By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
                 AMES, Iowa – Two weeks ago, DiJonai Carrington and Caitlin Bickle weren't even in the building when Baylor lost to Iowa State, 75-71, snapping a 61-game home court winning streak. Sunday, they showed what a difference two players can make. 
            Returning from COVID quarantining, Carrington and Bickle combined for 25 points, helping the No. 8/9 Lady Bears (12-2, 7-1) defeat Iowa State, 85-77, to avenge their only conference loss of the season. 
            "More important than who we've lost two in a row to are those 10 Big 12 championships," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team had lost two in a row to the Cyclones (11-6, 7-3). "That's what we're playing for is the 11^th one. If they had beaten us, it would have been three in a row, but we would still be fighting for a Big 12 championship. I'm never going to let one game be more important than the end result of a championship."
            Baylor, which stayed a half-game ahead of 24^th-ranked West Virginia (13-2, 7-2) atop the Big 12 standings, also got double-doubles from NaLyssa Smith and Moon Ursin. 
Playing just five minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, Smith came back to score 16 of her team-high 20 points in the second half and added 10 rebounds for her 20^th career double-double and sixth in the last seven games. 
            "From the start, I told everybody, we're not leaving here without a win," Smith said. "We went into this game, we had our minds right. You can't let two fouls determine the whole game. So, when I did get in, I did what I was supposed to do."
            The 5-6 Ursin had 11 points to go with a career-high 15 rebounds, helping Baylor dominate the boards, 51-26 (23-8 on the offensive end), and outscore the Cyclones, 23-8, in second-chance points. Adding six assists while playing every minute, Ursin had her third career double-double, all this season. 
            "I saw a team that's growing up every day," Mulkey said. "When you can go on the road and win, it makes you more confident, it gives you much more experience. And what better team to learn from than a team that exposes us a lot defensively."
            Shooting 60 percent from the floor and a perfect 10-of-10 from the line, Iowa State had a 25-22 lead at the end of the first quarter. With Carrington and Bickle leading the way, connecting on a combined 6-of-8 from the floor, the Lady Bears outscored the Cyclones, 25-16, in the second quarter and were up 47-41 at the break. 
            Madison Wise drained back-to-back 3-pointers and Lexi Donarski hit a layup off a loose-ball turnover to put Iowa State back on top, 59-57, with 4:50 left in the third. 
            "I just thought our kids battled," Mulkey said. "When they tied it at 57-57 on those terrible defensive transition possessions, we could have lost the game right there. But, I thought there was a lot of leadership in that time out."
            Leading by just one going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears opened the period with three straight buckets by Ursin, Smith and Carrington and never trailed again. 
            Baylor also got 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals from senior point guard DiDi Richards. With the Lady Bears clinging to a six-point lead and trying to run some clock with a weave motion offense, Richards got a step on the defender and drove inside for a layup that made it an 81-73 game. 
            "You would think it would be hard to get (into the lane) if they were switching and sagging the way they did, and that we would have to shoot a shot over the top," Mulkey said. "But, they were able to get in between them and get to the rim."
            Ranked eighth in the nation in scoring coming into the game with a 24.2-point average, Ashley Joens finished with a game-high 25 points and hit all 10 of her free throws. But, she was just 6-of-22 from the floor and 3-of-9 from outside the arc and had four of the Cyclones' 14 turnovers. 
            "Like I told the team, I would rather her hit some 3's than kill us in the paint, getting and-ones all night," Mulkey said. "I thought we listened to the scouting report."
            Baylor returns home to host Kansas (6-7, 2-5) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Jayhawks have dropped five of their last six after returning from a COVID pause and are coming off a 75-51 loss at home to Oklahoma State.