Cox Helps No. 1/1 WBB Finish Perfect in Big 12 Play

Monday, March 4

Morgantown, W.V.

6 p.m.

Baylor

28-1/18-0

West Virginia

20-9/11-7

Baylor

West Virginia

Photo by: Baylor Photography

Cox Helps No. 1/1 WBB Finish Perfect in Big 12 Play

3/4/2019 8:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Postgame Notes Highlights

Junior forward recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – This wasn't a 32-point blowout like the first meeting with West Virginia, but junior forward Lauren Cox recorded her 24^thcareer double-double and led the top-ranked Baylor Lady Bears to a nip-and-tuck 63-57 win over the Mountaineers Monday night.
Taking up the slack for 6-7 senior All-American Kalani Brown, who was plagued with early foul trouble and failed to hit double digits for just the fourth time this season, the 6-4 Cox had 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in helping the Lady Bears (28-1, 18-0) run the table in league play for the second year in a row and fourth time in the last eight seasons.
"That's what we did, we hung in there," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team extended its impressive streaks to 41 straight conference regular-season games, 35 in a row on the road in league play and a national-best active streak of 20 consecutive wins. "Two straight years you go undefeated in the league. You took West Virginia's best shot, 19 turnovers, foul trouble, and you won. So, we're going to celebrate that, but we're also going to continue to coach them."
Oklahoma in 2006 and Nebraska in 2010 were the only other Big 12 teams to go undefeated in conference play, but they both went 16-0. Since going to an 18-game schedule, Baylor is the only team to go through without a blemish, going 18-0 in 2012, 2013 and the last two years.
Over a 10-day stretch, Baylor finished the regular season by playing three of the four teams battling it out for top-four seeds in the Big 12 Championship that begins Friday in Oklahoma City.
"We didn't play any cupcake schedule here in the last three or four games," Mulkey said. "So, it will prepare us and we'll get better. . . . This game was the most physical game we've played all year, bar none. Nothing's even close to what took place tonight. A lot of drama, a lot of hanging on people. And thank God for Lauren Cox. I thought she played the most solid of anybody."
Cox and junior guard Juicy Landrum both played all 40 minutes of the game, combining for 35 points. Landrum finished with 13 points, hitting a finger-roll floater in the lane with 45 seconds left that gave the Lady Bears a little cushion at 57-50.
West Virginia (20-9, 11-7), which trailed by 13 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, made things interesting by scoring the last eight points of the period and pulling within 44-38 on Naomi Davenport's running 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Davenport missed her first 10 shots of the game, but hit four 3-pointers and eight of her last 13 shots to lead West Virginia with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Mountaineers made it a three-point game, 46-43, on a Davenport layup with 7:48 left, but could never get over the hump.
"Honestly, I enjoy playing Baylor, because they're good," West Virginia coach Mike Carey said. "That's the only way you see where your team is and who has heart, who doesn't have heart, who's going to play hard. I enjoy playing them whether they're No. 1 or not No. 1. But No. 1, that gives you a little more incentive. You have a target on your back. They've had a target on their back all year. Give them credit, they've found ways to win."
More than anything, Baylor did it on the defensive end, holding West Virginia to 35.7 percent shooting, dominating the boards, 40-27, and outscoring the Mountaineers in the paint, 26-10.
With both Brown and senior point guard Chloe Jackson on the bench with two fouls, Baylor had 13 of its 19 turnovers in the first half and led 31-23 at the break.
"I would have to look at the film to answer specifically, but some of it was we got in foul trouble," Mulkey said of the 19 turnovers. "Our two seniors were sitting over there early in the first half, one being your primary ball-handler and one being your All-American post. So, we're subbing right there. But, I also believe in giving credit to the opponent. I just thought their defense, they were touching and pushing and shoving. And why not? Get out there and play."
Brown, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds, said the Mountaineers "were a lot more physical this time and they were able to frustrate me and get me in foul trouble."
Cox, who was 7-of-10 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line, said West Virginia is always physical and plays great defense, "and we knew that coming when we came up here. But, that did affect us a little bit at first. We just fought through it.'
Baylor held the lead over the last couple minutes by hitting 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch after shooting just 12 free throws in the first 37 ½ minutes.
"I think it's good to have these kinds of games," Cox said, "because it reminds us that we can't take any team for granted. We have to fight to the finish every game."
Tynice Martin added 18 and freshman Kari Niblack 13 for West Virginia, while Landrum and Jackson had 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Bears.
Baylor is the No. 1 seed for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship that begins Friday at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. The Lady Bears will have a first-round bye and face the winner of the 8/9 game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.