Baylor
4-1,2-0Big 12
Texas Tech
3-2,0-1Big 12
No. 7 WBB Cruises To 91-45 Win Over Tech
12/14/2020 8:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Four Lady Bears in double-figures, all 10 players with at least four points in the victory
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Typically, when teams dip into their bench, there's a very noticeable dropoff and big leads tend to dwindle.
Not so with this seventh-ranked Baylor team. When the Lady Bears went on a 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter and shut out Texas Tech for the first five minutes, it was essentially the second five that turned Monday's Big 12 home opener at the Ferrell Center into a 91-45 blowout victory.
"In the huddle, I told them to look at the scoreboard, and I asked them how many points we were ahead," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team improved to 4-1 overall and atop the conference standings at 2-0. "And then I challenged them . . . you need to extend the lead. Not only did I give them a number to extend it to, they went beyond that number."
With 42 points, including 13 from grad transfer DiJonai Carrington and 10 from freshman post Hannah Gusters, the Baylor bench nearly matched the Tech team's total. Outside of Vivian Gray, a two-time All-Big 12 pick at Oklahoma State who scored 18 points, the rest of the Lady Raiders (3-2, 0-1) scored 27 points and were a dismal 10-of-42 from the floor.
The Lady Bears held Tech's big three of Gray, Chrislyn Carr and Lexi Gordon to a combined 33 points and 12-of-37 shooting.
"The challenge that I gave to NaLyssa Smith, DiDi (Richards) and Moon (Ursin) on those three scoring guards, they accepted it," Mulkey said. "I'm as proud of what they did on the defensive end as I am what they did offensively."
Smith, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, came in shooting at a disappointing .333 clip and had seen her scoring average dip to 14.3. But, the 6-2 junior forward made 6-of-9 from the floor and a near-perfect 9-of-10 from the line, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds.
"We've practiced it a lot, making those shots, being able to finish with contact," she said. "I feel like coming from practice, it's just finally hitting me."
In a highlight-reel moment halfway through the third quarter, Smith got an and-one layup and follow free throw off a sweet dish from Ursin with an over-the-shoulder alley-oop pass to her trailing teammate.
"It comes from a lot of team chemistry," Smith said. "Moon knows that nine out of 10 (times) I probably want the lob. It's easier to catch. When were coming down the floor, I kind of looked at her and then she looked at me, and we knew it was coming. I just went up and got it and I happened to make it."
This was far from a one-woman show, though. Carrington came off the bench to provide instant offense, knocking down a 3-pointer and two other buckets in a 9-0 first-quarter run that gave Baylor the lead for good and a 20-11 lead at the end of the period.
Smith's 10-point third quarter, including 8-of-9 from the line, helped the Lady Bears stretch a 17-point halftime lead out to 64-36 going into the final quarter. But, that wasn't enough for Mulkey.
Using a lineup that included starting wing Trinity Oliver and fellow junior Caitlin Bickle with freshmen Sarah Andrews and Hannah Gusters and sophomore guard Jordyn Oliver, the Lady Bears scored 16 unanswered points in the first 5 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter to put this one out of reach.
"I feel like we found our rhythm just over time," said Jordyn Oliver, who had eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds and only one turnover. "Like Coach said, this is just game five. We're going to keep getting more and more comfortable."
Trinity Oliver and the 6-5 Gusters scored 10 points apiece, with Baylor finishing with a 42-4 edge in bench points, getting 20 second-chance points and outscoring the Lady Raiders, 62-20, in the paint. Flexing its muscle with a much taller frontline, Baylor also dominated the boards, 55-22.
"We like to get the post players going as well," Jordyn Oliver said. "Once they get going, then everybody gets going. It's not like we really emphasized it, but when they're open, we're going to get them the ball."
Before taking a 13-day Christmas break, Baylor will play three games in four days, hosting Southern (0-3) on Wednesday, Northwestern State (0-1) on Friday and McNeese State (1-3) on Saturday, with all three games tipping at 2 p.m.
-BaylorBears.com-
