Littlepage-Buggs’ Flawless Shooting Night Fuels a 79-64 Win for No. 16 Baylor over Kansas

WACO, Texas – No. 16 Baylor women’s basketball (15-3, 4-1) rolled past the Kansas Jayhawks (11-6, 1-4) by a score of 79-64, in an impressive showing in which the Bears extended their conference-game win streak to four.

Senior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs continued her recent tear, posting her third straight double-double in the win. She scored 16 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out six assists.

Taliah Scott used an 18-point second quarter to score a game-high 24 points. She shot 8-of-22 from the field and just 2-of-13 from 3-point range, but was a huge reason Baylor jumped out to a first-half lead.

Baylor’s 16-8 offensive rebound margin and 20-12 turnover margin led the Bears to victory. Baylor has struggled with ball security throughout this season, but it did a stellar job of avoiding sloppy passes tonight. The Bears only had five live-ball turnovers while forcing 10. Furthermore, Baylor held a 19-6 second-chance point advantage over the visiting Jayhawks.

Kansas star point guard S’Mya Nichols opened the game’s scoring with a mid-range jumper, and then assisted Kansas forward Lilly Meister to give the Jayhawks a 4-0 lead. The Baylor offense started slow, taking inspiration from the Bears’ last game, missing their first seven field goal attempts.

Following a Kiersten Johnson block, Jana Van Gytenbeek pushed the ball in transition and found Littlepage-Buggs for a finish from the right block. On the next possession, Littlepage-Buggs slipped for an easy layup on a pass from Bella Fontleroy to knot the game at four.

Kansas sniper Elle Evans quickly responded to the four-point with a 3-pointer in the early halfcourt, with Nichols finding her early in the possession. Evans entered the game shooting 51.4% from 3-point range with 37 made 3-pointers.

After both teams came up empty on their next two possessions, Littlepage-Buggs continued her hot first quarter, knocking down a mid-range jumper from the left corner.

On the Bears’ next trip down the floor, Johnson gathered a Scott miss and quickly went back up for two points. Fontleroy capped a Baylor 7-0 run entering the media timeout by converting on a step-back 3-pointer from the left wing.

Nichols stopped the Baylor run by getting to the line and converting on a free throw, but the Baylor offense was in a groove. Scott got on the board with a mid-range jumper, and Van Gytenbeek ripped Brittany Harshaw and found Kyla Abraham running the floor for a transition layup, putting the Bears up 15-8. Abraham notably finished the game with three blocks.

A free throw from Kansas forward Jaliya Davis cut the lead to six before Littlepage-Buggs added to her strong quarter with another finish down low. She has been Baylor’s go-to scorer in many first quarters this season.

Littlepage-Buggs led the Bears with eight points and four rebounds in the opening 10 minutes to give Baylor a 17-9 lead. She made all four of her attempts from the field.

After missing its first seven attempts, Baylor knocked down 8-of-14 attempts. The Bears brought down five offensive rebounds while holding their turnovers to three. Baylor also racked up six first-quarter stocks (steals and blocks) and forced seven turnovers, leading to 10 points off of Kansas turnovers.

The first part of the second quarter was led by both teams’ leading scorers. Scott unleashed a flurry of mid-range jumpers, punishing the Kansas drop coverage, while Davis gave Baylor issues inside. Both stars scored six points on three consecutive offensive possessions.

A technical foul on Davis, following her third made field goal of the quarter, gave Scott two more points at the foul line. After Nichols responded with a layup, Scott added another basket in the mid-range, giving the Bears a 27-17 lead.

After trailing by eight or more points throughout the quarter, the visiting Jayhawks found some momentum and switched to a zone. Meister drew a foul and made both free throws, and Kansas guard Keeley Parks stole the ball from Van Gytenbeek on the following possession, converting an easy layup.

Zone defense has troubled Baylor this season, but good ball movement allowed for Yuting Deng to attack a closeout, get to the line, and convert both free throws.

On the ensuing possession, the sophomore wing drove before rising as if she was shooting a mid-range jumper, before bulleting a pass to Littlepage-Buggs for an easy finish and a 31-21 lead.

Facing a double-digit deficit, Nichols attacked downhill, looking for a right-hand layup. However, Scott was able to get a piece of the attempt before receiving the ball in the early halfcourt and drawing a foul. Scott found a point on both free-throw attempts.

Kansas’ zone led to expected rebounding issues. Scott missed a wing triple, but the rebound fell to Johnson without any contact from Kansas players. Johnson put the ball right back up for an easy two points

Down 35-21, Nichols was able to drive and collapse Baylor’s defense. She found an open Libby Fandel for a corner triple. Fandel became the passer on the next Kansas basket, finding Nadira Eltayeb for a drop-step finish. 

Kayla Nelms got in the scoring column with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer with 2:04 left in the second quarter, the first Baylor 3-pointer since Fontleroy’s triple early in the first quarter.

Nelms’ 3-pointer sparked the Baylor 3-point offense. After four consecutive points from Nichols cut the lead to 38-30, Scott found her distance from deep twice, entering the half.

Scott, despite the productive quarter, started the game 0-for-8 from deep. However, it is always just a matter of time before the Baylor star gets going. The second of her triples was from well beyond the 3-point arc, producing a big reaction from the bench.

Scott’s 18-point second quarter led Baylor to a 44-30 advantage at halftime. She made all four of her attempts from inside the arc and made 2-of-7 shots from deep. She entered the half with 20 points.

Littlepage-Buggs had a strong half as well, entering the break with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds and three assists.

Baylor made all six of its second-quarter 2-point attempts on its way to a 27-point quarter. Baylor ended the half with a 9-4 offensive rebound advantage and a 9-6 turnover advantage. The Bears attempted 11 more shots and made 44.7% of them, while the Jayhawks made just 40.7%.

Kansas’ Davis was determined to close the 14-point Baylor margin. The forward scored four straight points inside, drawing a foul on the second make. However, she was unable to cut the lead to single digits, missing the extra point.

After a scoreless first half, Van Gytenbeek was able to get on the board. The sixth-year point guard was able to get to the line and knocked down the second free throw. Seeing the ball go in the basket seemed to give her confidence, as Van Gytenbeek came off a ball screen from Nelms and knocked down a free-throw line jumper on the subsequent Baylor possession.

Davis found another two points before the media timeout, and the quarter came to a pause with Baylor leading 47-36, a low-scoring third quarter.

Similar to the second quarter, Baylor’s 3-point offense found life. Fontleroy splashed an open wing 3-pointer in a scramble situation after a Nelms offensive rebound and Littlepage-Buggs assist, and Littlepage-Buggs found Van Gytenbeek on a drive-and-kick 3-pointer on the next trip down the floor, forcing a Kansas timeout and cueing a “kill chant” from the Baylor band.

Nichols responded by rejecting a ball screen, discarding Marcayla Johnson and converting on a short mid-range jumper, but there was no stopping the Baylor momentum. Deng found the bottom of the net on two free throws, Littlepage-Buggs knocked down a crafty turnaround fadeaway jumper and Nelms finished through contact for three points the old-fashioned way off a feed from Van Gytenbeek.

A layup from Davis and a 3-pointer from Parks gave Kansas five points in response, but Johnson came off a dribble handoff from Littlepage-Buggs and knocked down a free-throw line jumper to end the third quarter with a 19-point Baylor lead.

Van Gytenbeek led the Bears with six third-quarter points, and Nelms contributed three points and four rebounds. Van Gytenbeek ended the game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals.

While Baylor only shot 6-of-16 from the field, the Bears forced seven turnovers and only allowed two offensive rebounds, allowing them to win the quarter 18-13 and extend their lead to 62-43.

Good ball movement led to a Deng corner triple to open the fourth quarter, but Kansas’ Meister responded with a 3-pointer of her own. Kansas guard Sania Copeland added another three points, and Evans knocked down a quick corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to 65-52, leading to a timeout from Baylor head coach Nicki Collen. 

After Baylor and Kansas exchanged empty possessions, Scott found Littlepage-Buggs rolling to the basket for an easy layup. Fontleroy was able to drive to the rim and add another layup, pushing the Baylor lead back to 17 with a score of 69-52. The senior wing forward ended the game with eight points, five rebounds and three steals.

An 8-2 Kansas run added some late-game intrigue, but the Jayhawks were unable to convert on multiple 3-point attempts to truly threaten Baylor. Free throws from Van Gytenbeek, Scott and Littlepage-Buggs, in addition to a layup from Scott, put the seal on a 79-64 Baylor win.

Baylor’s ability to win this game comfortably despite shooting worse from both the field and the 3-point arc was impressive. While the Jayhawks do not play a turnover-forcing defense, nor are they a great rebounding team, Baylor’s ability to dominate the turnover margin and the glass is a huge sign moving forward. The Bears must be able to beat quality opponents when the other team hits a higher percentage of shots, and that is what they did this afternoon in the victory. 

The Bears’ (15-3) next game is against the Utah Utes at 8 p.m. CT, Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.