Vonleh Dominates as Short-Handed No. 17 Bears Earn Wire-to-Wire Win over No. 14 KSU, 79-62

MANHATTAN, Kan. – No. 17 Baylor women’s basketball (25-5, 15-2) earned a hard-fought, wire-to-wire 79-62 victory over No. 14 Kansas State (25-5, 13-4) and handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season at Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.

Center Aaronette Vonleh (Sr.) had her best game as a Bear and earned her third double-double of the year, scoring a season-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, tying a season-high in rebounds (12) and blocking three shots.

Guards Yaya Felder (Sr.) and Aliyah Matharu (Sr.) both added 15 points apiece and combined to shoot 6-of-15 from beyond the arc. Guard Jada Walker (Sr.) scored eight points, collected two steals and dished out a team-high 11 assists.

Baylor shot 43% (29-of-67) from the floor and 39% (11-of-28) from deep while scoring 16 points off 18 Kansas State turnovers. The Wildcats shot 42% (24-of-57) from the field but were only 2-of-15 from 3-point range.

Vonleh took advantage of the absence of Kansas State’s All-American center, Ayoka Lee (Sr.), who missed the game with a foot injury, and scored 10 straight points for the Bears to open the contest, giving Baylor a 16-10 lead at the end of the first period.

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With conference title aspirations on the line, No. 17 Baylor will return home to close the regular season against No. 10 TCU.

As the Wildcats opted to start double-teaming Vonleh in the post, the Bears began to make Kansas State pay from 3-point range and drilled 4-of-8 shots beyond the arc in the second quarter.

Matharu, who’s recently struggled with her shooting touch, provided a nice spark for Baylor off the bench and scored seven of her 15 points in the period.

After a relatively foul-free first quarter, the Bears were whistled for seven personal fouls in the second period. Kansas State took advantage of the foul discrepancy, shooting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter, but trailed 36-26 going into the halftime locker room.

Already down star forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.) for the third consecutive game with a non-season-ending knee injury, the Bears took another blow when forward Bella Fontleroy (Jr.) left the contest just minutes into the third quarter after a collision with Kansas State’s star guard and potential Big 12 Player of the Year, Serena Sundell (Sr.).

Sundell, who averages over 13 points and seven assists per game, led KSU with 20 points on Monday evening but was limited to three assists and turned the ball over seven times.

When Fontleroy exited, Kansas State looked poised to make a comeback. The Wildcats closed Baylor’s lead to as close as four points, 41-37, before Vonleh took over, scoring eight points down the stretch of the third period.

Kansas State made one final push in the fourth quarter, but Felder and Matharu hit back-to-back big buckets to keep the game out of reach for the Wildcats. Felder, who started in place of Littlepage-Buggs, had an all-around performance with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Guard Sarah Andrews (Sr.) nailed the dagger 3-pointer with four minutes left in the final period to extend Baylor’s lead to 17 points. Andrews finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

With conference title aspirations on the line, No. 17 Baylor (25-5, 15-2) will return home to close the regular season against rival No. 10 TCU (26-3, 14-2). Tipoff from Foster Pavilion is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 2, and will be televised on FS1.