Baylor
15-4,5-2Big 12
West Virginia
10-8,3-5Big 12
No. 11 WBB Cruise Past West Virginia, 87-54
1/29/2022 3:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – When 11th-ranked Baylor took a 15-point first-quarter lead on Texas Tech three days ago, the Bears took their foot off the gas and and had to hold on for an 88-80 road win.
Not this time.
Jordan Lewis had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, helping Baylor (15-4, 5-2) jump out to an 18-point first-quarter lead en route to an 87-54 blowout win over the West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday afternoon at WVU Coliseum.
"I think lessons are there to be learned," said first-year Baylor head coach Nicki Collen, whose team won its fifth in a row. "I feel like we learned a lesson at Tech in terms of taking our foot off the gas."
The Bears were full-throttle in the first quarter, finishing on a 24-4 run and going up 28-10 on Jaden Owens' 3-pointer with seven seconds left. NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, who shared team-high scoring honors with 20 points, were a combined 8-for-8 and scored 17 points in the period.
"When we settled down defensively, they had no answer," Collen said. "I just thought we put the pedal down in the first and second quarter. I would have liked to see us blow out a little bit more in the third, but . . . baby steps."
The pattern continued in the second quarter, with the Bears finishing on a 16-4 run over the last seven minutes, extending the lead to 51-31. Lewis carried the load over the last 4 ½ minutes, hitting a second-chance layup and 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions and then feeding Egbo and freshman Kendra Gillespie for three-straight buckets.
"We've been working in practice a lot on executing our plays and getting the shots we want," said Lewis, who was 2-of-2 from outside the arc. "Not necessarily always the first option, but the second and third option to get people to defend us longer. I think we executed and, obviously, shot the ball very well today."
The Mountaineers (10-8, 3-5) scored 15 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter to chip into Baylor's lead, but Sarah Andrews made a 3-pointer and a jumper in the lane to make it 68-39 at the end of three quarters.
Andrews was 3-for-3 in the third and finished with 15 points, four assists, two rebounds and a block, hitting 6-of-8 overall.
"I thought both Jordan and Sarah played very poised," Collen said. "Sarah is playing so confidently, with so much poise, considering she didn't get a lot of minutes a year ago."
Smith picked up her third foul and a technical foul for her fourth with 6:20 left in the third quarter, sitting out the next 10 minutes. She played only 22 minutes, connecting on 9-of-11 shots from the floor and finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds.
"You don't ever want Lys to go out of the game," Collen said. "I don't care if we're up 30, but it's a lesson. (Caitlin Bickle) is a veteran, she always brings a calming presence. I think in that moment, you feel good about what Cait brings to the table. She doesn't make a lot of mistakes, she's going to guard, she's going to understand what they're doing."
Needing one assist and three rebounds to record her first career triple-double and the program's seventh, Lewis picked up two assists in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and got her 10th rebound with 3 ½ minutes left in the game.
"I didn't realize it until I had two rebounds left and Coach Nicki told me, 'I know you're tired, but you're two rebounds shy of a triple-double. So, go out there and get those so I can take you out,''' said Lewis, who became the first Baylor player to record a triple-double since Alexis Jones versus Oklahoma on Jan. 29, 2017.
"My favorite part about the game is getting my teammates open and getting them open shots. Some of the things I do don't show up on the stat sheet. I think it's an amazing honor, not only for me, but for the team. And just showing how much we've grown over these past few weeks."
Esmery Martinez led the Mountaineers with 13 points and six rebounds, but had a streak of double-doubles stopped at three. KK Deans, West Virginia's leading scorer, left with an apparent injury six minutes into the game when she was fouled by Owens on a drive to the basket.
"They ran the same actions, but she's the most efficient 3-point shooter they have," Collen said. "So, a lot of those actions are initiated with her. I'm not sure that it would have mattered. Hopefully, she's OK, and get her for 40 (minutes) the next game."
After playing the first of four games in nine days, Baylor returns home to face 18th-ranked Oklahoma (17-3, 7-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center. The Sooners knocked off No. 9 Texas, 65-63, Saturday and have won six of their last seven.
