No. 12 Bears Can’t Complete Comeback, Fall to Oregon in Eugene, 76-74

EUGENE, Oregon – No. 12 Baylor (1-1) erased a 16-point second-half deficit but came up short on the road against the Oregon Ducks (3-0), 76-74, on Sunday night at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.

Trailing by two with just over 20 seconds remaining in the contest, the Bears were looking to feed center Aaronette Vonleh (Sr.) inside the post for a potential game-tying layup but were unable to get her the ball and were forced to settle for a deep 3-point shot from guard Sarah Andrews (5Sr.) that clanked off the back rim.

A few seconds later, following a timeout, Oregon was able to dribble out the clock and secure the win on its home court, somewhat controversially after guard Jada Walker (Sr.) appeared to foul the Ducks leading-scorer, Deja Kelly (5Sr.), but no call was made.

“I thought we had Netty open under the basket and underthrew a couple of passes,” head coach Nicki Collen said post-game. “I thought Sarah got a good look that would have given us a one-point lead.”

In the loss, Walker carried the Bears on both sides of the floor, totaling 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting and four steals. Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.) was Baylor’s second-leading scorer with 19 points and notched a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Bears played sloppy and disorganized basketball for much of the night, trailing by as much as 16 late in the third quarter. In the final period, a switch flipped, and Baylor ended the contest on a 24-10 run but ultimately couldn’t steal the victory after a go-ahead bucket from Kelly and a pair of misses from Andrews in the last minute.

“When we were down [16], I really challenged them; it wasn’t a big lead if we believed,” Collen said. “We [came back] because we played downhill, we got the defense moving and we got a few steals.”

Two minutes into the contest, forward Bella Fontleroy (Jr.) left with an apparent ankle injury and did not return. After losing guard Jana Van Gytenbeek (5Sr.) to an injury in the season opener, the Bears were down their two best shooters against the Ducks.

Without much threat beyond the arc, Baylor struggled for much of the night to attack Oregon’s suffocating zone defense, shooting 40% (26-of-64) from the floor and 25% (4-of-16) from deep.

“It’s been a pretty tough go over the last couple of days with Jana and Bella,” Collen said. “Bella rolled an ankle, but we couldn’t get an X-ray machine here. We had no access to an X-ray machine, so we’ll have to wait and evaluate Bella when we get home.”

The Bears opened the game out of sorts, turning the ball over four times and shooting 5-of-14 from the floor in the first quarter.

Fontleroy and Van Gytenbeek’s absence played a major role in the loss, forcing Collen to rely on multiple inexperienced players, namely forward Kayla Nelms (Fr.) and guard Waiata Jennings (Jr.).

Walker and Littlepage-Buggs kept the Bears afloat in the first half, combining for 19 points and eight rebounds. Oregon, however, regained momentum and went on an 11-0 run to end the second quarter, taking a 35-27 lead going into the half-time locker room.

The Ducks extended their lead in the third quarter and went ahead, 62-48, entering the final period. Baylor came marching back in the final quarter, spear-headed by some aggressive defense and timely buckets from Walker, Littlepage-Buggs and guard Yaya Felder (Sr.).

Vonleh tied the game at 72 apiece with a minute and a half remaining on a put-back. Vonleh struggled to make an impact against Oregon’s zone defense for much of the night, finishing with just five points and five rebounds.

The Bears (1-1) will return to Waco and take on East Texas A&M (1-1) on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Foster Pavilion.