Nov. 3, 2011

WACO, Texas - No. 1 Baylor used its size and strength inside to outscore St. Edward's 54-10 in the paint en route to a 91-30 win in its final exhibition tune-up Thursday night at the Ferrell Center.

Junior Brittney Griner led the way with a game-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Destiny Williams and Kimetria Hayden each added 16 points.

The Hilltoppers didn't have a player score more than five points, as four different players tied for the team lead.

"I think we got more out of our practices," Mulkey said. "Not playing some of our players has really taken us out of the flow a little bit, as far as seeing different combinations. Our practices are very competitive, but these did give us a game type atmosphere."

The Lady Bears broke the game open in the first half, going on a 20-3 run over 5:39 to make it 28-6. Baylor had a commanding 49-20 lead at the half thanks to 58 percent shooting from the field.

Baylor, which held St. Edwards's to .204 shooting from the field, forced 28 turnovers and added 10 blocks in a solid defensive effort. Freshman Sune Agbuke matched Griner's block total of four on the night.

The Lady Bears will begin regular season play, hosting Howard University as part of the preseason WNIT on Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

"From here on out it is the real stuff and I just hope that we can get four games in here at the WNIT," Mulkey said. "That would be great to play the level of competition we could potentially play."

-Back-

WACO, Texas (AP)

"You know, that's a reflection of the kids you coach. I know my name goes by it, but truthfully it's just wins for our program," Mulkey said after her Baylor team dominated Chattanooga 91-31 on Sunday. "It's a reflection of the great players I've been allowed to coach. It's also a reflection of the university I work for, in that it's important that they allow me to go out and hire good assistant coaches."

While the win may not have been a big deal for Mulkey, it was for her players, who lifted the coach to their shoulders as the win was acknowledged by Baylor's public address announcer.

"How do you fight them coming to lift you? I tried initially, but then it's like you just give up on, and I gave up on it," Mulkey said. "But that was kind of those girls. And you know what? I could lift them up, because they've got a lot more wins left in this basketball team."

No. 1-ranked Baylor was led by unanimous All-America selection Brittney Griner, who scored 19 points in 22 minutes.

Brooklyn Pope added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor (2-0), while Odyssey Sims scored 18 points and Destiny Williams had 14.

Kylie Lambert and Taylor Hall scored 10 points each in Chattanooga's lowest scoring game in the program's 37-year history. Chattanooga shot just 18 percent from the field, marking the 176th consecutive game in which Baylor has held its opponent under 50 percent shooting.

Chattanooga (1-1) beat UAB 66-59 Friday in the first round of the tournament.

Baylor held Chattanooga scoreless for more than 11 minutes at the end of the first period and the beginning of the second half. During that stretch, Sims scored 13 and Williams had 10 points as Baylor extended a 48-12 halftime lead into a 57-12 advantage with 16:45 left in the game.

"They've just got so many weapons," Chattanooga coach Wes Moore said. "In the first half, Griner only scored seven, and you feel like you've done a decent job on her but everybody else is killing you. Then the second half, you try to play a little bit straighter and she kills you. They've got a lot of weapons and it's a matter of picking your poison a lot of time."

Griner, who has 401 blocked shots in her career, had three blocks against Chattanooga, but she didn't have too many opportunities. With Griner in the game, Chattanooga was hesitant to go inside. In the second half, Chattanooga attempted just five shots in the paint, making just one. Hall knocked down a short jumper in the lane with 1:34 left and Griner on the bench, finished for the day.

"When you've got 6-8 Brittney Griner down there on the block, I don't know if you want to go in," Moore said. "Most of the time, that's where we're looking to start with our offense, start inside-out. But she makes it tough to do that."

Nov. 17, 2011


WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner had 18 points with 14 rebounds and Odyssey Sims scored 22 points for top-ranked Baylor in an 83-50 victory over No. 22 UCLA on Thursday night that sets up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the preseason WNIT championship game.

The Lady Bears (3-0) host No. 2 Notre Dame on Sunday, after the Irish beat Hartford 98-43 earlier Thursday night.

"Who scheduled this? Who agreed to this?," head coach Kim Mulkey said sarcastically. "But it's OK. I say it all the time, you don't win championships in November and December."

Baylor put its preseason WNIT semifinal game out of reach with a 30-2 run after halftime. That run started with 19 consecutive points, capped when Griner blocked a shot that Jordan Madden caught and then drove the length of the court for a layup to make it 56-29.

"When we start making runs like that, I get a blocked shot and my team reacts and gets it, you definitely start feeding off that," Griner said. "You want to get it again. ... Each time we try to make a play or get a steal or a big board, we just keep trying to do that."

Baylor finished with a 52-34 rebounding edge, and outscored UCLA 48-18 in the paint.

"Your defense can be special for you," Mulkey said. "It was a great example for them, to see what I've been trying to tell them. We're going to have lots of offensive nights like this. But if they'll just commit to being the best defensive team that maybe we've had here, I think they'll understand that, hey, you finally hung in there long enough to extend the lead."

UCLA, playing without two injured starters, went more than 8½ minutes without a field goal until Thea Lemberger's reach-in jumper with 9:50 left in the game final ended that scoreless streak. But Baylor then responded by scoring 11 more in a row.

It was the 28th double-double in 75 career games for Griner, the 6-foot-8 junior phenom who was a unanimous preseason AP All-American pick after also being on that team at the end of last season. Her six blocked shots pushed her career total to 410, only 36 from matching the Big 12 career record.

Rebekah Gardner led UCLA (2-1) with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Jasmine Dixon was UCLA's lone returning starter after being its second-leading scorer and top rebounder last season, but she was lost for this season when she ruptured her Achilles tendon in a workout in September. The Bruins are hopeful that Markel Walker, another expected starter, can return next month after undergoing offseason thumb surgery.

Notre Dame was the national runner-up last season, but the Irish lost 76-65 in a December game at Baylor.

It will be Baylor's second 1 vs. 2 game, though its first as the No. 1 team. The Lady Bears were No. 2 when they loss 65-64 at top-ranked Connecticut the first week of last season.

After Sims' driving layup and free throw at the end of the first half snapped an 8-0 UCLA run, Griner opened the second half with a putback of her own miss to stretch the lead to 32-23.

During pregame warmups, Lady Bears players wore T-shirts with "300 Mulkey" on them in recognition of Mulkey's 300th career victory, which came in a 91-31 victory over Chattanooga in their last game Sunday. Mulkey was then given flowers and the game ball -- before going out and getting victory No. 301.

UCLA's eight consecutive points came during a stretch when Baylor had five turnovers and Mulkey was assessed a technical foul.

The Bruins were within 27-23 on Gardner's pull-up jumper with 28 seconds left.

Baylor had the final possession, and Sims held the ball in the backcourt before making her move. She drove for a layup with 4.8 seconds left and made the free throw after being fouled.

Mulkey's technical foul came with 1:37 when she questioned a traveling call against Griner, the fourth consecutive Baylor possession that ended with such a turnover.

Before UCLA's biggest spurt of the game, Baylor had matched its largest lead of the first half, 27-15 on Destiny Williams' inside basket with 4 minutes left.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Brittney Griner scored 26 points as No. 1 Baylor beat its second Top 10 opponent this season on Sunday, handing sixth-ranked Tennessee its first loss at home in nearly three years, 76-67.

The preseason All-American had nine first-half points but came alive in the paint after halftime.

The Lady Volunteers took a 39-31 lead on Glory Johnson's free throw with 17:39 left, but Griner had a pair of layups in an 11-2 run for the Lady Bears. The second gave Baylor a 42-41 lead with 15 minutes left.

Another layup by Griner with 8:32 to play gave Baylor its ultimate lead, and the Lady Bears (6-0) relied on smothering defense to limit Tennessee to just 29.3 percent shooting.

Another preseason All-American, Shekinna Stricklen, led the Lady Vols with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Vicki Baugh added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Odyssey Sims added 23 points and Jordan Madden had 11 points for the Lady Bears, who also beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame on Nov. 20. They've got a Dec. 18 meeting with current No. 2 Connecticut.

Baylor entered the game averaging 53.8 rebounds per contest, but Tennessee (2-2) outmanned the Lady Bears on the glass 55-42.

The loss was the Lady Vols' 21st on their home court since moving to Thompson-Boling Arena in 1987. It ended a 38-game home winning streak -- their third longest -- dating back to a Feb. 16, 2009, loss to Duke.

It also marked the Lady Bears' third consecutive win against the Lady Vols, a rare feat by any team.

The game featured seven lead changes and three ties.

Baylor led by as many as eight points in the first half thanks to 10 of 11 shooting from the free-throw line. Tennessee found its way to the charity stripe too while fighting for points in the lane, and a pair of free throws and a 3-point shot by Stricklen helped erase the Lady Bears' lead.

Another 3-pointer by Stricklen with 5:51 in the first half knotted the score at 22 points, and Tennessee controlled the game through the rest of the half by taking charge of the boards.

Baylor shot just 34.5 percent in the first half but hit 48.4 percent after the break as Griner fought her way to the basket more. With every made layup, Griner seemed to relax a little more.

The Lady Vols tried doubling up on Griner, which only opened up opportunities for Sims and Madden. Sims hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 to go, and Madden had a trey of her own with 6:21 to play that gave Baylor a 59-55 lead.

Tennessee pulled within four points off a pair of free throws by Johnson with 2:03 left but would get no closer. On Baylor's next possession, Griner took an in-bound pass with 2 seconds on the shot clock and cleanly sank a jumper from the free throw line at the buzzer for a 67-61 lead with 1:32 left.

The matchup was dubbed a "We Back Pat" game in support of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who announced in August she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

Both teams wore purple shirts that said "We Back Pat" while warming up, and Tennessee presented $75,000 checks from the proceeds of T-shirt sales to Alzheimer's Tennessee and the UT Medical Center for Alzheimer's research, treatment and education programs.

Summitt and son Tyler Summitt also announced at halftime they had created the Pat Summitt Foundation to further raise money for Alzheimer's programs.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner had 23 points and 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season for top-ranked Baylor, which stretched its home winning streak to 27 games with a 91-39 victory over Texas Southern on Wednesday night.

Odyssey Sims had 19 points, nine assists and a career-high eight steals while playing on 24 minutes for the Lady Bears (7-0). Kimetria Hayden and Brooklyn Pope had 13 points apiece.

Kiara Taylor led Texas Southern (1-4) with 12 points on four 3-pointers.

It was the 30th double-double in 79 career games for Griner, the 6-foot-8 junior phenom who was a unanimous preseason AP All-America pick this season. She played only 22 minutes, making eight of 14 field goals and seven of eight free throws.

Three days after their 76-67 win at eighth-ranked Tennessee, already their third win over a Top 25 opponent this season, Baylor scored the first 12 points of the game and built a 20-point lead within 8 minutes.

The Lady Tigers (1-4) finished with 31 turnovers that led to 43 Baylor points.

Playing their first game outside of Houston, they also started three freshmen. The Lady Tigers' 15-player roster includes 10 freshmen among 13 newcomers who weren't part of Texas Southern's 100-43 loss at Baylor last season.

Plus, six of Texas Southern players were listed at 5-foot-6 or shorter. The shortest Baylor player is 5-7 guard Terran Condrey.

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey often substituted players in and out, using several different combinations in a game that wasn't nearly as tough as one of the team's practices.

The Lady Bears have won their six home games by an average margin of nearly 44 points. All have been by at least 33 points except a 94-81 win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame on Nov. 20. They have three more games before another potential 1 vs. 2 matchup at home Dec. 18 against Connecticut. They play Sunday at Minnesota.

The best stretch for the Lady Tigers came when they had an 8-1 run over nearly 4- 1/2 minute stretch in the first half. Crystal Anyiam's jumper cut the deficit to 27-12 before Baylor scored six points in a row in only a minute.

Aniyam had 10 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out with 9:23 left in the game

Griner made two free throws only 21 seconds into the game before Condrey had a steal that she turned into a breakaway layup, and Sims had a steal that led to Pope's jumper.

Texas Southern missed its first five shots before Kayla West had a steal and passed ahead to Morgan Simmons for a layup 4 1/2 minutes into the game. 

December 4, 2011

The Lady Bears (8-0) were never really threatened in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge game against the Gophers (4-5). Baylor jumped to a double-digit lead in the game's opening minutes and used its size inside and quickness on the perimeter to overwhelm Minnesota.

Rachel Banham scored 19 points to lead Minnesota, which has now lost three of four. Leah Cotton added 14 and Kiara Buford scored 13 for the Gophers.

The Gophers made slowing Griner their defensive priority, but Baylor proved that it has plenty of other offensive options.

Kimetria Hayden added 11 points for the Lady Bears, who outrebounded Minnesota 58-39. Sims added a game-high nine assists.

Minnesota double- and triple-teamed the 6-foot-8 Griner each time she touched the ball in the paint, forcing other players to score. While Griner had just eight points at halftime and didn't reach double figures until midway through the second half, she still finished with at least 20 points for the fifth consecutive game.

In the first half, Griner did a good job keeping the ball above her head, staying patient and finding open teammates after the defense collapsed around her. Griner finished with a season-high three assists.

Sims was frequently on the receiving end of passes from Griner. The sophomore guard made a pair of 3-pointers and repeatedly drove to the basket.

In the second half, Griner was more aggressive offensively, scoring 12 points after the break. Along with scoring on post moves an off of offensive rebounds, Griner also put the ball on the floor at drove to the basket. Griner, however, was held below her 24.4 points per game average.

Any hopes Minnesota had of upsetting the Lady Bears were extinguished early. The Gophers missed their first 12 shots and trailed 11-1 before Banham made Minnesota's first field goal nearly six minutes into the game.

After Baylor stretched its lead to 20 points midway though the first half, Minnesota did close within 11, 31-19, when Buford intercepted a pass and went in for a layup.

Dec. 8, 2011

Brooklyn Pope added 18 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor (9-0).

Ashley Green scored 11 points for Milwaukee (2-5), which is in the midst of a five-game road trip that takes the Panthers to No. 24 Oklahoma on Sunday.

Griner and Sims teamed up on a 16-2 run for Baylor that stretched its lead to 24-9 about 13 minutes into the game. Griner scored the first six points before Sims scored 10 in a row.

Brooklyn Pope scored 19 points to lead the Lady Bears (10-0), who have a showdown with No. 2 Connecticut on Dec. 18. It's the second straight season they have met as the top two teams in the poll. The Huskies edged the Lady Bears in Hartford last season by a point.

Baylor struggled early on against St. John's and was trailing 36-30 early in the second half before finally taking over.

Griner was the catalyst during an 18-3 run, scoring six points and blocking two shots. Her two free throws gave Baylor a 38-36 lead. The 6-foot-8 junior phenom's consecutive layups later in the burst extended the advantage to 44-39.

Odyssey Sims' first basket of the game capped the run and made it a nine-point game.

Eugeneia McPherson scored 23 points to lead St. John's (5-5), which wouldn't get within seven the rest of the way.

It was a stellar weekend in New York for Baylor. Football star Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. The women's basketball team went to support their classmate, cheering him on from the red carpet while wearing shirts that said: "RG3 Baylor Nation."

The Lady Bears were at a Broadway show when they were texted the news of his victory. Fortunately, it came at a perfect time in the play so they could let out a loud cheer.

This is the second time that Baylor has played in the Classic named for the former Army women's coach. The Lady Bears beat Boston College two seasons ago. It's the fifth time the Classic has been played at Madison Square Garden. The first one was played at West Point when Army beat Ohio State.

Maggie Dixon died April 6, 2006, of arrhythmia, probably caused by an enlarged heart. Her death came three weeks after her first season as a head coach, a performance that won the admiration of the academy and all of college basketball as she led Army to its first NCAA berth. The Cadets lost in the first round to Tennessee. Pat Summitt's seventh-ranked Lady Vols faced No. 20 DePaul in the second game of the women's doubleheader.

The Lady Bears struggled in the first half as St. John's packed in its defense, refusing to let Griner beat them. Trailing 26-21 late in the half, St. John's went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game on McKenith's layup and was up 32-30 at the break. Griner had seven points and six rebounds, but only took three shots.

Sims, who had been averaging 18 points and 10 assists in her last five games, was scoreless in the first half after missing all four of her shots. Pope was the only offensive bright spot in the first half for the Lady Bears, scoring 11 points.

McPherson had 10 points and Nadirah McKenith nine for the Red Storm in the first half. She also had seven assists before leaving the game with 5:40 left in the game after hurting her right knee. The junior guard was helped off the court unable to put any pressure on that leg.

Help is on the way for St. John's. The Red Storm have been missing Da'Shena Stevens all season as she's recovering from a left knee injury suffered over the summer. Stevens is expected to be back next weekend when the Red Storm host their own tournament.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner scored 12 of 25 points in the closing run that pushed top-ranked Baylor past No. 2 Connecticut 66-61 on Sunday night.

The Lady Bears (11-0) overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half and won their second No. 1 vs. No. 2 game this season. Baylor also avenged a one-point loss at Connecticut early last season when the rankings were reversed.

Griner also had nine rebounds and nine blocked shots. She made all seven of her free throws, six of them coming in a game-ending 27-11 run as Baylor overcome its biggest deficit of the season. The 6-foot-8 Griner missed eight free throws in last year's game against the Huskies, including some key misses down the stretch.

Odyssey Sims had 23 points for the Lady Bears, whose 29-game home winning streak includes a 94-81 win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame in November.

Bria Hartley led Connecticut (9-1) with 25 points, while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 15.

It was the most anticipated home game ever for the Lady Bears, the first time a men's or women's game sold out in advance at the Ferrell Center. The record crowd of 10,627 included Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who flashed the pose and got a huge ovation when he was shown on the screen.

Griner, who previously played on the U.S. national women's basketball team coached by Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, and Sims came through big for the Lady Bears.

Connecticut, whose average margin of victory this season was nearly 42 points, was 13-2 in games matching 1 vs. 2, including eight wins in a row. Their last was the 65-64 victory over Baylor last season.

The Huskies had a 50-39 lead with just over 15 minutes left after hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in a 2-minute stretch. Mosqueda-Lewis hit two of those, starting and ending an string that also included Tiffany Hayes' 3.

Right after that, Griner got her fifth block of the game to break the Big 12 career record, and made some key free throws as well. She broke Courtney Paris' Big 12 career record of 446, and has 451 now.

Griner then swatted away a shot by Hayes and followed with two free throws. Sims had a steal and drove for a bank shot to wrap up 10 consecutive points by the Lady Bears to cut the gap to 50-49.

Hartley broke that streak with a basket that just beat the shot clock. After Griner was called for a charging foul, Stefanie Dolson hit a jumper for the Huskies.

Griner and Kelly Faris traded two free throws each around the 5-minute mark before the Lady Bears went ahead to stay on Terran Condrey's 3-pointer that made it 58-56 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Sims made four free throws in the final 1:21 to seal the game for Baylor.

Auriemma got a nice ovation when he came on the court about 4 minutes before tipoff, and responded by returning the applause to the crowd. Baylor coach Kim Mulkey came out a couple of minutes later, and the cheers got really loud when the two coaches shook hands.

Griner made a short hook on the first shot of the game, and when she made another 6 minutes into the game, the Lady Bears had a 14-5 lead. That was the Huskies' biggest deficit of the season.

Baylor didn't trail until Connecticut made consecutive 3-pointers. Mosqueda-Lewis rattled one in from the right side with 5 minutes left and Hayes followed a Baylor miss with a shot from beyond the arc for a 27-26 lead.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner had 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 24 minutes to help top-ranked Baylor beat McNeese State 90-50 on Wednesday night.

"When you have six players, almost seven, in double figures you're going to beat a lot of teams," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "I thought Brittney was very unselfish. There were many times she caught it early in our offense and could have been aggressive to the rim, and she chose to pass it out."

Freshman Sune Agbuke also had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds for Baylor (12-0). It was a career high in both categories for her as well as minutes played - 20.

"I appreciate the opportunity (Mulkey) gave us. Just to go out there and play that much was a lot of fun," said the freshman from San Antonio.

Mulkey said that Agbuke's playing time is limited simply because of who she's playing behind.

"All Sune needs is minutes," Mulkey said. "She's caught in a numbers thing right here, but what better player to learn from than Griner every day? Sune is a big-time player. It may not surface right now at a young age, but I'm telling you the kid can flat-out play. She just got in a rhythm tonight, and that's what minutes will do for you. She got comfortable out there."

Odyssey Sims had 16, Kimetria Hayden 15, Destiny Williams 13 points and Ashley Field scored 10.

Caitlyn Baggett scored 18 for McNeese (9-3), which was picked to repeat as Southland Conference champions in a preseason media poll.

After nine blocks in Baylor's 66-61 win over Connecticut on Sunday, Griner has blocked 455 shots, a Big 12 record. She was presented with a ceremonial game ball before tipoff marking the accomplishment.

Baylor showed a little rust from its win over Connecticut. They had four turnovers in the first two minutes and only led 12-6 early on when Griner picked up her second foul. The Lady Bears then went on a 12-4 run to take command of the game. They led 46-24 at the half despite committing 15 turnovers. Baylor finished with 23 turnovers, markedly more than its average of 14 a game.

Mulkey credited Baylor's opponent for causing those turnovers.

"They were constantly trapping on-ball stuff and made us look bad," she said. "Look, we had 23 turnovers. That was terrible. At half, we had too many turnovers. And you can say, `Well, we were ready for the Christmas break, and we weren't focused and Brooklyn (Pope) didn't play. `You can say all those things, but give credit to McNeese. They created those turnovers."

Pope, who has started six games for Baylor this season, sat out the contest with a bruised heel.

McNeese State made eight of its 33 field goal attempts (24 percent) in the first period, and made six of its 31 3-point attempts (19 percent) in the game.

"It is definitely our strength for every game," McNeese State coach Brooks Donald Williams said of the Cowgirls' long-range strategy. "That's the strength of our team. We're a penetrate-kick team. We've got great shooters on our roster. It was an emphasis tonight. We certainly wanted to get it out on the perimeter and be ready to shoot given any opportunity."

With the game pretty much over, the loudest ovation of the second half came during a timeout when Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III made an appearance and spent a few minutes talking with Baylor president Ken Starr, his wife Alice and others near the Starr's front row seats.

"I saw him sitting behind the bench," Mulkey said, "and when I was in the huddle, I just kind of gave him that Heisman pose, and he kind of laughed. So I wanted to hug him, because I heard on the radio on the way in that he got AP Player of the Year as well. I just wanted him to thank him for being a great ambassador for Baylor University."

WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor's strong start put coach Kim Mulkey in an unusual position Friday night, which was in her seat instead of prowling the sideline.

Top-ranked Baylor applied full-court pressure from the start and opened the game with a 12-0 run allowing Mulkey to stay in her seat for more than seven minutes of the first period during the Bears' 93-55 win over Mississippi Valley State.

Brittney Griner scored 20 points in 27 minutes and Destiny Williams had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Bears, who reached 13-0 for the second time in the program's history.

"I thought Destiny Williams gave us a spark. She had a double-double, with 14 rebounds, and I thought just she did some really good things," Mulkey said.

De'Kisha Fondon scored 23 for Mississippi Valley (2-8). Alia Frank had 10 points and Ka'Neshia Smith added 10 rebounds.

Brooklyn Pope scored 14 points for Baylor, and Odyssey Sims had 11 points and Ashley Field scored 10.

Williams' rebounding total was a career high, topping the 13 she had against Notre Dame on Nov. 20. In Baylor's previous games before Friday's contest - against Connecticut and McNeese State - Williams recorded just seven total boards.

"I haven't been rebounding good at all," she said. "It's a new semester, and I wanted to start off right, coming off Christmas break, and try to rebound to the best of my ability. And I just so happened to have 14 rebounds."

Griner and Mississippi Valley's Alia Frank were each assessed a technical foul with 2:42 left in the first half. They became tangled after falling to the floor under Baylor's basket. The technicals were called as they attempted to get back to their feet.

"I really didn't see enough to take her out of the game and reprimand her," Mulkey said. "I felt like I trusted my coaches there, and they felt like (Frank) was trying to take charges all night and kind of undercut Brittney, and they got tangled up and Brittney kind of kicked her off of her or something like that. I'm going to trust that because I didn't see it that it wasn't anything dirty. It was a reaction to something she did that probably wasn't dirty either."

Griner wasn't sure exactly what happened.

"I was going to try to just run off, but got tied up," she said. "I don't know, I just looked down and had somebody on my legs. It's just part of the game. It got hot for a moment, but I cooled down a little bit."

Baylor didn't make a basket in the final 5:22 of the first half, but did make six of 10 free throws down the stretch. Mississippi Valley's Olivia Kennedy banked in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, and Baylor led 45-29 at the break. Kennedy's basket, however, accounted for the lone Mississippi Valley points in a 13-minute stretch that carried over until midway through the second half. Brittney Lakes made a turnaround jumper off the glass with 11:34 left in the game for the Devilettes' first points of the second half.

Baylor put the game away by opening the second period on a 30-2 run, with seven Bears scoring during the stretch.

"I thought the first five minutes of the second half was probably the brightest spot as a group in the entire game," Mulkey said. "I thought all five had a lot of energy, all five were running the floor."

Mississippi Valley shot its first free throws of the game with 5:28 left in the second half, as Aspen Clemons made one of her two attempts. For the game, Baylor made 23 of its 44 free throw shots (52 percent), while Mississippi Valley was 2 of 4 from the line.

"Usually the first place you notice fatigue is with missed shots, and free throws are nothing more than missed shots," Mulkey said. "I think that you saw the eight-day, nine-day layoff, whatever it was, surface. But I can't fuss at them, because they did get to the foul line, and I gave them those eight days off. And 44 times to the foul line is getting a lot of rebounds and putbacks, but we'll get better."

Mississippi Valley coach Nate Kilbert wasn't down about the free throw discrepancy.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Odyssey Sims scored 22 points and Brittney Griner had 14 points and nine blocks to lead top-ranked Baylor over Missouri 90-46 Wednesday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Griner also had eight rebounds for Baylor (14-0, 1-0), which is 14-0 for the first time in school history. Kimetria Hayden scored 14 points, Jordan Madden added 12, Terran Condrey 10, and Destiny Williams grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lady Bears.

BreAnna Brock had 14 points for Missouri (10-2, 0-1), which played its previous eight games at home. Christine Flores, who came in averaging 21.9 points, added 10 points for Missouri.

Baylor opened the game on an 18-3 run with Griner contributing a pair of baskets and Hayden knocking down a 3-pointer and driving for a layup to end the burst. Baylor hit four 3s in the first 9 minutes of the game and led 24-7 with 11:25 remaining before intermission.

Late in the first half, Missouri twice couldn't get a shot off and committed back-to-back shot clock violations.

The Bears opened the second half on an 18-5 run culminating in a fast-break layup by Sims off an assist from Hayden. Griner blocked two shots to set up the play.

Missouri put together just one scoring run of its own, a 6-0 effort behind Brock and Sydney Crafton, who each hit a pair of free throws to go with a jumper from Flores.

Baylor led 65-39 at that point.

With substitutes on the floor, Baylor closed the game on a 10-2 run, with Missouri's only points in the final 3 minutes coming on a pair of free throws by Bailey Gee. Missouri made 14 of its 16 free throw attempts, while Baylor was 6 of 8 from the line.

"We needed to make shots," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly, whose team shot 37 percent and was outscored 16-6 on free throws. "We didn't make enough of them and we got beat pretty bad at the free throw line. You've got to credit Baylor's defense. But I thought our kids played really, really hard and competed with the best team in the country."

Jan. 11, 2012

WACO, Texas (AP) - During one timeout in the first half, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey stood still while glaring at her team gathering on the bench. There were other moments when the frustration was clear on her face.

Things changed drastically after halftime, when a close game became a 71-44 victory for the top-ranked Lady Bears over Oklahoma State.

Destiny Williams scored seven of her 11 points as Baylor (16-0, 3-0 Big 12), which had led by only two at the half, had a 20-4 run in the first 7 minutes of the second half Wednesday night to put the game out of reach.

"We made shots," Mulkey said, explaining the second-half turnaround. "I don't know that we had more energy. Maybe it seemed that way. After you make a shot, you get a little more excited, a little more adrenaline going."

Brittney Griner had 28 points and 11 rebounds for her 34th career double-double, and also had eight blocked shots. Williams also had 13 rebounds for her own double-double, and Odyssey Sims had 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Lady Bears, who never trailed, pushed ahead 46-28 after consecutive baskets by Williams. After making a layup and then an Oklahoma State turnover, Williams missed badly on a break before she grabbed the rebound and followed up her own shot.

"We missed some easy shots. Destiny had a couple in there, and she just hung in there and rebounded the ball, finished with a quiet double-double," Mulkey said. "I thought Odyssey kept competing in there. I guess we were resilient. We were resilient to hang in there and keep with it."

Baylor won its 33rd consecutive home game.

Freshman Liz Donohoe led Oklahoma State (9-3, 1-2) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Toni Young had 13 points.

The Cowgirls entered the game as the nation's top field-goal defense, allowing opposing teams to shoot only 29 percent.

"They're young, they're big, they're long, they have perimeter shooters," Mulkey said. "We played hard and we guarded people, we just couldn't make a shot to get in a rhythm there.

Baylor shot 38 percent for a 26-24 halftime lead. Griner had half of their points by then on 6-of-10 shooting while the rest of the team was 5-of-19.

The Lady Bears made 16 of 28 shots after halftime.

"I think they just turned it up to a different level, to be honest," Cowgirls coach Jim Littell said. "I could give you all kinds of different things and coach-talk and all that, but I think they just turned it up to a different level. They beat us off the dribble. They went about three possessions in a row coast-to-coast."

After the opening spurt in the second half, Sims had three 3-pointers in a span of just over 2 minutes for a 55-34 lead.

The Cowgirls were coming off a 70-51 victory over then-No. 23 Texas, but have lost three of their last four games. Before that, they had won seven in a row since coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna were killed in a plane crash Nov. 17 while on a recruiting trip in Arkansas.

Orange ribbons were given to fans entering the arena in memory of Budke and Serna.

When Littell came out on the court just ahead of his team, Baylor fans responded with a standing ovation and a polite round of applause. Mulkey walked out a few moments later, and shared a hug with Littell near the Oklahoma State bench.

"The fans from Baylor are very classy and very knowledgeable, and that was something that was very much appreciated," Littell said.

The two teams gathered at midcourt for a prayer after the game.

Baylor is the only Division I school with both its men's and women's teams undefeated. The fourth-ranked men are also 16-0 after a win at Kansas State on Tuesday night.

The game was played only hours after Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III announced that he was bypassing his senior season at Baylor to enter the NFL draft.

Griner, a 6-foot-8 junior phenom, would be eligible for the WNBA draft if she chose to leave after this season. The AP All-America pick told The Associated Press that she hasn't even thought about leaving Baylor early.

Griner now has 480 career blocks, matching former TCU standout Sandora Irvin for third on the NCAA Division I list, and 23 shy of No. 2 on that list. With her 89 blocks this season, Griner now has the top three single-season totals in Baylor history.

The Cowgirls were even at 22 with 1:54 left in the first half when Young had a short jumper.

But Williams then hit a long jumper and Griner blocked a shot by Donohoe. Sims grabbed the ball and converted a breakaway layup.

Donohoe's 12 points at halftime accounted for half of Oklahoma State's total. Donohoe, the Cowgirls' top scorer this season, is the reigning Big 12 freshman of the week for the third time this season.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner scored 28 points and moved into second place on the NCAA career blocks list in No. 1 Baylor's 74-46 rout of Kansas on Saturday night.
Griner passed Michigan State's Alyssa DeHaan midway through the first half. The 6-foot-8 phenom has 506 blocks in her career and now only trails Saint Mary's star Louella Tomlinson, who had 663.

Kimetria Hayden added 10 points and Destiny Williams had 11 rebounds for Baylor (21-0, 8-0 Big 12), which is one of two unbeatens left. Wisconsin-Green Bay improved to 19-0 on Saturday by routing Valparaiso. Carolyn Davis scored 12 and Angel Goodrich and CeCe Harper had 10 points each for Kansas (16-4, 5-3). Aishah Sutherland had 10 rebounds.

Griner got the Lady Bears going early with two two-handed blocks. Those came a 14-4 run to open the game and led to 3-pointers. Baylor was up 37-17 at the half after holding Kansas scoreless for the final 6:45 of the period. The Lady Bears then opened the second half on a 10-4 run and never let Kansas get closer than 21 the rest of the way.

Midway through the second half, Sutherland had a short jumper in the lane and Harper followed with a 3 for Kansas' biggest scoring run of the game. Baylor answered with a short jumper by Griner and a jumper by Shanay Washington that put the Bears up 61-36 with 8:44 to play.

Kansas was coming off a 62-43 win over No. 21 Texas Tech on Wednesday, and had previously beaten then-No. 23 Texas by five points on Jan. 4.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Zone defenses, junk defenses, small ball or walk it up the court: when it comes to opposing teams' efforts to stop undefeated, top-ranked Baylor, there aren't many looks coach Kim Mulkey hasn't encountered this season.

Add Missouri to the ranks of those whose game plans sounded good on paper but didn't work out as planned once it came time to take the court against No. 1 Baylor and star center Brittney Griner. The 6-foot-8 Griner scored 18 points while helping to hold Christina Flores, Missouri's leading scorer, to just seven points as the Lady Bears rolled past the Tigers 71-41 on Wednesday night.

"We've seen it all," Mulkey said after the game. "I thought they used up the shot clock quite a bit to shorten the game, keep it low-scoring. They stayed in the zone and challenged us to basically be patient and work it around."

Missouri kept pace with Baylor early on, briefly taking their only lead at 4-2, but trailed 28-18 at halftime after a seven-minute scoring drought that left the Tigers with just six points after 10 minutes. Baylor quickly took control in the second half, scoring the first 10 points and going on a 24-5 run over the first seven minutes of the period to put the game away.

The Lady Bears, who had 11 steals overall, sped up the pace in the second half, scoring 12 fast-break points compared to none for Missouri. They scored 25 points after Missouri's 22 turnovers. Missouri converted just 31.4 percent of its field-goal attempts and 26 percent on 3-point attempts.

"We're the victim tonight," said Missouri coach Robin Pingeton. "It can go from a 12-point game to a 25-point game in a matter of minutes. Their transition game is very aggressive, and when you have a turnover in that open court, it's going to be a layup at the other end."

Destiny Williams scored 10 points with 11 rebounds and Odyssey Sims had 12 points for Baylor, which stretched its season-opening winning streak to 22 games. BreAnna Brock and Sydney Crafton led Missouri with eight points each. Flore was averaging nearly 19 points but made just 3-of-15 field goals and missed all four of her 3-point attempts.

Many of her inside misses came on shots either altered or rejected by Griner, who had four blocks against a Missouri team whose front-line starters are five and six inches shorter.

The Tigers (10-10, 0-9) remain winless in their final season in the Big 12 Conference before joining the SEC next year. They set season lows for points in both the first half and the entire game.
"I feel like she took some rushed shots," Pingeton said of Flores, a senior. "She didn't have the poise that maybe she's had as of late with her shot, especially on the perimeter."

Griner's impact on Missouri's game plan was apparent from the opening tip, when 5-foot-9 freshman guard Morgan Eye jumped center against a flat-footed Griner as Eye's four teammates remained in the backcourt. Griner, needless to say, won possession. She scored Baylor's first eight points and spent much of the second half on the bench as the game grew increasingly lopsided.

Mulkey said her team was well prepared against Missouri, which starts two freshman guards as Pingeton attempts to build a struggling program in her second year in Columbia after seven years coaching Illinois State.

"I told them in the scouting report: expect two post players that can shoot the 3 to take you outside," Mulkey said. "Expect them to shorten the game, keep it low-scoring and just be patient on defense, disciplined the last 10 seconds of the shot clock. You're going to see a zone."
"Everything I told them came true tonight. But it's not something we haven't seen." 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Baylor coach Kim Mulkey has no idea how to stop Brittney Griner. Fortunately for Mulkey, she doesn't have to come up with a scheme to stop the talented forward.

Griner had 29 points and the top-ranked Lady Bears kept their perfect season intact with a 70-41 rout of Kansas State on Saturday night. "I'm glad she's on my team," Mulkey said. "I wouldn't know how to guard her." Destiny Williams added 14 points and Odyssey Sims finished with 13 for Baylor (23-0, 10-0 Big 12), which extended the best start in school history in easy fashion.

It's the second-best start in conference history behind former member Nebraska, which won its first 30 games during the 2009-10 season. Green Bay (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) is still the only other Division I women's program that has yet to lose this season.

"I knew what I needed to do to help my team win," Griner said. "They did a great job of getting me the ball when I was hot."

Brittany Chambers had 10 points for Kansas State (15-7, 6-4), though she was just 3 of 11 from the field. Mariah White also had 10 points.

"We haven't played Baylor as tough as we'd like to," Chambers said. "They're an unbelievable team, but we'd like to see more toughness out of us."

The 6-foot-8 Griner has been a menace all season against smaller teams, coupling her height advantage with a deft touch around the basket, and that played out again Saturday night.

The league's leading scorer pushed her career total to 2,020, making her the fourth player in school history to eclipse 2,000 points. Griner also became the first player in Division I women's basketball to break that barrier while also recording at least 500 rebounds.

"She works extremely hard," Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said. "I don't think we were consistently effective in our decision-making with her, any one of us, and that hurt us."

The Wildcats' plan seemed to be the exact opposite of every other team to face Baylor this season: force Griner to beat them by denying everyone else a shot. It was working early on, too. Baylor's offense looked disjointed and at times downright inept. By the time Chambers hit a 3-pointer with 8:25 left in the first half, the plucky Wildcats had a 19-13 lead.

"Offensive rebounding was very good for Kansas State early in the game," Mulkey said. "We just didn't do a good job of blocking out and consequently I went with a bigger lineup." That lineup got the Lady Bears got on track. Griner scored with 8:01 remaining, the start of what turned out to be a 20-5 run into halftime.

Williams converted a pair of three-point plays 90 seconds apart, then added another bucket a couple minutes later. Sims added a basket as the half wound down, silencing a sellout crowd that had taken advantage of dollar tickets to see the game at Bramlage Coliseum. Griner had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first half.

She added two more points less than a minute into the second half, and Baylor began pouring on the offense with the kind of play that's become familiar to folks in the Big 12. The Lady Bears scored the first six points out of halftime, and after White and Branshea Brown managed baskets for Kansas State, Baylor scored 10 more. Griner had four during the 5-minute spurt, and Sims hit a 3-pointer and Williams a jumper for a 53-28 lead.

Patterson hardly had enough timeouts to slow the momentum. "As the second half started, we never really shook loose offensively," she said. "That's probably the biggest disappointed to me leaving the floor. I feel like we wasted 20 minutes of offensive opportunities."

Baylor put it on cruise control the final 10 minutes, well on its way to another blowout win over Kansas State. The Wildcats have dropped 13 straight to Baylor, including a 76-41 defeat last month in Waco. Their last win in the series came on Jan. 27, 2004.

Kansas State also has lost all five of its games against No. 1 teams in Manhattan, though Baylor's trip was the first since top-ranked Wayland Baptist visited on Jan. 11, 1977.

"This was a game I felt unlike any of our recent games against Baylor, where after the first half we had positioned ourselves to be competitive, you know?" Patterson said. "We sort of dropped our shoulders and got soft." 

WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor and Oklahoma have often played the most anticipated and best games in the Big 12 each season. Not this year, when Brittney Griner and the top-ranked Lady Bears have made it no contest.

Griner scored 27 points with eight rebounds and eight blocks and Baylor remained undefeated with their second lopsided victory in less than two weeks against the Sooners, winning 81-54 at home Monday night.
Oklahoma's plan to be physical with Griner backfired, with Baylor's 6-foot-8 phenom making all 13 of her free throws. And the Sooners made things even worst when they went nearly 11 minutes after halftime before finally making a field goal.

"We're talking about a team that we have so much respect for," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "We're talking about great shooters." Not against the Lady Bears (24-0, 11-0 Big 12), who are beating everybody by big margins.

"They're buying into what we're teaching them on the defensive end of the floor, they're listening to scouting reports, they're making it very difficult for people to score," Mulkey said. "And they're taking pride in that."

By the time Sharane Campbell made a basket with 9:14 left in the game, the Sooners (15-7, 7-4) had missed 16 shots in a row and trailed 68-36. They finished shooting a season-low 27 percent (16 of 60) for the game.

Baylor stretched its home winning streak to 36, this win coming only 11 days after they beat the Sooners 89-58 in Norman.

Odyssey Sims had 14 points and four steals for Baylor, while Brooklyn Pope had 11 points and six rebounds. Destiny Williams had 15 rebounds.
Whitney Hand had 20 points to lead Oklahoma, which had won three in a row since the loss to the Lady Bears. Campbell had 13 points.

"Even at halftime, I didn't feel like we had let anything get away," coach Sherri Coale said. "At halftime, we felt OK. We just knew we had to weather the first four minutes of the second half, and when you go 0-for-16 to start the second half, you're not going to win many games."

Mulkey said it was probably the most physical game of the year for Baylor, which has already defeated the likes of Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame. Just about every time Griner got the ball under her basket, she was surrounded by Sooners in pink jerseys. All she did was keep making free throws.

"Definitely, I loved it," Griner said. "She separates herself as a post player because she has become so efficient at the free throw line," Coale said. "That really makes her a handful, even more than she's been in the past."

Griner, whose 13 made free throws were a career best, came out of the game for good with about 11 1/2 minutes left. She had played every minute until then as Baylor built a 64-33 lead.

Her departure came after an active sequence on both ends of the floor. After Griner had a steal under the Oklahoma basket, she got the ball to Sims, who got the ball back to her going to the other way. Griner made a strong move for a short jumper while being fouled by Joanna McFarland and made the free throw for a 60-33 lead.

Less than a minute later, Kimetria Hayden inbounded from under the basket to Griner in the lane. Griner worked around three defenders to get the layup for a 64-33 lead. Baylor scored 24 points off 17 Oklahoma turnovers, and outscored the Sooners 42-18 in the paint.

McFarland played for the first time after missing six games because of a broken jaw. Wearing a plastic protective mask over her face, McFarland had nine rebounds but was 0-for-3 shooting with one free throw made in 25 minutes.

Griner got off to a quick start, scoring the first basket of the game. The Sooners then scored seven in a row, going ahead on a 3-pointer by Morgan Hook and leading 7-2 on Hand's jumper.

The Sooners had their last lead when Hand made a jumper with 14 minutes left in the first half to make it 11-9. But Baylor then scored 13 in a row and Oklahoma went more than 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal until Aaryn Ellenberg made a 3-pointer.

"I thought we flustered them in the first half," Hand said. "In that stretch they got going, and when they get going, it goes pretty fast." 

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner scored right away and top-ranked Baylor was quickly on the way to avenging its last loss, beating Texas A&M (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) 71-48 Saturday night in their first meeting since last year's NCAA tournament.

Griner, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, put the Lady Bears (25-0, 12-0 Big 12) ahead to stay with her inside basket and free throw only a half-minute into the game.
After Tyra White scored on the first shot by Texas A&M, Baylor scored 14 consecutive points over a four-minute span.

Texas A&M (17-6, 8-4) had lost eight in a row against Baylor, including three last season before that NCAA regional final victory last March. That sent the Aggies to their first Final Four on way to winning the national championship.

For the long-awaited rematch, which Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey has repeatedly said will be SEC-bound Texas A&M's last visit to Waco, there was a record-tying sellout crowd of 10,627. The fans got worked into a frenzy by Baylor's opening flurry, and the Lady Bears kept them cheering all night.

Odyssey Sims had 19 points while Brooklyn Pope had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Bears. Griner, their 6-foot-8 junior phenom, also blocked six shots.
White had 18 points to lead Texas A&M, which had won four in a row and seven of eight before shooting 28 percent (18 of 64).

The Lady Bears extended their school-record home winning streak to 37 games. Texas A&M last won there in 2007.

With six games left in the round-robin Big 12 schedule, including a Feb. 27 game at College Station, the Lady Bears have a four-game lead in the conference standings over second-place A&M.
Mulkey was already pumping her right fist when Griner scored that opening basket. The Lady Bears made their first five shots.

Kimetria Hayden's layup started the 14-0 spurt. Sims then had a layup before hitting two 3-pointers from the left corner in front of the A&M bench.
Baylor had a 17-2 lead, and Aggies coach Gary Blair had already called two timeouts, when Sims made her second long-range shot.

Karla Gilbert, A&M's 6-foot-5 center, could only turn her head in frustration toward the Aggies' bench after Griner drove and had a layup against her about 5 minutes into the game. Then Griner blocked her on consecutive shots taken in rapid-fire motion.

Texas A&M missed 10 shots in a row before White finally had a putback of her own miss. That was the Aggies' first score in more than 6 minutes since she scored in the game's opening minute.

The Aggies are the only Big 12 team to hold any opponent under 40 points in a game this season, including a 67-36 victory over Kansas State on Wednesday. They trailed Baylor 40-21 at halftime.

After not scoring consecutive baskets in the first half, Texas A&M scored the first six points after halftime.
White had a jumper that gave Blair something to clap about, before Kelsey Bone blocked a layup attempt by Griner that led to a jumper by Adaora Elonu. Then Elonu had a steal she converted into a layup to cut the gap to 40-27.

Texas A&M never got closer, and Baylor finally scored again when Hayden penetrated for a short baseline jumper to start a 15-5 run. 

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Brittney Griner and top-ranked Baylor aren't just winning every game they play. They're making each one a blowout.

Griner had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Kimetria Hayden scored a season-high 20 points and the Bears remained perfect this season by beating Oklahoma State 83-52 on Wednesday night.

The blowouts are nothing new for the Bears (26-0, 13-0 Big 12), who are making an unprecedented rampage through conference play. Each of their last eight wins have come by at least 20 points.

"I thought it was just a good night and everybody should be happy," coach Kim Mulkey said.
The Bears easily avoided an upset in an arena that's been unfriendly at times over the years. Baylor had a losing record in Stillwater coming into the game and had teams ranked in the top 5 lose at Oklahoma State twice in the past four years.

Griner made sure there was no chance for history to repeat itself, making 11 of 17 shots and also blocking six on the other end. Hayden was 6 for 8 from the field and made eight of her nine foul shots, providing only the second 20-point game of her career. The other came against the Cowgirls two years ago in her first career start.

"(Hayden) has just learned through being here three years what's a good shot, what's not a good shot - when to attack, when not to attack." Mulkey said. "I think she's making better decisions. She's making better decisions on the offensive end."

Hayden became Griner's third teammate to score at least 20 points in a game this season.
"While Brittney gets all the attention- and she should - those other players are outstanding All-Americans and they don't care," Mulkey said. "It's about the ring. it's not about individual honors. It's not about how many points you score.

"We're on a mission and we want to get to a Final Four and win a championship. As you saw tonight, we have many weapons." Taylor Schippers led Oklahoma State (13-9, 5-8) with 11 points. Liz Donohoe scored 10 and Tiffany Bias had eight assists while going 1 for 13 from the field. The Cowgirls have lost five of their last six games.

"When you play them, you've got to be as close to perfect as possible if you're going to win or be competitive in the game," Cowgirls coach Jim Littell said. "I think we did some things that are better than what the score showed up but we didn't make shots."

They became the latest victim in Baylor's impressive monthlong blowout streak.
Only 14 teams have ever won eight straight regular-season Big 12 games and none made it more than halfway to the Bears' current stretch of 20-point blowouts.

Nebraska (2010) and Oklahoma (2006) had only three wins by that margin during their undefeated runs through Big 12 play. Texas A&M had eight last season on its way to the national title, but never more than three in a row. And when the Bears won it all in 2005, they only beat two Big 12 foes by 20.
"I think somebody's going to have to really be on their game and I think Baylor's going to have to be a little off to beat them," Littell said.

Baylor leads the nation in shooting percentage (48.7) and is second on the defensive end (30.2) in that category. Against the Cowgirls, the Bears shot 55 percent while holding a 46-16 scoring edge in the paint. They attempted only three 3-pointers - fewer than Oklahoma State tried in its first four possessions.
The Cowgirls ended up making 26 percent and went 6 for 27 from 3-point range.

"Baylor's a good team, so I don't really look at the scoreboard just as long as we're executing plays that coach is calling for us," Bias said. "We did have some good plays that we ran and we executed well. We just couldn't hit open shots tonight."

After Oklahoma State claimed an early 8-6 lead, Griner hit back-to-back jumpers in the lane to launch a 17-2 surge that put the Bears ahead to stay. Griner added a third jumper with a turnaround shot in the lane later in the run, Odyssey Sims followed with a 3-pointer and Hayden's jumper in the lane made it 23-10 with 11:52 left in the first half.

The Cowgirls were never again within single digits as Baylor pushed its lead to 17 by halftime and led by at least 20 over the final 14 minutes.
Griner had eight points during a 10-0 Baylor run, sinking a jumper as she ran along the left side to make it 55-29 with 14:02 remaining.

"I'm going to be a guard next year," the 6-foot-8 Griner cracked. "I'm just telling you now."
Griner's layup in transition pushed it to 72-43 just before she came out one second past the 7-minute mark in the second half. The rest of the starters filtered out over the next 2 minutes and were replaced by reserves outside the rotation down the stretch.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner and the top-ranked Baylor Lady Bears are still undefeated and already have at least a share of the Big 12 conference title.

Griner had 18 points, 14 rebounds and matched a career high with five assists as Baylor overcame one of its worst extended stretches of bad play all season for a 56-51 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday night.

Destiny Williams added 16 points for the Lady Bears (27-0, 14-0 Big 12), getting most of her points on layups - several coming at key times. Her layup with 7:49 left, on a play started by Griner, broke a 46-all tie and put Baylor ahead to stay. The Lady Raiders (17-9, 5-9) are the only Big 12 team to keep the final margin against Baylor under 10 points. They lost 72-64 at home a month earlier.

After Baylor scored the game's first nine points, Texas Tech recovered to build as much as a nine-point lead before halftime. Baylor, the only undefeated team in major college basketball, was still down by seven before Kimetria Hayden had consecutive assists to Williams for inside baskets. That capped a 10-2 run that put Baylor ahead 42-41 with just over 12 minutes left.

The Lady Bears went ahead to stay when Griner, surrounded by defenders, passed outside to Terran Condrey, who got the ball right back inside to Williams for her go-ahead layup. Baylor can clinch the Big 12 title outright with a win at home Tuesday over Texas. No. 14 Texas A&M (19-6, 10-4) remained four games behind the Lady Bears with four games remaining in conference play. The defending national champion Aggies, who beat Oklahoma State on Saturday night, lost 71-48 a week earlier at Waco. Baylor plays at College Station on Feb. 27.

Monique Smalls had 13 points to lead Texas Tech, while Kierra Mallard had 10.
When the game ended, Baylor had a full celebration, including confetti falling from the rafters and a trophy presentation - though coach Kim Mulkey and the players were actually lifting up the 2011 Big 12 championship trophy they won last year. The players were given new Big 12 championship T-shirts and caps.

Griner, the 6-foot-8 junior phenom, ran across the court scooping confetti in her hand and throwing it up in the air. She then got down, spreading her body on the floor and doing her version of "snow angels" in the confetti like she had also done a year ago.

When fans were invited to join the celebration on the court, they crowded around the goal where coaches and players were taking turns climbing a ladder to clip off their individual pieces of the net.
The final cuts were made by Mulkey with her two children on the ladder with her - just like they were after Baylor won the 2005 national championship. Mulkey's daughter, Makenzie Robertson, is now a sophomore guard for the Lady Bears.

With the chance to clinch the title at home before another sellout crowd, Williams made two layups in the first 45 seconds of the game and Baylor went on to build a 9-0 lead after Griner's three-point play and a jumper by Hayden.

The Lady Raiders finally scored when Smalls banked a 3-pointer at the 15:42 mark. Mallard and Morris hit 3s over the next 2 minutes and they tied the game at 9. That trio of 3s started a 26-8 run, which pushed Tech ahead 26-17 on Jordan Barncastle's 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the first half.

Four free throws by Griner in the closing minute cut the gap to 32-30 before Mallard hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left for a 35-30 lead. Baylor missed its first six shots after halftime and was down 39-32 when Christine Hyde made a free throw with just under 16 minutes left.

Then came the game-turning 10-2 run that began with a flurry of six points in 26 seconds.
Condrey made a 3-pointer with an assists from Sims, who then had a steal and was fouled. She made the second free throw before Condrey had a steal that led to another assist by Sims, this one to Griner.
The celebration was finally on after Griner made two free throws with 8 seconds left.

WACO, Texas (AP) - Brittney Griner had 18 points with 10 rebounds and top-ranked Baylor claimed the outright Big 12 title with an 80-59 victory over Texas on Tuesday night.
Griner's 40th career double-double came in her 100th game at Baylor.

After a pregame ceremony when the 6-foot-8 junior phenom was recognized for becoming Baylor's fourth 2,000-point career scorer earlier this season, Griner put the Lady Bears ahead to stay with layup only 31 seconds into the game.

The Lady Bears (28-0, 15-0 Big 12) had clinched a share of the title with a win over Texas Tech on Saturday night, when they cut down the nets and got championship T-shirts in a full-scale celebration for their second consecutive Big 12 regular season title, and third overall.

After beating Texas (15-12, 5-10) to ensure they wouldn't have to share the title, the reaction was much more subdued. Baylor players had the customary postgame handshake with the opposing team, and then stood in front of the band for the usual playing of the alma mater. They slapped hands with a few fans lining the edge of the court, but nothing like the raucous celebration three nights earlier.

The Ferrell Center went silent with 16 seconds left when Shanay Washington crumbled to the floor grabbing the bulky brace protecting her surgically repaired left knee.

Washington, who returned only a month ago after playing only five games last season, could be heard crying as trainers tended to her. She remained down for several minutes before getting up and walking gingerly off the court.

Kimetria Hayden had 17 points in 21 minutes for the Lady Bears, and Brooklyn Pope had 13 points. Destiny Williams had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double in 52 career games. Yvonne Anderson had 16 points to lead Texas. Chassidy Fussell had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Baylor extended its school record with its 39th consecutive home victory, matching fifth-ranked Miami for the second-longest active streak. Second-ranked Stanford has won 76 in a row at home.
The last home loss for the Lady Bears was in March 2010 against Texas.

With their poor shooting, the Longhorns never had a chance to repeat that feat.
Baylor jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first 7 minutes. The only points for the Longhorns during that stretch came on Fussell's 3-pointer from the right wing 2 1/2 minutes into the game. They then missed eight shots in a row over the next 5 minutes before Fussell finally made a jumper.

After Pope's strong move inside for a layup with 10:35 left in the first half put the Lady Bears up 18-7, they maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game. Three Texas starters were scoreless at halftime, when the Longhorns trailed 40-20 and were shooting only 21 percent (8 of 39). They finished shooting 34 percent (25 of 73).

Baylor built as much as a 28-point lead in the second half, when Griner played only sparingly before coach Kim Mulkey had several little-used reserve players on the court together. Baylor plays its next two games on the road, at Kansas and Texas A&M, before its regular season finale March 3 at home against Iowa State.