No. 2 WBB Dominates Oklahoma State in Stillwater, 69-42

Saturday, February 15

Stillwater, Okla.

7:00 PM

Baylor

23-1,12-0Big 12

Oklahoma State

14-11,5-8Big 12

Baylor

Oklahoma St.

No. 2 WBB Dominates Oklahoma State in Stillwater, 69-42

2/15/2020 9:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Lady Bears won their 42nd-straight Big 12 road game

           STILLWATER, Okla. – Until Saturday might, grad transfer point guard Te'a Cooper was one of three players who had started all 23 games for the second-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, joined by DiDi Richards and Juicy Landrum.
            Calling it a gut feeling, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey inserted junior guard Moon Ursin in the starting lineup against Oklahoma State and brought Cooper off the bench.
            This, obviously, wasn't the first time, but Mulkey's "gut" was right.
            Bringing an energy off the bench and "more life about her," Cooper had a team-high 15 points and added eight rebounds and four steals to lift the Lady Bears (23-1, 12-0) to a dominant 69-42 win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
            "Sometimes, it's just your gut," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team won its 16^th game in a row and extending its conference winning streaks to 53-straight overall and 42-consecutive on the road. "I just felt like I wanted to look at that lineup, and boy did they come out smoking. And then, it allowed Coop to come in relaxed, and she got back in the flow offensively and defensively. It worked. When it works, man, I'm a good coach, aren't I?"
            The national leader in field goal percentage defense (30.3), Baylor flexed its defensive muscle by holding the Cowgirls (14-11, 5-8) to single-digit points in each of the first three quarters, 29.6 percent shooting overall and a season-low 42 points. And that was with sophomore Bryn Gerlich knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the last 40 seconds.
            "That's guarding people," Mulkey said.
            Baylor's balanced scoring also got double-digit points from Landrum (12) and Queen Egbo (10), eight points apiece from Richards and 6-4 senior All-American Lauren Cox and six from Ursin and NaLyssa Smith, who also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
            "We have multiple great players, and we're going to spread the wealth," Mulkey said. "Who are you going to key on? . . . We've got a lot to choose from. I'm blessed to be able to coach these kids."
            Trailing by eight after the first quarter, OSU pulled within 21-17 with an 8-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Vivian Gray. The Big 12's second-leading scorer, Gray finished with a game-high 19 points – the only Cowgirl in double figures – but also turned it over six times.
            Baylor closed the half on a 20-1 run, with OSU missing its next 10 shots and going scoreless from the field over the last 6:43. Landrum capped the run with a 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 41-18 at the break.
            Mulkey said she "high-fived every kid in that locker room" after the Lady Bears held OSU to nine points in each of the first two quarters and 25 percent shooting (7-of-28).
            "In my opinion, I do think we have the best defense in the country," Landrum said.
            Natasha Mack, one of the league's top scorers coming into the game, was scoreless in the first half and finished with seven points and 15 rebounds. The Cowgirls were outrebounded 45-35 and were outscored in the paint, 46-18.
            Mulkey (599-100) tries to become the fastest to 600 career victories – in men's or women's basketball – when the Lady Bears play Texas Tech (15-8, 4-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Lubbock. The Lady Raiders lost on the road at West Virginia, 67-60, on Saturday.