Baylor handles Vanderbilt 80-63 to advance to Round of 32

Nathan Andrews

Staff Writer

March 23, 2024

BLACKSBURG – Cassell Coliseum entertained a double-header to continue March Madness on Friday afternoon, as Baylor defeated Vanderbilt 80-63 in the Round of 64 following Virginia Tech’s 92-49 win over Marshall to start the day.

Cassell had cleared out just in time for the Bears (25-7) and Commodores (23-10) to warm up, as the Hokies exited the floor just prior.

March Madness calls for tenacity, and that’s exactly what it brought on Friday. Baylor and Vanderbilt were two feisty teams coming off losses from their respective conference tournaments.

“It’s tournament time,” Baylor guard Bella Fontleroy said postgame. “You want to advance, and you know you have to show up in every way you can for your teammates, whether it’s rebounding, making shots, defending the best player; everybody tonight had a job and every person on our team did their job.”

The game quickly started with Vanderbilt scoring a bucket, but Baylor guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs quickly drew an and-one opportunity that set the tone for the first quarter. Baylor didn’t waste a second of their 2oth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, jumping out to a 24-12 lead by the end of the first.

“Gamer runs for sure today,” Baylor head coach Nicki Collen said. “[I] felt really good about the way we started. I think making shots early, playing downhill, kind of, following the game plan. I thought our defense was really good, in particular, in the first half when we didn’t foul. I thought we did a really good job.” 

However, that didn’t deter the Commodores, who gritted out a First Four win against Columbia and went 5-2 to end their season before the tournament. The second quarter was their best performance of the game, outscoring the Bears 22-17. 

Vanderbilts’ second quarter success was backed by junior guard Iyana Moore. Coming off a 22-point game performance against Columbia, she led the team in scoring with 15 points on the day. Jordyn Cambridge (14) and Khamil Pierre (11) notched double-digits against Baylor. 

With Vanderbilt storming back during the second quarter, it cut the lead to seven before the break, 41-34. Turnovers were a big problem for the Commodores in the first quarter, so cleaning that up in the second provided them with plenty of momentum going into the third quarter. 

That momentum dropped completely thanks to the success of Fontleroy. A key to the success of Baylor’s 3-point prowess this season, the sophomore compiled 19 points and 11 boards in an impressive double-double performance. 

“We have been getting up a lot of shots lately, so I have been very confident in my shot,” Fontleroy said. “I have coaches that believe in me, and they told me to shoot it whenever I’m open, so that definitely worked well for me from the three-point line and the free-throw line.”

Baylor’s 3-point attack has continued to be a big part of its success, with the Bears going 9-of-21 from deep against Vanderbilt. Fontleroy accounted for nearly half of those threes, going 4-of-7 from deep. 

Baylor had three other players who scored in the double digits against Friday; Littlepage-Buggs (11), Sarah Andrews (13) and Jana Van Gytenbeek (10). 

“We’ve been in the gym,” Baylor guard Jada Walker said. “We’ve been shooting, we’ve [been] getting shots up. We’ve been preparing for every game that we’re going to play.”

The third quarter set the tone for the rest of the contest. Baylor put to rest any hopes that Vanderbilt had of coming back, outscoring the Commodores 28-15 in the frame.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Bears had built a 20-point lead and left the Commodores in the dust.

Baylor’s success in the March Madness tournament was established with former head coach Kim Mulkey, who won three national titles with the Bears during her tenure. The program makes the tournament seemingly every year and will try to make it past the Round of 32, which has been their pain for the past two seasons. 

“I don’t care if you’re a freshman or a fifth-year senior,” said Collen. There are still nerves playing in this kind of game. Ultimately, I still think it’s a different stage. I mean, you’re just playing for something different.”

The No. 5 seed Bears will take on No. 4 seeded Virginia Tech (25-7) in the second round on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST.