Jones, Brown help No. 2 Baylor women rout No. 17 WVU 91-56 (Jan 4, 2017)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) Since falling at Connecticut, No. 2 Baylor is up to an even dozen straight wins.
The Lady Bears have started the Big 12 season the same way most of the nonconference schedule went - with double-digit wins.
Thank a 72-61 loss at top-ranked UConn for that.
''I guess you can say that it was a wake-up call,'' Baylor's Kalani Brown said. ''Good teams can beat you and anybody can beat anybody. We just stay focused.''
That was evident on Wednesday night, when Baylor dominated No. 17 West Virginia 91-56.
Brown and Baylor were in control almost from the start. Brown scored 11 of the Lady Bears' first 16 points. Alexis Jones had a pair of baskets during an 8-0 run early in the second quarter and Baylor maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
West Virginia had matchup problems against the taller Lady Bears, especially the 6-foot-7 Brown. Baylor scored 46 points in the paint and limited West Virginia to 22 percent shooting from the floor.
''I can tell you, we're big,'' said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. ''When you take a shot, we're going to be in your face and we're going to be there to alter it. If we don't block it, we're going try to alter it.''
Brown had her fifth double-double of the season by the middle of the second quarter and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The points kept coming when Brown went on the bench. Jones led Baylor (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) with 21 points. Alexis Prince added 13 and Beatrice Mompremier scored 12.
''Baylor's the real deal,'' said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. ''I watch a lot of games on TV from other conferences, and I think they got as much talent and as deep as talent as anyone in the country, if not more. So give them a lot of credit, they keep throwing players at you.''
Teana Muldrow led West Virginia (13-2, 1-2) with 16 points. Lenay Montgomery and Tynice Martin had 11 points apiece. The Mountaineers lost their second straight after winning their first 13.
The game featured the Big 12's highest scoring offenses and top two defenses, but West Virginia had trouble on both ends of the floor and tied its lowest scoring output of the season. The Mountaineers went through significant scoring droughts in each of the first three quarters that enabled Baylor to add to its lead.
''We're going to get in passing lanes,'' Mulkey said. ''We're going to make you work.''
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: With a lineup featuring five players averaging in double figures for points, the Lady Bears beat the Mountaineers for the sixth straight time. Baylor was held far below their season field-goal percentage of 52 percent but made up for it with a 60-30 rebounding advantage.
West Virginia: After a blistering start to the season, the Mountaineers are threatening to take themselves out of the Big 12 race. West Virginia was ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP poll before the sour start to the new year. Injuries have taken a toll with four players out with knee injuries. West Virginia got just four points from its bench.
''It is what it is,'' Carey said. ''I don't have a bench to put in. That's probably the most frustrating thing right now for me. I've got to put up with people not playing hard because I don't have nobody to put in.''
UP NEXT
Baylor plays at Oklahoma State on Saturday.
West Virginia hosts Oklahoma on Sunday.
