By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor
On an icy Valentine’s Day, No. 7 women’s basketball took a 60-35 win over Texas Sunday afternoon in an almost empty Ferrell Center, as most fans stayed home due to the frigid winter weather.
“It was basically a glorified scrimmage,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “I think as you’ve watched our team grow the past two to three weeks, we’re not about anyone individual. This team is about a lot of players. You had four scoring double figures today. I thought our defense was outstanding, not just on Collier but on their other players. We hit a stretch there we couldn’t score — it’s not a game that you’re watching on TV and go, ‘woo, that’s entertaining’.”
The 35 points scored by Texas tied for the second lowest the Longhorns have scored against Baylor in the history of the series with the last 35-point game being played in 2019. Sophomore guard Celeste Taylor led UT with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Junior forward NaLyssa Smith once again led the charge in scoring, putting up 14 points, as well as eight rebounds, a block and a steal. Senior guard Moon Ursin and junior center Queen Egbo put up identical double-doubles with 11 points and 12 rebounds each, pushing the Lady Bears ahead in the battle of the boards.
Transfer guard DiJonai Carrington added 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while senior point guard DiDi Richards once again dished out double digit assists,adding two steals and a block. Richards 10 assists move her to fourth all-time in the BU record books.
Baylor stifled Texas’ offense from the get go, with the Longhorns putting up single digit numbers through the first three quarters. Smith was matched up against UT star forward Charli Collier, holding the vet to one field goal out of eight attempts.
“We just played team defense tonight,” Ursin said. “We were just everywhere. We were just active, had our hands up, taking charges and stuff like that. So, when you do that it kind of creates an energy when you’re not scoring the ball. But they weren’t scoring either.”
The Lady Bears finished the last four and a half minutes of the first half on a 15-6 run to go into intermission up 33-17. Baylor started slow out of the half, scoring just eight points in the third quarter. But the Lady Bears pulled away with 12 points in the fourth.
Baylor will next host No. 19 West Virginia at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Ferrell Center.
