No. 10 WBB Takes Down No. 5 Texas, 85-79 - Baylor (2024)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

AUSTIN –Jada Walker had Baylor highs with 19 points and four steals in leading the 10^th-ranked Baylor women to their 14^th-straight win over No. 5 Texas in Austin, 85-79, Saturday afternoon at Moody Center.

The Longhorns (13-1) trailed by as many as 13 in the first quarter and never led in the game, but got within three in the fourth quarter before Sarah Andrews and Jada Walker hit four-straight free throws in the last 21 seconds to give Baylor (12-0) the cushion it needed

Playing without Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Rori Harmon, out with an ACL injury, the Longhorns had to rely even more on freshman Madison Booker. And she came through in a big way with 25 points, eight assists and seven boards.

But it was Baylor's depth that carried the Bears, who have not lost in Austin since the 2009-10 season when Texas was still playing at the Frank Erwin Center. Walker paced five players in double figures, followed by Dre'Una Edwards with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Sarah Andrews hit four 3-pointers and chipped in with 16 points, while Bella Fontleroy and Yaya Felder scored 12 apiece for the Bears. Fontleroy fouled out with 5:54 left in the game.

Amina Muhammad added 17 points and five rebounds for UT, but missed five of 10 from the line. Shay Holley and Shayla Gonzales rounded out the Longhorns' double-figure scorers with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bears will play their first game in the new Foster Pavilion when they host 23^rd-ranked TCU (13-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. TCU plays BYU later Saturday in Fort Worth.

GAME NOTES

• The No. 10 Baylor women's basketball team won its 14th-straight game in Austin with an 85-79 victory over No. 5 Texas at the Moody Center on Saturday afternoon.
• The victory marked the Bears' second top-five win of the year after knocking off then-No. 4 Utah on Nov. 14.
• The last time Baylor picked up two top-five wins in the regular season was during the 2012-13 campaign, beating No. 3 UConn and No. 5 Notre Dame on the road.
• The win signified Baylor's second-straight conference-opening win and eighth in the last 10 years.
• The 79 points scored by Longhorns marked their third-lowest scoring output this year and lowest in a Big 12 opener since only scoring 62 at Oklahoma State during the 2021-22 campaign.
• The game was the first Big 12 women's basketball game to air on FOX.
• The Bears moved to 10-6 in nationally televised games withNicki Collenat the helm.
• Baylor has never trailed at halftime this season and the Bears are 57-4 under the direction of Collen when leading at the intermission.
• BU forced Texas to commit 23 turnovers – the most in a game by the Longhorns this season and most in a conference game since turning the ball over 24 times at Oklahoma on Jan. 29, 2022.
• Baylor's nine 3-pointers were the most given up by the Longhorns this year.
• SeniorSarah Andrewswent a game-high 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc. She moved into second all-time in career 3-pointers made with 197.
• Five Bears finished in double figures led byJada Walker's season-high 19 points.Dre'Una Edwardsadded 18 and Andrews recorded 16. Before fouling out,Bella Fontleroyput up 12 points andYaya Felderfinished in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games, contributing 12.
• Edwards led the Bears on the glass, grabbing eight boards, while dishing out a team-high six assists.
• The Bears finished higher from the field (56.7%), behind the 3-point arc (45.0%) and from the charity stripe (66.7%) than the Longhorns, who went a season-low 25% (4-for-16) from deep.