Box Score By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Fifth-ranked Baylor didn't exactly light the world on fire from the offensive end in Friday's season opener, but the Lady Bears' smothering defense looked in mid-season form.
Juniors Nina Davis and Alexis Jones combined for 34 points, nearly doubling UT-Arlington's total nd propelling the Lady Bears to a dominating 62-20 win before an opening-night crowd of 6,804 at the Ferrell Center.
Despite shooting just 36 percent from the floor and getting a combined two points from guards Niya Johnson, Alexis Prince and Kristy Wallace, Baylor breezed into the Preseason WNIT quarterfinals and will host Southern Miss (1-0) at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at the Ferrell Center. The Golden Eagles rolled over Alabama State, 65-44.
"Give UTA credit defensively, but we've got to finish shots," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "Part of that is probably first game, part of it is fatigue, part of it is inexperience. . . . My disappointment is that you had three returning players who took you to an Elite Eight (that scored a combined two points). If we're going to be very good, that can't happen. We won, and we'll move on."
Baylor's defense didn't let the visiting Lady Mavericks even breathe, holding them to 20 percent shooting overall and a dismal 1-of-11 from outside the 3-point arc. UTA's six first-half points were just one off the school record - five by Texas State on Jan. 2, 2010. Prince made up some of her offensive woes (0-for-11 shooting) by getting five of the team's 18 steals and two blocks.
"I thought we were active," Mulkey said. "We got a lot of turnovers. I thought our help-side (defense) was pretty good. I can think of a few instances when we didn't talk and switch. We had UTA in a lot of what we call `hot situations,' where it's under 10 (seconds) on the shot clock, and we're switching on everything. When you have that activity on the defensive end, it helps you when you're struggling offensively."
Jones certainly didn't struggle in the first quarter, going 3-for-3 from outside the arc and scoring nine of her 15 points, helping the Lady Bears jump out to a 21-5 lead.
"I think I shot the ball pretty well in the first quarter, which kept me going," said Jones, a Duke transfer who sat out last season. "I'm just excited to be out there and trying to work hard and do my best to be the best player I can to help this team out."
With Johnson picking up her second foul at the 6:30 mark in the second quarter on a charge, Jones had to play every minute of the first half and a team-high 29 for the game in her first regular-season game since injuring both knees at the end of her sophomore season at Duke.
"I didn't really want to play her that much in the first half," Mulkey said. "With Alexis' legs, you've got to rest her as much as you can. As good as she is, I don't want to burn her out and hurt her here early in the season."
Both teams struggled in the second quarter, combining for just 10 total points. The Lady Bears were 3-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from the line for nine points, while UTA was scoreless on 0-for-7 from the field and turned it over nine times.
"It's one thing to prepare for your opening game, it's another thing to prepare for the No. 5 team in the nation in your opening game," said UTA head coach Krista Gerlich. "I think we will play faster and I think we will shoot better. Baylor makes you shoot it quicker. Prince's length on the perimeter is incredible, and that is hard to deal with."
Baylor's offensive struggles continued in the third quarter, but Davis was 4-of-4 from the line and scored six of her game-high 19 points, extending the lead to 44-14.
With UTA scoring just two points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and 16 for the game, the Lady Mavs were in jeopardy of scoring the fewest by a Baylor opponent in program history. But Amara Wainright drained a 3-pointer with 3:07 left, giving the visitors 19 points.
The Lady Bears' freshman post duo of Beatrice Mompremier and Kalani Brown provided a second-half spark, finishing with a combined 15 points and 12 boards.
"Beatrice, in the minutes she played was very productive," Mulkey said of Mompremier's eight points and six rebounds in just 14 minutes. "She did it in a quiet way, so maybe I need to look at the film and praise her. I thought Kalani got fatigued a little bit, but they're both freshmen. Freshmen are going to do that."
Gerlich, part of a national championship team at Texas Tech, said she "would not be surprised to see (Baylor) in the Final Four."
"Baylor is extremely talented, and they are so big inside," she said. "We knew that that was going to be difficult for us. It was a great environment to play in, a huge stage for our team."
