Story by Ben Everett | Sports Writer, Video by Branson Hardcastle | Broadcast Reporter
No. 3 Baylor women’s basketball team pulled away late for a 77-64 win over No. 23 Oklahoma State Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.
The Lady Bears (20-1, 10-0) picked up their third straight win over top-25 teams after defeating No. 6 Texas and No. 20 West Virginia last week.
After scoring an average of 26 points per game on 20-for-30 shooting combined over the team’s last two games, senior guard Kristy Wallace scored just nine points while shooting just for of 15 from the floor in the win.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey said others had to step up today on Wallace’s off night.
“Kristy hit the big shots at West Virginia and tonight she was worn out,” Mulkey said. “That’s why they call it a team game.”
The Lady Bears held Big 12 leading scorer graduate guard Loryn Goodwin to just 10 points, 11.4 below her season average.
Sophomore forward Lauren Cox poured in 23 points while junior center Kalani Brown posted 19 points and 18 rebounds.
Senior forward Dekeiya Cohen put the Lady Bears on the board first with a put back layup, and she followed it up with an and-one and a jumper in the first five minutes to put Baylor up 13-9 at the 4:52 mark of the first quarter.
Cox scored six straight points to give Baylor a seven point lead, but Oklahoma State battled back and senior center Kaylee Jensen’s layup at the end of the quarter cut the Lady Bears’ lead to just 19-17.
Wallace knocked down her first jumper of the night after missing her first five attempts from the field to cap off a 7-0 Baylor run to bring the lead to 26-19 with 6:24 remaining in the second quarter.
After a layup from Cox that put Baylor up 35-29, neither team scored in the final 2:11 of the first half, giving the Lady Bears a six point halftime edge.
The Cowgirls started the second half hot with junior forward LaTashia Jones and Jensen each knocking down three-pointers to cut the Baylor lead to 44-41. Cox responded with a mid-range jumper and a drive to the hoop to make it a 49-43 game at the 4:37 mark of the third quarter.
Oklahoma State freshman guard Braxtin Miller knocked down a jumper at the end of the third quarter as Baylor held the 53-49 lead after three.
The Lady Bears extended their lead at the start of the fourth quarter with Cox and Brown scoring in the paint and from the free throw line as Baylor held a 63-54 advantage with 7:11 remaining in the game.
Two triples from sophomore guard Natalie Chou iced the game as Baylor held on to win 77-64.
Mulkey said Chou’s clutch buckets were the difference in the fourth quarter.
“Natalie Chou’s threes were huge,” Mulkey said. “They opened the game for us.”
Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell said the Lady Bears are hard to beat, but he thought his team played well.
“I thought we came in here and competed with one of the best teams in the country,” Littell said. “When you play Baylor, you almost have to be perfect.”
The Lady Bears are back in action as they take on Texas Tech at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock.
