Freshmen Trio shine; Baylor dominates HCU 79-35

WACO, Texas -- Kendra Gillespie was able to turn her first career start into a memorable performance on Sunday. The sophomore forward was a complete mismatch on both sides of the court, as she finished with a career high 10 points in No. 21 Baylor’s 79-35 victory over Houston Christian in the Ferrell Center. 

HCU (3-4) finally began to show some signs of light late in the first quarter, but Baylor (6-2) had already exerted their dominance holding a 13-0 lead. The Bears would close out the first quarter up 18-10 behind 6 points from Gillespie and five points from Caitlin Bickle. 

Gillespie would showcase her ability as a facilitator late in the fourth quarter, as she dished the rock to Kyla Abraham for a contested bucket in the paint. The connection led to every active player on Baylor’s roster scoring in the blowout.

Abraham took full advantage of her time on the court, as she finished the night with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in just eight minutes of play. She wouldn’t be the only freshman for Baylor to finish with a big night, as Bella Fontlery and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs played lights out.

On a night where she became the only Bear to start in all eight games this season, Littlepage-Buggs finished the night with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks, and 1 assist. Fontleroy added another double-double, behind a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bears were short handed on Sunday, as Sarah Andrews missed the game after reactivating her ankle in practice and Catarina Ferreira was unavailable as well. HCU was also playing behind the eight ball from a roster standpoint, as their leading scorer Julija Vujakovic missed the game with an illness.

Despite not having everyone available, Baylor had arguably their best defensive performance of the season. The Bear’s were suffocating in the half court forcing 25 turnovers that resulted in 27 points. Baylor also answered the bell on the rebounding front, as the outrebounded HCU 44-29.

Jaden Owens was able to keep her hot hand from the Gulf Coast Showcase rolling, as she finished the night with 14 points while shooting 50% from inside the arc. Bickle would finish the night with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Baylor would round out their scoring production on the night with 9 points from Ja’Mee Asberry, while Erika Porter and Jana Van Gytenbeek chipped in 3 points each. 

So what was the secret sauce to Baylor’s dominant performance, here is what head coach Nicki Collen had to say.

“We did not focus on Houston Christian this week. We didn’t. We focused on Baylor.”

The Bears are now 103-4 in-state opponents since 2011 and will have an opportunity to extend that record to 104 as they host UT-Arlington on Tuesday night in the Ferrell Center starting at 7:00 p.m.