Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            CANCUN, Mexico – Riding a stifling defense that held Arizona State to 31 points and 27% shooting through the first three quarters, the sixth-ranked Baylor women defeated the Sun Devils, 62-52, Friday morning on the second day of the Cancun Challenge.  
            NaLyssa Smith recorded her fifth-straight double-double and 29^th of her career with 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Bears (5-1) to their second win as many days. Baylor wraps up the three-day tournament with a matchup against Houston (3-3) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. 
            "I thought the defense was really good for about three quarters, for sure," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. "I thought our defensive game plan was really good. I thought we cleaned up the glass really well for three quarters. And then, we didn't do as good of a job on the glass, especially on free throws late."
            Smith scored six points in the first quarter, helping the Bears get out to a 17-6 lead in the first eight minutes before Jaddan Simmons fed Maggie Besselink for a layup and then drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 17-11.
            Holding ASU to nine points in the second quarter, Baylor extended its lead to 33-20 at halftime with a pair of Caitlin Bickle buckets. 
            After scoring just two points and missing all nine shots in Thursday's 68-45 win over Fordham, 6-3 senior center Queen Egbo bounced back with 11 points, five boards and three blocks to help the Bears dominate points in the paint, 36-18. 
            "We got a ton of paint touches, we just didn't finish as well as we should," Collen said. "I spent an hour with Queen last night just to get her dialed back in and challenge her that it wasn't about seeing the ball go through the basket, it was about energy. We were going to get her touches, but give me a rim-run layup. Give me one where you get in a race and win the race. And she got one of those in the third quarter."
            Bookend layups by Egbo were part of nine-straight points by the Bears, who finished off an overall 15-2 run with a pair of Kamaria McDaniel free throws to make it 48-26 with 1:19 in the third quarter. 
            Trailing by as many as 22 late in the third quarter, the Sun Devils (2-4) rallied to make it an eight-point game, 55-47, on a jumper by Jaden Loville with 2:33 left in the game. But, Ja'Mee Asberry's 3-pointer gave the Bears some breathing room and then Smith iced it with a bucket off an assist from Jordan Lewis. 
            "Obviously, key play late, downhill drive (by Lewis) with the kickout to Ja'Mee for the 3, that's the dagger to put the game away," Collen said. 
            Lewis was 9-of-12 from the line and scored 15 points to go with five assists, while ASU's Maes Giles had a double-double of her own with 10 points and 14 rebounds. 
            The Bears also got seven points from Asberry and five points apiece from Sarah Andrews and Bickle, but the bench was outscored, 14-7, and Baylor finished with just a 42-41 edge on the boards. Baylor held ASU to 30.5% shooting from the floor, which is the lowest opponent shooting percentage this season. 
            Playing its fourth game in seven days, Baylor will face Houston (3-3) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on the final day of the Cancun Challenge. The Cougars defeated Arizona State, 68-60, but then lost to Fordham, 67-53, on Friday. 
            "Houston is going to be very similar to Arizona State in terms of their physicality, but they're going to be a little more athletic at every position and they're going to run 10 to 12 bodies in," Collen said of the Cougars, who are led by Tatyana Hill, a 6-2 senior forward averaging a double-double with 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. 
            Saturday's game against Houston will be streamed by FloHoops.com.