Waco, TX— West Virginia (11-11, 4-8 Big 12) did all they could to fight tooth and nail against No. 10 Baylor (19-5, 9-3 Bg 12) on the road, but in the end they could not handle the firepower of Coach Nicki Collen’s team.
NaLyssa Smith lead all players with 30 points—tying a career high— and 12 rebounds. It is her 16th double double of the year. Queen Egbo also had a double double with 12 boards and 13 points.
Caitlin Bickle—who drew three charges in the contest— got an offensive rebound and layup to beat the first quarter buzzer to reclaim the lead, 14-13, for the Bears. Prior to the half, it was Blessing Ejiofor who made a layup at the horn to keep the deficit at one, 29-28, heading into the locker room.
The Baylor MBB Twitter account jokingly tweeted out during their morning game against Texas that they would have to check the rims before the women’s game tipped off. This was due to how many dunks they were throwing down during their blowout victory over rival Texas.
Maybe they rechecked the rims at halftime.
The Bears were 0-of-5 from beyond the arc and 5-of-14 from the free throw line in the first half. Baylor finished shooting 40 percent from the field in the game, including 4-of-12 from three and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe in the second half.
That is when Alabama transfer point guard Jordan Lewis took over, scoring the first eight points (and 10 of 12) after halftime for the Bears. That run included two threes and provided a bit of separation for Baylor. Lewis finished with 18 points, six assists and five boards after recording a triple double in Morgantown earlier this season.
The Mountaineers fought back to go on a mini 6-0 third quarter run to get within two before allowing the Bears to score the last five of the quarter.
West Virginia fought back again in the fourth after getting down 10 early after Lewis hit another three. They cut the lead to six with 6:50 left in the game, but that was as close as they would come.
Baylor finished the game on an 18-6 run to win comfortably and stay in third place in the Big 12 standings. The Bears still do not control their own destiny as they need Oklahoma to pick up a few losses before the year end.
For now, Baylor will continue to focus on going 1-0. They host TCU on Wednesday. It is their first matchup of the year vs the Horned Frogs due to Covid-19 postponements earlier this season.
West Virginia will play at Kansas on Tuesday.