By Ben Everett | Sports Editor
No. 1-ranked Baylor women’s basketball took down Kansas State 71-48 Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kan., to pick up its 35th straight win over a Big 12 opponent.
In the first meeting of the season between the Lady Bears and Wildcats, K- State took a brief lead late in the third quarter before Baylor pulled away for the 65-50 win at the Ferrell Center.
On Wednesday, The Lady Bears (22-1, 12-0) dominated from start to finish, holding the Wildcats (15-10, 6-7) to 17 percent shooting from the field and never letting K-State take a lead.
Senior guard Chloe Jackson and junior guard Juicy Landrum led the way for the Lady Bears. Jackson notched a game-high 16 points to go along with seven assists and five steals. Landrum poured in 15 points and five assists, including 2-for-2 shooting from 3-point range.
Back-to-back jumpers by Landrum helped propel the Lady Bears to a 9-5 lead at the media timeout of the first quarter. Jackson scored four straight points to extend the Baylor lead to 13-5 and prompt Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie to call a timeout.
Junior forward Lauren Cox drained a free throw line jumper at the end of the first quarter to make it a 21-9 game.
The Lady Bears and Wildcats traded baskets down the stretch of the first half. Landrum knocked down her second 3-pointer of the night off a skip pass from Jackson and Cox scored on a driving layup to help Baylor to a 40-22 halftime lead.
Landrum led the way for Baylor in the first half, shooting 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range. The Lady Bears shot 61 percent from the field in the first half and held the Wildcats to a paltry 29 percent shooting clip.
Baylor started the second half hot with Jackson scoring on back-to-back midrange jumpers and Landrum picking K-State senior guard Kayla Goth’s pocket for a steal and a layup to put the Lady Bears up 51-26 midway through the third quarter.
Cox once again played closer for Baylor at the end of the third quarter, knocking down a jumper and driving for a layup in the final seconds to put the Lady Bears up 61-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bears cleared the bench in the final quarter and held strong for the 71-48 lead.
Baylor looks to make it 15 straight wins when it faces Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
