By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s basketball defeated Iowa State 68-42 Wednesday at the Ferrell Center to register its 16th- straight win.
The Lady Bears (18-1, 7-0) scored 52 points in the paint and held the Cyclones (10-8, 1-6) to just 10 in the victory.
Baylor senior forward Nina Davis and sophomore post Kalani Brown scored 17 points and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Lady Bears.
“When you can just throw the ball to the posts all night and they can score, sometimes you don’t even need to score yourself,” Baylor senior guard Alexis Jones said of the Lady Bears’ inside dominance.
Iowa State was led by junior guard Jadda Buckley and sophomore guard Bridget Carleton as they combined for 32 of the Cyclones’ 42 points.
“Jadda and Bridget could have played for Baylor tonight,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “That’s how good they were.”
Buckley opened the game with a corner three-pointer, but the Lady Bears responded quickly with a pull-up jumper from Jones and a fast break layup from junior guard Kristy Wallace to take a 4-3 lead.
Back-to-back buckets from Davis, including an and-one floater in the lane, extended the Lady Bears’ lead to 11-5
Carleton kept Iowa State in the game in the first quarter, scoring seven points on 2-for-4 shooting, but the Lady Bears held onto a 15-12 advantage after one period.
A bounce pass from Lady Bears freshman forward Lauren Cox to senior post Khadijiah Cave set up a mid-range jumper as Baylor jumped out to a 21-13 lead early in the second period.
Baylor’s bigs continued to dominate, with Cave, Cox and Brown scoring eight straight points for the Lady Bears. Buckley responded with two baskets of her own for the Cyclones to make it a 29-19 game with time dwindling down in the first half.
On the fast break, Wallace hit Davis with a no-look pass, and Davis finished the job at the rim as Baylor took a 31-19 lead into the break.
At the half, Davis had seven points for the Lady Bears on 3-for-3 shooting while Carleton led the Cyclones with nine points.
Baylor started the second half strong, scoring on a Brown layup and a Wallace three, taking a 36-19 lead and prompting Fennelly to take a timeout.
Carleton knocked down a three after the timeout, but the Lady Bears kept going inside and succeeding. Davis scored six points and Brown scored four points for Baylor on a 10-2 run that increased their lead to 46-24.
Iowa State closed the third quarter on a high note. With five points each from Buckley and Carleton, the Cyclones cut the Lady Bears lead to 52-34 at the end of three.
Brown grabbed a miss on the fast break and put it back in to give the Lady Bears a 59-34 advantage four minutes into the final period.
Cox blocked an Iowa State shot and took the ball all the way down the court for an and-one layup to put an exclamation point on Baylor’s 68-42 victory.
Davis finished with a game-high 17 points and four rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 shooting from the free throw line.
Despite the win, Baylor’s 68 points were the second lowest of the season.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey credits Iowa State forcing their style of play on the Lady Bears.
“They took away transition baskets and mixed up their defense,” Mulkey said. “They made it so we were never in the flow. Give those guys credit.”
Baylor looks to continue its winning ways as it takes on West Virginia at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
