Aaronette Vonleh scored 25 points, propelling Baylor to a 73-60 win over Grand Canyon in the NCAA Tournament.
WACO, Texas — Aaronette Vonleh missed just three of her 13 shots in leading Baylor to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Not quite good enough, coach Nicki Collen?
“Honestly, the shots she missed, I was like, ‘Oh, no,’” Collen said. “She literally missed two that I thought were gimmes. Then you look down and see what she did and you just kind of shake your head that you have those high expectations.”
Vonleh had 25 points and 11 rebounds, leading the fourth-seeded Bears to a 73-60 first-round victory over Grand Canyon on Friday.
Jada Walker scored 17 points as the host Bears (28-7) ended the Lopes’ nation-leading winning streak at 30 games in Grand Canyon’s first NCAA appearance. Baylor will play the Mississippi-Ball State winner in the second round Sunday.
Baylor trailed most of the first half before going in front for good on a 9-0 run in the final 3:35 before the break. The No. 13 seed Lopes (32-3) got back within three at halftime on Sydney Erikstrup’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bears put the focus on their size advantage to take control, getting the ball to Vonleh inside. The 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Colorado, who was also 5 of 7 on free throws, left to a loud ovation after fouling out in the final minute.
“At the beginning of the game it was just hard to get touches because they were being so aggressive defensively,” Vonleh said. “But I just made it an emphasis to keep posting hard knowing like it was going to open eventually, and my teammates eventually figured out how to get it to me successfully.”
Grand Canyon played the last 13 minutes of the first half without Trinity San Antonio after the team’s leader picked up her second foul. She scored 23 of her 27 points after the break, including 14 in the third quarter, to help the Lopes stay close.
The bigger Bears also shut down Grand Canyon’s biggest 3-point threat, with Sarah Andrews leading the defensive effort to hold Alyssa Durazo-Frescas to her second game of the season without a bucket beyond the arc. She attempted just three after entering the tournament leading the country at four made 3s per game.
“They tried to get her open,” Collen said. “We just weren’t going to leave her. So when you can make them go two by two by two and make San Antonio make pull-up jump shots, she’s going to miss some. She made a lot them, but still missed some.”
The Lopes tried a zone after getting within two late in the third, but Vonleh found a seam, took the pass and converted the three-point play for a 47-42 lead.
“That’s tough to guard,” Grand Canyon coach Molly Miller said. “We tried to double some, pick-and-roll. Tried to hedge and tag and go back nose-to-nose if you will. She’s just hard to handle.”
