No. 3 Baylor women roll 83-63 over TCU for 20th win in a row
WACO, Texas (AP) Juicy Landrum has been starting and getting extended minutes for No. 3 Baylor with Natalie Chou injured and out of the lineup.
Landrum had 15 points on five 3-pointers, along with eight assists and six rebounds, while post players Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox had their usual big games as the Lady Bears beat No. 24 TCU 83-63 on Saturday night for their 20th win in a row.
''That's what she has to do. If you're going to play 27, 30 minutes a game, you're going to have to give us more than just the 3-ball,'' coach Kim Mulkey said. ''You're going to have to defend, which she's getting over screens and doing better. She's looking for the big girls, ball reversal and then get in there and play bigger than you are. Help us rebound some.''
While Landrum did all that, Brown scored 23 points and Cox had another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Big 12-leading Lady Bears (23-1, 13-0 Big 12).
''I feel pretty confident. I wasn't as confident about my defense in the beginning of the season, but then I started coming to the gym extra and working on my defense,'' Landrum said. ''I really pride myself on my defense.''
Chou missed her third straight game with a left wrist issue that was bothering her even before that.
Jayde Woods had 14 points for TCU (16-8, 7-6), which has lost three straight games - all against Top 25 teams - after a seven-game winning streak before that. Amber Ramirez had 12 points.
''That's part of playing in the Big 12. Every game is a challenge,'' TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. ''I think honestly the same conversation should be having about the Big 12 on the women's side as what's happening on the men's side. There's so much parity.''
After the lead changed three times in the first 2 minutes of the game, Baylor went ahead to stay with seven straight points in a 46-second span. Brown started that spurt with a jumper, then Dekeiya Cohen had another jumper before Brown's three-point play made it 10-4.
The Lady Bears led 21-10 after the first quarter. Woods made a layup to start the second quarter for TCU, but Cox's jumper extended the lead to double digits again - this time for the rest of the game.
BIG PICTURE
TCU: After a tough stretch against ranked teams, the Horned Frogs need to get back on track. Their next three games are against teams they have already defeated this season - teams in the bottom half of the conference titles - before playing Baylor again in two weeks, in Fort Worth.
Baylor: The Lady Bears continue to roll in the Big 12, and are 13-0 in conference play for the fourth time in seven years. They are looking for their eighth straight regular-season title. They are also 23-1 or better overall for the fourth year in a row and seventh time in eight years.
IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS
Baylor won its 23rd consecutive games in the series between the private Big 12 schools that are just less than 100 miles apart. The Lady Bears lead the overall series 33-5. ... Cox had her ninth double-double this season. ... Brown had her 13th game this season with at least 20 points. ... Baylor guards Kristy Wallace, Alexis Morris and Landrum combined for 21 assists and six turnovers.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Baylor will stay third in the new poll Monday, unless undefeated No. 2 Mississippi State loses at home Sunday against Kentucky. TCU's three-week stay in the Top 25 likely ends after losing their last three games by an average margin of more than 21 points, even though they were all to ranked games.
UP NEXT
TCU is home its next two games at home, starting Wednesday night against Iowa State.
Baylor starts a stretch of three of four games on the road with its game Tuesday night at No. 22 Oklahoma State.
