From Waco to the World: No. 16 Baylor Women Open Season in Paris Showdown with No. 7 Duke

PARIS – Head coach Nicki Collen and the No. 16 Baylor women’s basketball team are set to trade the friendly confines of Foster Pavilion for the global stage, traveling more than 5,000 miles to Paris, France, to open their season against the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils.

Before the two powerhouse programs tip off at 11 a.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 3, at Adidas Arena, the excitement isn’t just about basketball for the players. Collen’s squad is looking forward to the camaraderie and chemistry that will be gained from an overseas adventure.

“I haven’t been to France before, but I’m super excited to go to Paris,” senior forward Bella Fontleroy said. “I was actually just talking to my dad this morning — he played basketball in France for a bit during his overseas career — and I was like, ‘So you didn’t want to take me with you?’ But no, I’m super excited for this first time. I’m looking forward to getting over there, being global citizens, exploring and whatnot, while also being locked in and focused on our first game of the season.”

In addition to her desire to see her Bears upset the seventh-ranked Blue Devils, Collen hopes an experience like this can help the team grow closer as the Bears return six players and welcome six newcomers.

“I’ve actually never been to Paris, so I’m excited to be there and experience it with our team; it’s certainly still a tough matchup, so we’re very focused on what we have to do to be competitive and have a chance to win that game,” she said. “But I do think this group will really enjoy the experience of being there — the opportunity to sightsee, shop and all of those things. It’s going to be an amazing experience, and sometimes that gets lost in the world of NIL and college athletics right now is that these experiences we provide will truly stay with them for a lifetime.”

The veterans on the team, like Fontleroy and star senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who combined to average 21 points and 16 rebounds last year, know early-season challenges like these will ultimately help prepare Baylor for a Big 12 and NCAA Tournament push.

“This is like a February or March matchup to start the season, so that already puts our mindset thinking ahead,” Fontleroy said. “But you have to have the opportunity to grow and learn before you get to those stretches in February and March, when you want to be winning every game and getting ready for postseason and NCAA Tournament play.”

As for what Collen hopes to learn about her team in this ranked matchup, she wants to gauge how tough they are. The No. 7 Blue Devils made it to the Elite 8 last season and brought back most of the key players from their 2024-2025 squad. Duke was also selected as the preseason favorite to win the ACC and is a trendy Final Four pick.

“We need to figure out how tough we are, and we’re going to find out real quick; I promise you, Duke’s coming out, and they’re going to hit first,” Collen said. “They play physical ball pressure and are very defensive-minded. You have a pretty good feel of who rises to the occasion, whether it’s kids who’ve been with you before and you know what they’ll bring, or from going through practice. How do they practice? What are their practice habits? What happens when they go against each other?”

With Fontleroy and Littlepage-Buggs leading the team this year, Collen has confidence in her veteran forwards to carry the team through challenging moments, but is anxious to see how her group responds when they face adversity.

“I think they’re confident,” she said. “It’s about sustaining that when teams make runs against you. Until a team faces adversity, you don’t really know who they are — and we haven’t faced any adversity yet. From that perspective, do we come together when a team goes on an 8–0 Run, or do we start looking at one another as the reason? That’s one of those things you’re teaching in the moment all the time.”

Collen added, “That doesn’t mean I think our team is going to fall apart, but until we face that adversity, it’s really easy for everyone to get along. We have a very established starting lineup at this point, but we don’t yet have an established rotation off the bench — who that is, when and how deep. I think a lot of that will be game by game, and who is our opponent, and how do they keep progressing in practice.”

One of the players that Collen said exudes confidence is redshirt sophomore Auburn transfer guard Taliah Scott. Scott, a 5-foot-9 guard, averaged 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and two assists across three games before missing the remainder of the 2024-2025 season with a wrist injury.

As a freshman at Arkansas, Scott started 19 contests and averaged 22.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on 41% shooting from the floor and 30% shooting from beyond the arc. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week five times and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

“I think we’re going to need some players to rise up; I have zero doubt that Taliah Scott, when she steps on the court, any court, she’s going to think she’s the best player out there,” Collen said. “You can’t teach kids that. She just has that it, where ‘I think I can go score on anybody.’ Does that mean she’ll have the game of her life in Paris? [Who knows], but she won’t be afraid. She won’t be afraid of that stage. She’ll see it as an opportunity to prove to people why she’s here.”

Scott, who was a McDonald’s All-American and the No. 11 prospect in the 2023 class, put her confidence on full display when asked if she’s looking forward to the trip, saying, “I think everybody’s really excited, but we’re not going to Paris to lose, right? That’s never been what we’re going over there to do. We’re just really excited to get on the court, play, and compete.”

As a newcomer, Scott believes traveling overseas and playing against a talented team like No. 7 Duke will give the Bears some much-needed team bonding after the grind of all the practices leading into the season.

“It gives everybody an opportunity to learn each other on and off the court,” she said. “We'll be around each other for the four days, day and night. Being able to interact with each other off the court — like we don't do that already — but also on the court. We have a big game to open up, see where everybody is at, see how we complement each other against a top-10 team, and see how we can perform. I’m just excited to play in the game; I think everybody's excited to just go out and compete.”

Baylor also made an impactful addition to the coaching staff this summer, adding associate head coach Johnnie Harris after four years as the head coach of Auburn. Harris holds over 27 years of coaching experience, which is something that Collen really desired when she brought her onto the Baylor staff in April.

“I don’t want yes people around me. I’m pretty confident in my approach to what I do, and I like other people who are confident and good at what they do,” Collen said. “The more talented our staff is, the better we can be. She’s someone who’s won at an elite level, who’s coached elite post players at a high level,and who’s good in recruiting. That’s going to pay off over time; you can’t come in and do anything instantly. But she’s also an elite human being, and for me, it starts there. You can be as talented as anyone in the country, whether you're a player or a coach. I want good people.”

Collen added, “She’s someone who pours into student-athletes and has done so for 25 years, and she’ll continue to do that. She doesn’t have a massive ego like some coaches who, after becoming head coaches, have a hard time going back to being assistants and just want to make all the decisions. She fits in really well and provides another mother figure for the players.”

As for injuries, redshirt junior SMU transfer guard Ella Brow, redshirt freshman guard Ines Goryanova and redshirt junior forward Kyla Abraham didn’t play in Baylor’s exhibition against West Texas A&M. Collen didn’t provide specifics on Brow or Goryanova but said that Abraham, the 6-foot-3 expected starter at the five, will return.

“Kyla was back full-go at practice yesterday, so she’s back,” Collen said. “We’re a little banged up, probably like everyone else, but we’re okay.”

No. 16 Baylor women’s basketball (0-0) will open the season against No.7 Duke (0-0) in the Oui-Play Paris 2025 event. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 3, at Adidas Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Owen Miller will handle women’s basketball coverage this season for SicEm365, and we’ll open the game thread on Saturday night!