bears playing three games in three days.
"We're soldiers, so we can thug it out," said Littlepage-Buggs, who had nine points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in Baylor's 65-42 win over previously unbeaten Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday. "We just have to come in from the beginning, knowing that we've got to play three games in three days and that we just need to lock in."
Baylor's rotation was helped by the healthy return of junior guard/forward Bella Fontleroy, who has scored in double figures in the last two games after turning her ankle in the first two minutes of a 76-74 loss at Oregon.
"Getting Bella back helped in terms of our rotation and not overplaying anyone," Collen said. "Our defensive intensity has been really, really good. I think we talked about it in the Oregon game, getting back to getting the ball into the low post. We've made a decided effort to get (Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh) touches, to get the ball to the low post. And I think we've had good energy and good effort."
The 6-3 Vonleh has given the Bears the inside presence they've missed the previous two seasons, averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.
"I think Nettie is the missing piece that we needed," said 6-3 junior center Kyla Abraham, who has averaged 3.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while blocking five shots for the year. "If you look at the past two years that I've been here since my freshman year, we haven't had much of a threat in the post. And we've often had people playing out of position in the post."
While the team went on the water slides on Thursday's arrival day, Collen has made it clear that it's a business trip first and foremost.
"The goal is to play in the championship game on Monday. And if you do that, you'll have the afternoon and the evening to ourselves," Collen said. "But you can only take it one game at a time, and you have to earn your way to play in that game. We have to beat really good opponents to do that."
Vonleh and Abraham will have their hands full going against 6-3 center Melyia Grayson, a fifth-year senior who is nearly averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. A former Conference USA Freshman of the Year, Grayson has scored 1,262 career points.
"Grayson does a really good job of establishing position," Collen said. "We have to be really good in our one-on-one defense in the post. And then, they average 18 offensive rebounds per game. So, they kind of shoot and chase it. And their guards really get on the glass, so they play in transition, and we're going to have to be good in our transition offense.
In the other first-round games in the bracketed tournament, Indiana (2-2) faces Columbia (4-1) at 3 p.m., followed by 16th-ranked North Carolina (3-1) versus Ball State (4-0) at 5:30 p.m. and Texas A&M (3-2) playing Villanova (3-1) in the nightcap at 8 p.m. If Baylor wins on Saturday, the Bears would face either Indiana or Columbia at the same time on Sunday, with the championship game on Monday.
"I think we're all excited to just get a change of scenery and keep playing new teams," Vonleh said. "But I think it's a good opportunity for us to compete in a good tournament and also get to explore another beautiful place."
Game notes
• Baylor heads to Nassau for the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island, opening against Southern Miss on Saturday afternoon.
• BU is playing in The Bahamas for the first time since 2017 when they took part in the Junkanoo Jam, defeating Missouri State, and Georgia Tech. The Bears are 8-0 in the Bahamas (Jankanoo Jam- 06, 15, 17; Sunsplash Shootout- 2010)
• The Bears strolled through a two-game homestand unscathed, beating East Texas A&M 104-55 on Thursday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65-42 on Sunday.
• Southern Miss, led by 21-year head coach Joye Lee-McNelis, is off to a 2-2 start in the 2024-25 campaign.
• The Lady Eagles' losses came in their two road contests against Bowling Green, 71-67, and Southeastern, 68-61.
• Melyia Grayson leads the scoring efforts through four games, averaging 16.8 points per game, with a season-best performance of 24 at Bowling Green. Nyla Jean also has a scoring average in double-figures, at 14 points per game.
• Melyia Grayson also leads the team in rebounds, with 37, 9.3 per game, and Je'Mya Evans has 17 offensive boards early in the season.
• Baylor and Southern Miss have split the two games played. BU won in Waco in November of 2015, while Southern Miss took a win in the Lady Demon Classic, a neutral-site November tournament in Natchitoches, La.
• Baylor is 13-0 when playing official, NCAA-sanctioned games outside the United States border.
• First recorded game abroad in Baylor WBB history was a part of the Caribbean Classic, where BU defeated Cal, 75-58, in front of 215 fans in Riviera Maya, Mexico, at the Adventure Spa Palace.
• In The Bahamas, the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis will be the first tournament with the Bears in seven years after the Junkanoo Jam in 2006, 2015 and 2017, and the Sunsplash Shootout in 2010. It will be BU's first appearance in Atlantis' Imperial Ballroom.
• The Bears are 3-0 abroad under Nicki Collen, with wins over Fordham, Arizona State and Houston in the 2021 Cancun Challenge.
• Baylor welcomed back 50 seasons of former Bears for Alumni Weekend against TAMU-CC. The weekend included a meet and greet, tours of the new Foster Pavilion, an open practice, a game and a celebration to cap it all off in the new Bill & Tanya Mearse Practice Gym.
• With over 50 previous members of the Baylor women's basketball program in attendance with their families, BU downed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65-42 on Sunday afternoon.
• Junior Bella Fontleroy had a career-high five blocks in the first game for a Baylor athlete to have 5 or more since Queen Egbo's five-block performance against Oklahoma State on March 11, 2022.
• The Bears held TAMU-CC, a squad that averaged six 3-pointers per game, to one triple on 11 attempts (9.1%). It was Baylor's best defensive performance beyond the arc since Dec. 20, 2023, when BU held Providence to just 7.1% at three.
• Fifth-year senior Sarah Andrews, who has spent all five years in a Baylor uniform, currently ties the No. 9 and No. 10 spot in program history for games played and games started, respectively.
• 136 game played ties her with Alexis Prince (2013-17) and Sune Agbuke (2011-15). The overall record of 162 is held by Suzie Snider Eppers from 1973-77 while the Bears competed in the AIAW. In NCAA competition, the record is at 148 by Nina Davis (2013-17).
• 104 games started ties Andrews with Angela Tisdale (2004-08) and LaNita Luckey (1988-92). National champion Brittney Griner holds the games started record at 148.
• Andrews is also 13 threes away from taking the record for 3-pointers made in a Baylor uniform, currently held by Odyssey Sims at 258.
• The Irving, Texas, native is also in the top-10 list for assists with 490, good enough for sixth.
• Sarah Andrews is 10 assists away from 500 in her career. If she reaches this milestone, she will be just the fifth player to reach 500 in program history.
• Andrews is also 12 3-pointers away from breaking the all-time career record at BU of 258 set by Odyssey Simms (2010-14). 11 would tie the record for the fifth-year senior.
• Madison Bartley is 46 boards away from 500 career rebounds.
