Vonleh Dominates as No. 25 Baylor Bests No. 18 West Virginia in Ranked Battle, 75-65

WACO, Texas – No. 25 Baylor women’s basketball (21-5, 11-2) remains tied atop the Big 12 following a 75-65 victory over the No. 18 West Virginia Mountaineers (19-5, 9-4) in a ranked battle on Tuesday night at Foster Pavilion.

In the win, the Bears shot efficiently from the floor (50%, 26-of-52) and 3-point range (50%, 8-of-16) and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 39-to-33. West Virginia shot 37% (23-of-63) overall and 24% (6-of-25) from deep.

Center Aaronette Vonleh (Sr.) dominated with a team-high 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.), the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, had an all-around performance with nine points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

“When you have a bunch of threats all over the floor, people have to make a decision with what they want to do,” Vonleh said post-game. “We were all able to take advantage and eat in different ways. I think that’s what we see on the stat sheet and something we can do every night.”

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365.com

Forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.), the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, had an all-around game with nine points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The Bears were led in the first quarter by forward Bella Fontleroy (Jr.), who drilled multiple 3-pointers on the left wing and helped give Baylor a narrow 19-16 lead. Fontleroy closed the contest with 15 points, six rebounds and shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

West Virginia’s star guard, JJ Quinerly (Sr.), was limited to just two points in the first half on 1-of-7 shooting. In her place, guard Jordan Harrison (Jr.) was a force inside the paint for the Mountaineers, with 12 of her team-high 20 points coming in the first half.

Tuesday’s referee crew allowed for a physical contest between the two teams and called just nine fouls in the first half, with four coming in the final minute of the second quarter. Baylor took advantage of the tight whistle, and its defensive intensity picked up in the second quarter, limiting West Virginia to 10 points; the Bears took a 36-26 lead into the halftime locker room.

Baylor opened the third quarter on a heater, with Vonleh scoring a team-high 13 points in the period. After the early surge, the Mountaineers started to creep back into the contest and cut the lead to seven points before Baylor closed the period on an 8-3 run.

“I’m really proud of our effort,” Fontleroy said. “That boost carried us through the rest of the game, and we were able to stay in front even when they went on runs and had a few buckets in a row.”

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365.com

Baylor has won five straight games and remains tied atop the Big 12 with an 11-2 record in conference play.

Despite five fewer turnovers, the Mountaineers couldn’t take advantage of Baylor’s 16 turnovers and scored just 12 points off the miscues.

The Bears got into the bonus early in the fourth quarter and iced the game, shooting 5-for-7 from the free-throw line in the period. Overall, Baylor was 15-of-21 from the charity stripe. Guards Sarah Andrews (Sr.) and Jada Walker (Sr.) helped the Bears secure the victory, combining for 25 points and nine assists.

“This is momentum we need to continue to carry with us,” Fontleroy said. “We have to learn from everything we did well tonight and everything that we didn’t do as well because there are things we can always improve on. I feel like each time we step on the court, our synergy as a group shows, and it only gets better with each time that we play.”

No. 25 Baylor (21-5, 11-2) will travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10). Tipoff from United Supermarkets Arena is slated for 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 15, and will be streamed on ESPN+.