WOMENS BASKETBALL

Baylor 71, Texas Christian 50

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WACO, Texas - Bella Fontleroy scored 16 of her 21 points in a big second-half comeback for sixth-ranked Baylor, which won 71-50 over No. 23 TCU in a matchup of undefeated Big 12 teams in the Bears’ first game at their new arena.

After trailing at halftime for the first time this season, and down 32-25 when former Bears player Jaden Owens made a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, Baylor (13-0, 2-0 Big 12) finished the quarter with a 20-4 run — then scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter.

Sarah Andrews finished with 16 points — 13 after halftime — for Baylor, while Yaya Felder scored 13. Dre’Una Edwards had 10 rebounds.

Sedona Prince had 20 points and 10 rebounds for TCU (14-1, 1-1) and Madison Conner had 11 points while missing all six of her 3-point attempts. Both came in averaging more than 21 points a game, making the Frogs the only team with two 20-point scorers.

Baylor’s basketball teams started playing games in the new $212 million Foster Pavilion on the bank of the Brazos River this week, even though parts of the arena away from the court and the 7,000 seats are not completed. The 18th-ranked Baylor men opened there with a 98-79 win over Cornell on Tuesday night.

Conner’s basket with 5:30 left in the third quarter still had TCU up 35-22. But Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored an inside basket after a nice bounce pass from Aijha Blackwell before a traveling turnover by Conner. Fontleroy responded with a 3-pointer that put Baylor ahead to stay.

Baylor went scoreless over the final four minutes of the second quarter while missing its last four shots and having three turnovers. The Bears had taken a 22-20 lead on Fontleroy’s 3 with 4:05 left.

TCU got even on a short bank shot by Agnes Emma-Nnopu on the next possession after she had a turnover. Prince added a jumper and Owens a layup with 8 seconds left for a 26-22 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

TCU: The Frogs have lost 36 consecutive games against Baylor since January 1990. The schools, separated by only about 90 miles, have been in the Big 12 together since the 2012-13 season. But this TCU team got off to a record start with new coach Mark Campbell, whose six transfer players include Owens, the graduate guard who started 30 of 32 games for Baylor last season.

Baylor: After so much success at the Ferrell Center, the three-time national champion Bears opened Foster Pavilion with a resounding second half and their 10th win by at least 20 points this season.

January 3, 2024