Littlepage-Buggs', Vonleh's Double-Doubles Lifts WBB over New Orleans

Friday, November 29

Waco, Texas

2 PM

Baylor

6-2,0-0Big 12

New Orleans

0-7,0-0Southland

New Orleans

Baylor

Littlepage-Buggs', Vonleh's Double-Doubles Lifts WBB over New Orleans

11/29/2024 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Nicki Collen is still waiting for her Baylor women's basketball team to "put 40 good minutes together."

And while that may have fallen short of that in Friday afternoon's game at the Foster Pavilion, the Bears (6-2) did show the kind of offensive balance "we're capable of playing," with five players scoring in double figures in an 84-58 win over the New Orleans Privateers.

Aaronette Vonleh (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (14 points, 12 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles to help Baylor remain unbeaten at 4-0 and pick up its 11^th win at Foster Pavilion.

"I don't know that you're going to see a lot of games where we have two players with 20 (points)," Collen said. "I don't think we have to be that way. I think we're too talented offensively to rely on any one thing. And if they're willing to take one thing away, then we've got to play to the next thing."

Shooting 55.6% from the floor, Baylor also got 14 points off the bench from Yaya Felder and 10 points apiece from Jada Walker and Bella Fontleroy, while Sarah Andrews finished with eight points and a season-high eight assists. She also hit two 3-pointers and is now two triples shy of Odyssey Sims' program record (258).

Collen said she has challenged the 6-3 Vonleh "to be an impact player around the rim," and the Colorado transfer responded with six of her career-high 12 rebounds coming on the offensive end.

"I saw some bounce to her step around the rim, some pursuit of the ball," Collen said. "I thought that was really important."

Baylor wasn't able to shake New Orleans (0-7) in the first quarter, when 6-2 senior center Nora Francois scored 13 of her game-high 26 points to keep the Privateers within striking distance, 20-18, until the Bears closed the period on a 6-0 run.

Stretching the lead out to double digits in the second quarter, Baylor was up 53-37 at the half when Felder hit a 3-pointer to give her 12 points at the break.

"I thought (our defense was) not good in the first half," Collen said. "Sometimes, kids get in a zone. You've got to understand, this kid (Francois) was like 2-for-19 from 3 coming in. But she had always shot it like she thought she was going to make it. When she saw those first couple go in, then she kind of got in her bag. And I thought she hit some tough ones, but it was because we weren't there early making it tougher."

Vonleh had a big third quarter, grabbing six boards and matching New Orleans' 10 points in the period, hitting 5-of-7 from the field. The Bears were up 70-47 going into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 32 before scoring just four points over the last 5 ½ minutes.

Littlepage-Buggs and Fontleroy both chipped in a career-high five assists, with the Bears assisting on 25 of their 35 made buckets.

Baylor continues its five-game homestand, facing Louisiana Tech (4-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Foster Pavilion. The Lady Techsters have dropped two of their last three after a 3-0 start, falling to Southeastern Louisiana, 59-47, last Saturday.

GAME NOTES

Baylor defeated New Orleans, 84-58, on Friday afternoon in the first of five-straight games at home in Foster Pavilion.
The Bears are now even with The Privateers all-time, locked at 3-3.
Baylor has 372 wins by 10 or more points since 2010-11.
BU shot 55.6 from the floor, the fourth time this season at 50%+ and is 272-2 all-time when going 50% or better.
The Bears were 7-of-20 beyond the arc for an even 35%.
New Orlean's 50% from beyond the arc was its best of the season, with two games at 35.7% now tied for second-best from three.
Nicki Collen is 80-30 in her fourth season leading the Bears.
Collen is 24-5 in the month of November.
Collen's Bears stay undefeated when up at the half, now 5-0.
Baylor moves to 4-0 at home this season and picked up its 11^th win at Foster Pavilion.
Aaronette Vonleh had the 10^th 20+ point performance of her career against New Orleans and paired that with 12 rebounds for just her sixth double-double.
12 rebounds is a new career high for Vonleh.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs sunk 14 points and nabbed 12 rebounds for the third double-double of her season.
Littlepage-Buggs also dished out five assists, a new career high.
Yaya Felder also ended in double figures, getting the fifth 10+ point game of her season in 14 points. The senior also led the Bears with five steals, tying her career-best mark.
Bella Fontleroy and Jada Walker each had 10 points on the afternoon. Fontleroy sunk a 3-pointer in her sixth-consecutive game and had a career high assist mark with five.
Sarah Andrews moves ever closer to the program record for 3-pointers, sinking two on Friday afternoon. The Irving, Texas, native is now just three triples away from taking the record from Odyssey Sims.
Andrew's eight assists tied her season-best and trails her career-best of 14 against Long Beach State from December of 2022.
Madison Bartley scored her first points in four games on Monday, going 1-of-2 from the floor with an attempt from three. Bartley had not scored since Baylor faced off against East Texas A&M and was without a shot attempt in her previous two games played.
Bartley's three rebounds on Friday puts her within 41 of 500 in her career that began at Belmont.
Waiata Jennings was also the owner of three points, but with one from three. The junior had two assists and one steal.
Kyla Abraham was 1-of-1 from the floor with one blocked shot.
Freshman Kayla Nelms committed four fouls, the most of her collegiate career thus far, in four minutes and remained scoreless.
Baylor started Jada Walker, Sarah Andrews, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Aaronette Vonleh and Bella Fontleroy for the eighth time this season in as many games.
- Walker is 32-10, Andrews is 77-31, Littlepage-Buggs is 44-17, Fontleroy is 27-12 and Vonleh is 7-2 as starters at Baylor.