No. 7 Baylor women beat Oklahoma St. for 10th win in row
WACO, Texas (AP) — NaLyssa Smith scored 20 points, DiJonai Carrington had a double-double and No. 7 Baylor won its 10th game in a row, 70-51 over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night to move the Lady Bears closer to their 11th Big 12 regular-season title in a row.
The Lady Bears (18-2, 13-1 Big 12) took control by scoring the last 17 points before halftime. But that came after a miserable stretch of nearly 9 1/2 minutes when they blew all of an early 14-point lead with nine turnovers while missing 11 of 12 shots.
Carrington had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor, which can clinch at least a share of the Big 12 title with a home win Saturday over Kansas State. Queen Egbo had 13 points and Moon Ursin 11, while Egbo and Smith both had nine rebounds.
While the Lady Bears still have four games to play, Oklahoma State (17-7, 13-5) was the first Big 12 team to complete its regular season. The Cowgirls had won nine of their 10 games since a 77-58 home loss to Baylor on Jan. 20.
Natasha Mack had 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Cowgirls, while Ja'Mee Asberry had 15 points.
Baylor scored the game's first seven points, and was up 16-2 when Egbo made a layup with 3:54 left in the first quarter. Mack then made a jumper to start a 19-2 run, which she ended with another jumper that made it 21-18 with 4:48 left in the second quarter.
Oklahoma State got 11 of its 21 first-half points off turnovers, taking the lead with consecutive baskets after turnovers by Smith. Mack's steal led to a 3-pointer by Fields that put the Cowgirls up 19-18, and Neferatali Notoa had a steal that set up a Mack's run-ending jumper — and their last points before halftime.
Smith then scored eight points in Baylor's half-ending run, starting it and ending it with layups. After Smith blocked a shot in the closing seconds, DiJonai Carrington got the rebound and passed to Smith for a breakaway basket to made it 35-21 at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma State: The Cowgirls lost their 11th consecutive game in the series against Baylor, but still had a record-breaking regular season. Their 13 league wins were a school record, two more than they had ever had — they had won 11 Big 12 games five times, the most recent in 2017-18.
Baylor: Carrington has scored in double figures in all seven games since her return from missing four games because of COVID-19 protocols. It was her first double-double for Baylor after nine in her four years at Stanford.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State has a two-week wait until the start of the Big 12 tournament, which begins March 11 in Kansas City.
Baylor is home to play Kansas State on Saturday, then has three makeup games next week.
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