The Lady Bears sophomore post Kalani Brown was too much for West Virginia to handle inside the paint.
The sophomore registered 16 points and 11 rebounds as Baylor used a 30-16 third quarter to to put some distance between it and West Virginia as the Lady Bears knocked off the Mountaineers 91-56 in Morgantown on Tuesday night.
“I’ve got a heck of a talented team,” said head coach Kim Mulkey. “We don’t ever play anybody where we don’t respect our opponents and that’s why you can sometimes get big leads and maintain them because you’re ready, you’re prepared and you respect who you play. Then you make sure you develop players, and I just think we’ve got about 11 kids I can go with any of them, at any time.”
Sophomore post Beatrice Mompremier added 12 points for the Lady Bears in the post and freshman forward Lauren Cox added nine points before fouling out. Baylor doubled up West Virginia on the glass, out-rebounding it 60 to 30. The Lady Bears also took advantage with 33 second chance points.
“I can tell you we’re big. When you take a shot we are going to be in your face and we’re going to be there to alter it and if we don’t block it we’re going to try to alter it,” Mulkey said. “We’re not a team that’s going to get a lot of steals. We’re going to get into passing lanes. We’re going to get in your face. We’re going to make you work and we’re going to get tremendous help outside because we’re big.”
Not only did Baylor have a distinct advantage in the post, the Lady Bears got stellar play from their bench as well. Mulkey’s reserves outscored the Mountaineers’ bench 27-6.
Senior guard Alexis Jones led the Lady Bears in scoring, as she finished with 21 points despite only shooting 7 for 20 from the floor. Redshirt senior guard Alexis Prince also finished with double figures in scoring. She finished with 13 points.
The Mountaineers were led by junior forward Teana Muldrow who finished with 16 points. Sophomore guard Tynice Martin and senior center Lanay Montgomery each added 11 points.
“Give Baylor credit they’re the real deal. I watched a lot of games on TV of other conferences and I think they have as much talent as anybody in the country, if not more, so give them a lot of credit they keep throwing players at you. Can’t get out rebounded by 30, give up 22 offensive rebounds,” said West Virginia head coach Mike Carey. “It is what it is, people aren’t playing, I don’t have a bench to put in and I have to put up with it. That’s probably the most frustrating thing right now for me. I have to put up with people not playing hard because I don’t have anyone to put in.”
West Virginia drops its second consecutive game after beginning the season 13-2. Baylor earns its 14th win of the season and goes to 3-0 in Big 12 competition.
The Lady Bears remain on the road as they take on Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Saturday.
