No. 4-Seed Baylor's Season Ends in Second Round, Falls 69-63 to No. 5-Seed Ole Miss
WACO, Texas – No. 4-seed Baylor women’s basketball (28-8) narrowly fell to the No. 5-seed Ole Miss Rebels (22-10), 69-63, in a slug-fest NCAA Tournament second-round matchup on Sunday afternoon at Foster Pavilion.
Trailing 63-61 with 30 seconds remaining in the contest, guard Yaya Felder (Sr.) missed an open 3-pointer, and Ole Miss sank the Bears season with a pair of free throws from Kirsten Deans (Sr.). Baylor had one final chance to make things interesting, but forward Bella Fontleroy (Sr.) missed a 3-point jumper, and Deans sealed the Ole Miss victory with two more free throws.
“They made one more play than us tonight, and they made it at the right time,” head coach Nicki Collen said post-game. “If Yaya’s [3-pointer] goes in, maybe we’re celebrating instead of in a really sad locker room. I’m really proud of this team. I’m proud of their resilience.”
In their final games donning the Green and Gold, center Aaronette Vonleh (Sr.) scored a team-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while guard Jada Walker (Sr.) added 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
In the hard-fought, physical matchup, neither team could buy a bucket from beyond the arc, with Baylor shooting 2-of-15 (13%) and Ole Miss shooting 2-of-10 (20%). The Bears drastically lost the turnover battle, 21-to-13, with 10 of Baylor’s turnovers coming in the second half.
Overall, the Bears shot 46% (27-of-59) from the field, while Ole Miss shot 37% (25-of-67). The Rebels were 17-of-21 from the free throw line, and Baylor was 7-of-11. The two teams combined for 35 personal fouls.
“Both teams were fighting to go to the Sweet 16,” guard Sarah Andrews (Sr.) said post-game. “The refs were letting us play, and we had to play through some of the calls that they didn’t call. When adversity hit, they got calls that we didn’t think were fouls, and we got some fouls too. Knowing that it was a game to go the Sweet 16, that’s what it’s about.”
Ole Miss’s size advantage was apparent at the start of the game, with the Rebels collecting six offensive rebounds and scoring four second-chance pants at the first-quarter media timeout. Ole Miss had one player under six feet tall in its starting lineup.
Vonleh led the Bears with six points in the first period, while Walker and Andrews chipped in four apiece. Baylor trailed 20-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bears opened the second period with three straight turnovers and saw their deficit grow to 24-16. Guard Waiata Jennings (Jr.) provided a nice spark off the bench in a five-minute spurt, scoring a contested layup at the rim and collecting a steal.
Baylor settled into the second quarter and closed the period on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a Vonleh bucket and a pair of free throws from Walker. Ole Miss was limited to six points in the quarter and was 3-of-17 from the floor with six turnovers.
The Bears took a 29-26 lead into the halftime locker room despite neither team making a shot from beyond the arc (0-for-13) and combining to shoot 33% (23-for-66) from the floor.
A few minutes into the start of the second half, Walker awkwardly fell after slipping on a wet spot on the floor and was taken to the locker room.
With Baylor’s point guard out of the game, Ole Miss went on a quick run to tie the game at 42 apiece, but the Bears stole the momentum back on an and-one layup from forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Jr.).
In her second game back after missing a month with a knee injury, Littlepage-Buggs scored 10 points and hauled in five rebounds with five of her points in the third period.
The game was tied at 48 apiece going into the final quarter.
Ole Miss opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run, prompting an immediate timeout from Collen. Baylor fought back, and a clutch 3-pointer from Andrews cut the lead to 57-55 with 3:46 remaining in the contest. In her last time wearing a BU uniform, Andrews finished with 14 points and six assists.
Tied at 61 with under a minute remaining, Ole Miss forward Madison Scott (Sr.) nailed an elbow jumper to put the Rebels ahead by a bucket. Scott closed with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
