WBB: Lady Bears Dominate Oklahoma, 89-66

Just before the start of the game, the NCAA selection committee released its top 20 as well as the top 4 seeds as of today and that list did not include the Lady Bears. Kim and company must have seen that report, because the first 10 minutes of the game was a clinic. Not only did the Bears shoot out to a quick lead, they played solid fundamentals, getting the ball in everyone's hands and making sure the right player took the shot, not the big name. In addition, they ramped up the defense and it took Oklahoma until 7:38 left in the half to even get into double digits. Baylor started the game to prove they deserved the fourth 1 seed.

Unfortunately, the large lead let Baylor get lazy. They started to turn the ball over and make dumb mistakes that impacted their ability to score as well as letting Oklahoma start to claw back into the game. Baylor went into the half with a 42-20 lead and I honestly believe that if they had played with the same intensity for a full 20 minutes that lead would have been larger and Oklahoma would have scored even fewer points.

For the second half, Oklahoma and Baylor started sparring right away. Baylor shut down the lane and so Oklahoma moved outside the arc, making nine of 14 treys for 64.3%. I swear that Peyton Little for Oklahoma was taking shots that would be outside the NBA 3-point line. Thankfully, the Lady Bears never let the rain of threes bother them and they continued to play their game, going for the right shot, not lobbing up an outside shot in hopes of countering the three from Oklahoma. However, credit must be given to Oklahoma for the second half as they played very solid defense and never really let Baylor get the first shot attempt and the Ladys had to work the ball and patiently find the right shot. Thankfully, Baylor for the most part was able to keep up with Oklahoma during the middle of the second half while they struggled to find their shot. Finally, Wright got the layup, we got the turnover, then Nina Davis got a layup within 20 seconds of each other with 3:37 left in the game, forcing a timeout. From there Baylor never looked back.

For the game, Nina Davis had 31 points and 8 rebounds. Alexis Prince had the double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds (10! defense). Sune Agbuke had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Niya Johnson finished with a career high 17 assists and 6 points. All but 2 players scored in this game.