Loaded (and unselfish), No. 2 Baylor demolishes WVU by 35

Morgantown, WV — The last team to beat West Virginia in Morgantown was Baylor on January 30, 2016. Nearly a year goes by, and the Lady Bears found dominance at WVU Coliseum a second time cruising to a 91-57 victory. No. 2 Baylor’s depth and the Mountaineers’ lack-there-of showed on the court.

“I’ve got a lot of kids that could start at a lot of schools, but they chose to come to Baylor to win a championship,” head coach Kim Mulkey said.

To start off the first quarter, Kalani Brown grabbed the tipoff and made an easy layup for the Lady Bears, and Brown’s intensity grew from that moment. In the first quarter alone Brown already had 11 points and eight rebounds. She was a major factor in Baylor’s 10-0 run to start.

The Mountaineers never found a rhythm in the first quarter although Tynice Martin grabbed a block and nailed a three-pointer. Chania Ray added with an effective pump fake jumper, but the team, overall, lacked hustle in the first quarter.

Baylor leads the country in assists, and this game was no exception. In the second quarter, the Lady Bears efficiently moved the ball on offense and continued to out-hustle West Virginia on defense.

Alexis Jones created plays in the second quarter. With about four minutes left in the half, she stepped back, did a little shake-and-bake and nailed a jumper. Later in the quarter she chased her blocked shot, controlled the ball from two defenders and kept the dribble as she tight-roped it down the edge to keep Baylor’s possession.

And with just 22 seconds left in the half, Jones got open beyond the arc and buried another three.

In the final minute of the half, Ray stepped up the intensity for the Mountaineers and scored six points, including two free throws. But going into the halftime break, West Virginia still trailed the Lady Bears, 42-27.

Baylor’s command rolled into the third quarter. Five minutes in, the Lady Bears went on another 10-0 run. Throughout the quarter Baylor utilized its depth as five different players scored. The Mountaineers were fighting, but the size disadvantage kept them out of the ball game.

Going into the final quarter, Baylor led 72-43. Energy from both teams fell in the fourth. Early on, Kristina King made a layup for West Virginia and Alexis Prince, and Beatrice Mompremier each made a layup for the Lady Bears, but there wasn’t much action in the middle of the quarter.

Although she fouled out with a minute remaining, Lauren Cox played strong in the fourth quarter for Baylor. Cox scored nine points and pulled down three rebounds in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The Mountaineers didn’t have an answer for The Lady Bears’ aggressive offensive rebounding. By the end of the game, Baylor had 33-second chance points.

“We have great post players that rebound the basketball,” Jones said. “They’re tough, they get down there; they grab the rebounds for us.”

The deep Baylor (12-1) bench was too much for West Virginia (13-2) to handle, and the Lady Bears won 91-56.

“When you coach that many unselfish kids, you’re going to win a lot of ballgames,” Mulkey said.

Jones ended the night with 21 points and Brown tallied a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Teana Muldrow led the Mountaineers with 16 points.