No. 25 WBB Can't Overcome No. 1 UCLA

Monday, January 20

Newark, N.J.

2 PM

Baylor

16-4,6-1Big 12

UCLA

18-0,6-0Big Ten

UCLA

Baylor

No. 25 WBB Can't Overcome No. 1 UCLA

1/20/2025 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

NEWARK, N.J. – After falling behind by 15 in the first five minutes, the 25^th-ranked Baylor women matched top-ranked UCLA point for point the rest of the way and fell to the Bruins, 72-57, Monday afternoon in the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic at the Prudential Center.

UCLA's 6-7 center, Lauren Betts, nearly had a triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks to help the Bruins remain undefeated at 18-0. The Bears had their five-game winning streak snapped, falling to 16-4.

The Bruins went on a 15-0 run to go up 17-2 on a jumper by Janiah Barker with 5:14 left in the opening quarter. But Baylor answered with seven unanswered points, including a 3-pointer by freshman Kayla Nelms, and closed to within 17-9 on a Sarah Andrews jumper.

Trailing by 10 after the first period, the Bears got within five, 23-18, on a 3-pointer by Yaya Felder, who was Baylor's only double-digit scorer with 10 points.

With the deficit being in single digits at halftime, 37-29, the Bears got back within five again on back-to-back buckets by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Jada Walker that made it 41-36 four minutes into the second half.

But that was as close as Baylor would get, with UCLA outscoring the Bears, 35-28, in the second half and pushing the lead out to as many as 18.

Gabriela Jaquez added a double-double for the Bruins with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Kiki Rice and Barker had 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Littlepage-Buggs had a strong second half and finished two points shy of a double-double with eight points, 10 boards and two blocks. Nelms, Bella Fontleroy and Sarah Andrews also added eight points apiece for the Bears, who shot a season-low 27.5% overall and 6-of-22 from outside the arc.

Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh, who had a couple of double-digit scoring games against UCLA at her time in the Pac-12, got in early foul trouble and finished with just two points and three rebounds with four turnovers before fouling out.

Baylor forced 18 turnovers by the Bruins and outscored them in points off turnovers, 26-13. But UCLA finished with a 48-41 edge on the boards and outscored the Bears, 42-20, on points in the paint.

Returning to league play, Baylor will face ninth-ranked TCU (19-1, 7-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Fort Worth, the Bears' third matchup against a ranked opponent in their last four games. The Horned Frogs have reeled off 10-straight wins since an 85-52 loss to South Carolina on Dec. 8 and travel to Oklahoma State on Wednesday.