No. 17 Bears Can’t Secure Big 12 Regular Season Title, Fall 51-48 to No. 10 TCU
WACO, Texas – With the Big 12 regular season title on the line, No. 17 Baylor women’s basketball (25-6, 15-3) fell 51-48 to No. 10 TCU (28-3, 16-2) on Sunday evening at Foster Pavilion.
In the defeat, the Bears scored a season-low 48 points, and the 3-point discrepancy proved fatal for Baylor. The Horned Frogs shot 35% (7-of-20) from beyond the arc and 36% (19-of-53) from the floor, while the Bears tied a season-low with just two made 3-pointers on 12 attempts and shot 28% (18-of-65) overall.
Center Aaronette Vonleh (Sr.) and guard Yaya Felder (Sr.) were the only Bears who scored in double digits with 17 points apiece. Trailing by three points with less than 10 seconds remaining, Felder missed a potential game-tying shot from deep.
“It was a really great opportunity, and we gave it our all, but we fell a little short,” Vonleh said post-game.
Without star forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.), who missed her fourth consecutive game with a non-season-ending knee injury, Baylor was out-rebounded by the Horned Frogs, 46-to-38.
“We’ve managed our injuries really, really well, but in a game where we miss 47 shots, not having the best offensive rebounder in the league impacted us,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “I’m proud of our team for battling.”
TCU center Sedona Prince (Sr.) carried the Horned Frogs early, scoring 10 of TCU’s 12 total points in the first quarter, almost entirely on mid-range jumpers. Prince finished the contest with 16 points and 19 rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting.
The Bears struggled to get things going offensively in the first half and shot 23% (7-of-30) from the floor but were able to tie the game at 19 apiece with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
“I thought their defensive gameplan was really good against us,” Collen said. “They executed it really, really well. Not everyone can do that because not everyone has a 6’7 center.”
With momentum in Baylor’s favor, TCU silenced the crowd with back-to-back 3-pointers from Donovyn Hunter (So.) and Agnes Emma-Nnopu (Sr.). The Horned Frogs closed the first half on an 8-2 run and took a 27-21 lead going into the halftime locker room.
Baylor started the third quarter on a heater, with Vonleh dominating inside the paint; she scored 10 of her 17 points in the period on 5-of-6 shooting. The Bears trailed 38-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Baylor couldn’t buy a bucket to open the fourth quarter, and TCU extended its lead to the largest of the evening, 49-39, with just under two minutes remaining. The Bears got back into the contest following a flurry of Horned Frog turnovers but ultimately came up short.
The Bears were 5-of-22 from the floor in the final period and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Guard Sarah Andrews (Sr.) finished with one point and didn’t make a field goal in the defeat.
“It was real tough, but I don’t think we gave up until the clock hit zero-zero. I think we left everything we had on the court tonight,” Andrews said.
No. 17 Baylor (25-6, 15-3) earned the No. 2 seed and will get a double bye in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship. Tipoff from T-Mobile Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 7, and will be televised on ESPN+. The opponent is yet to be determined.