No. 13 Baylor Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 2 Texas Longhorns 89-54

FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 13 Baylor women’s basketball (10-2) lost in blowout fashion to No. 2 Texas (12-0) by a score of 89-54, with Baylor star guard Taliah Scott leaving the game with an injury.

Sophomore wing Yuting Deng scored nine points for the Bears on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Scott scored nine points before her injury. She shot 2-of-8 from the field.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored six points and totaled 14 rebounds in the defeat. However, she failed to score after the first quarter.

Texas’ athleticism and ball pressure gave the Bears fits throughout the game, leading to 30 Baylor turnovers. Jana Van Gytenbeek lost the ball seven times, and Marcayla Johnson and Littlepage-Buggs added six in a sloppy performance for the Bears. Baylor never appeared comfortable offensively outside of a few two-minute stretches.

After a quick Texas basket off the tip-off, the Bears started the game scoring at will. Scott started her day with a mid-range pull-up, Littlepage-Buggs converted on a mid-range fadeaway and Kiersten Johnson banked in a 3-pointer. An empty-side ball screen led to a Littlepage-Buggs layup and a Baylor 9-4 lead, with the first four field goal attempts falling for the Bears. It was an extremely fast-paced game early, as both teams were happy to run.

Texas responded with a small 4-0 run before a second-chance finish from Littlepage-Buggs moved the lead to 11-8. However, after that hot start, Texas ramped up the ball pressure and took control of the game. After the hot start from the field, Baylor failed to convert on a shot attempt in the final 7:01 of the first quarter and amassed eight turnovers.

Texas point guard Rori Harmon gave the Baylor backcourt fits and was in control of the Longhorns’ offense on their way to 29 first-quarter points, the most Baylor has allowed in a quarter this season. Texas scored nine points off turnovers and 20 points in the paint, as its baskets simply came easy. On the other hand, Baylor was limited to 13 points and only scored six points in the paint.

Littlepage-Buggs had a strong quarter with six points and six rebounds, on 3-of-5 shooting. However, Baylor star guard and leading scorer Scott shot 1-of-5 from the field and turned the ball over three times. Baylor ended the quarter shooting 5-of-14, while allowing the Longhorns to shoot 11-of-21.

The second quarter started similarly to how the first quarter ended. Texas drew another offensive foul, Texas star Madison Booker found an open jumper and the Baylor backcourt turned the ball over again. 

Marcayla Johnson sparked some life for the Bears, starting a 5-0 Baylor run by knocking down a mid-range jumper and forcing a jump-ball. While Johnson’s efficiency is a work in progress, her motor cannot be questioned. Scott converted a wing triple and knocked down two free throws, a much-needed sight as the Bears' star has to score in order for Baylor to compete with top teams.

The Baylor zone stalled the Texas offense, holding the Longhorns to just five points before the media timeout. Texas was 2-of-5 from the field and had turned the ball over four times at that point in the quarter. Texas entered the second-quarter break with a 34-20 lead.

The Bears went into the media timeout with worry. Scott went down in tears after planting on Texas’ Jordan Lee’s foot, turning her right ankle. She did not return to the game.

Texas took further control after the media timeout, ballooning the lead to 21 with an 11-4 run. A Deng 3-pointer cut the lead to 18 entering halftime, down 45-28.

Scott and Deng led the Bears in the second quarter, each scoring five points. Johnson added four more as Baylor amassed 14 points in the quarter. It was a better quarter for the Bears defensively as well, as the zone held the Longhorns to 16 points, as they turned Texas over six times.

Scott also led Baylor in scoring in the first half, scoring nine points. However, her four turnovers and a team total of 15 first-half turnovers were a key reason Baylor only scored 0.659 points per possession. Turnovers have been a huge issue for head coach Nicki Collen’s group all season, and when pitted against Texas, which is ninth in defensive turnover percentage, the issue was further highlighted. Forward Bella Fontleroy was notably held scoreless in the first half.

On the other end, Texas overwhelmed Baylor inside, scoring 26 points in the paint and shooting 16-of-29 from inside the arc. Interior defense has been a strength of Baylor all year, ranking fourth in 2-point percentage allowed and third in block percentage, but the Bears failed to put up a challenge to Booker and company inside. Texas held a 20-0 fastbreak point advantage at half.z

The Baylor offense started the third quarter with comfort. A long possession led to a Johnson drive-and-kick to a Van Gytenbeek corner triple, Fontleroy knocked down a pull-up jumper off a ball screen and Kiersten Johnson was set up for an open layup by Van Gytenbeek. However, Johnson was unable to convert, which spiraled into another Texas run, as the Longhorns used multiple second-chance opportunities and numerous Baylor turnovers to rack off eight straight points.

The third-quarter media timeout came with the Bears down 58-34. Baylor had multiple careless turnovers, totaling five in the first part of the quarter. At the third quarter’s halfway point, Texas had attempted 13 shots, in comparison to Baylor’s four attempts. While Baylor converted on three of those attempts, the disparity in attempts due to Texas’ offensive rebounds and forced turnovers led to a 13-7 start to the quarter for the Longhorns.

Texas came out of the timeout with another triple, Lee’s second of the quarter, with Fontleroy losing her defensive focus on both makes. The Longhorns played through their star Booker, and it led to her scoring eight points and dishing out three assists in a 25-point quarter for the Texas offense. Booker ended the game with 27 points.

The Scott-less Baylor had its lowest-scoring quarter, only scoring 12 points. Van Gytenbeek led the Bears with five points, and Fontleroy added four in the quarter. Both veterans shot 2-of-3 from the field.

The key difference between the first half and the third quarter was Texas’ ability to get on the offensive glass. The Longhorns snagged seven offensive rebounds and used those chances to score 11 second-chance points. In comparison, Texas totaled just four offensive rebounds in the first half and only scored four second-chance points.

Turnovers continued to be an issue for Baylor in the fourth quarter. The Bears turned the ball over seven times before the fourth-quarter media timeout, and nine times in the quarter.

The trend of Texas attempting more field goals continued, ending the quarter with 16 shot attempts while holding Baylor to 10. A consolation 3-pointer from Marcayla Johnson was the last basket in the game, with Baylor losing 89-54. Johnson finished the game with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.

The talent differential was very clear throughout the game. When Scott is not leading the Bears with her usual 20-plus points, Baylor is unable to compete with top teams. The offensive struggles were unsurprising, as the Bears failed to operate a successful offense against the other two ranked teams they played, Duke and Iowa.

However, allowing 89 points came as a shock. Baylor’s field-goal defense entered the game ranking second nationally, allowing just 0.688 points per shot on the year. Texas totaled 1.041 points per attempt on the day. However, the big question as this week progresses is Scott’s health. Baylor is an adjusted 7.2 points worse per 100 possessions with Scott off the floor this season.

The Bears’ (10-2) next game is against the Southern Jaguars at 7 p.m. CT, Thursday, Dec. 18, at the Foster Pavilion. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.