Baylor Women's Basketball
Lady Bears defeat UCLA 84-70 in top-10 matchup
November 14, 2016
3,122
WACO, Texas — Coming off barnburner of a season opener against Houston Baptist, the Lady second-ranked Lady Bears matchup against ninth-ranked UCLA proved much more difficult en route to a 84-70 win.
There was an immediate difference felt between playing an Elite Eight contender. It was not until the seven-minute mark the Lady Bears went on the board thanks to a Kalani Brown jumper. The 6-foot-7 sophomore was instrumental in getting an sense of flow going thanks to her seven rebounds.
Consistency for the entire team struggled to translate early in the game. Through one quarter, UCLA already had three steals and forced another turnover led by guard Jordan Canada who finished the night with four steals.
Yet, through the early woes shooting just 30 percent after five minutes and frequent turnovers, thanks to a mid-range jumper from junior guard Kristy Wallace, the score was tied up 15-15 leading to a major momentum change headed by senior guard Alexis Jones’ six points in the final 2:30 of the first quarter.
Baylor went on a 10-point run to close out the first period but would not carry over after the first intermission.
Back on the court, Baylor and UCLA readily exchanged scores and leads including preseason All-American Nina Davis’ first points of the night. She gradually finished with 15 points.
“That’s what makes us such an incredible team,” Davis said. “We’re hard to guard. You guard Kalani, then I’ll score. You guard me, then Jones is gonna score. . . . Everyone out here can score.”
Despite the preseason All-American joining the fun, UCLA responded with its own exciting turns. UCLA hit four three-point attempts in under two minutes to take a nine-point lead.
(BONUS: Sitting next to Baylor men’s forward Ish Wainright, he commented that she has the exact same shot as her cousin Kyle Korver, the three-point specialist for the Atlanta Hawks.)
Korver finished the night 4-of-8 behind the arc. Baylor’s response was a whimper at the perimeter, finishing just 6-of-18 from downtown making the seven-point deficit at halftime seem larger than it was. Alexis Prince was Baylor’s three-point leader with 4-of-6 shots falling through.
“It’s too early in the year to get ugly with them,” Mulkey said about her halftime talk. “I talked to them about the threes. Actually, I encouraged them. I said, ‘Guys, if you think they can shoot that again, they deserve to win the ball game.’
Abandoning trying to compete with Korver’s hot hand, Baylor returned to a more successful, conservative strategy in the paint. The effort to get Davis involved was limited as she was suffocated almost all night. Midway through the third quarter, she had two consecutive shots blocked. Brown then took control of the possession in the paint and put the Lady Bears up 55-52.
“It doesn’t [surprise me]. She’s an incredible player,” Davis said. “She put the work in the off season and it will pay off for her now.”
If not for Browns’ assistance, Baylor’s turnover total would have increased and possibly led to more Bruins points. That was one of the Baylor’s weakest points of the game finishing with 15 turnovers on the evening. Conversely, Baylor forced just 10 turnovers.
The tides fully turned in Baylor’s favor during the first ticks on the fourth quarter as the lead jumped to as high as 81-63 with Brown boosting her double-double to 25 points and 19 rebounds in total. Her 19 boards almost kept pace with the Bruins’s 25 rebounds. Baylor out-rebounded UCLA 53-25.
“I thought our defense not only picked up the intensity, we just added positioning where we were smarter,” Mulkey said. “I don’t like giving up 70 points. I’d like it to be at our goal which is 63. You take away those threes and shots in the first half, I just think we played pretty good defense there.
Brown also added a team leading six assists tied with Wallace. As a team, Baylor went on a 13-point run to virtually run away with the game that was only two Korver three’s away from a tied game with 10 minutes remaining — she missed three perimeter shots in UCLA’s rally attempt under pressure.
Baylor visits third-ranked Connecticut on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
There was an immediate difference felt between playing an Elite Eight contender. It was not until the seven-minute mark the Lady Bears went on the board thanks to a Kalani Brown jumper. The 6-foot-7 sophomore was instrumental in getting an sense of flow going thanks to her seven rebounds.
Consistency for the entire team struggled to translate early in the game. Through one quarter, UCLA already had three steals and forced another turnover led by guard Jordan Canada who finished the night with four steals.
Yet, through the early woes shooting just 30 percent after five minutes and frequent turnovers, thanks to a mid-range jumper from junior guard Kristy Wallace, the score was tied up 15-15 leading to a major momentum change headed by senior guard Alexis Jones’ six points in the final 2:30 of the first quarter.
Baylor went on a 10-point run to close out the first period but would not carry over after the first intermission.
Back on the court, Baylor and UCLA readily exchanged scores and leads including preseason All-American Nina Davis’ first points of the night. She gradually finished with 15 points.
“That’s what makes us such an incredible team,” Davis said. “We’re hard to guard. You guard Kalani, then I’ll score. You guard me, then Jones is gonna score. . . . Everyone out here can score.”
Despite the preseason All-American joining the fun, UCLA responded with its own exciting turns. UCLA hit four three-point attempts in under two minutes to take a nine-point lead.
(BONUS: Sitting next to Baylor men’s forward Ish Wainright, he commented that she has the exact same shot as her cousin Kyle Korver, the three-point specialist for the Atlanta Hawks.)
Korver finished the night 4-of-8 behind the arc. Baylor’s response was a whimper at the perimeter, finishing just 6-of-18 from downtown making the seven-point deficit at halftime seem larger than it was. Alexis Prince was Baylor’s three-point leader with 4-of-6 shots falling through.
“It’s too early in the year to get ugly with them,” Mulkey said about her halftime talk. “I talked to them about the threes. Actually, I encouraged them. I said, ‘Guys, if you think they can shoot that again, they deserve to win the ball game.’
Abandoning trying to compete with Korver’s hot hand, Baylor returned to a more successful, conservative strategy in the paint. The effort to get Davis involved was limited as she was suffocated almost all night. Midway through the third quarter, she had two consecutive shots blocked. Brown then took control of the possession in the paint and put the Lady Bears up 55-52.
“It doesn’t [surprise me]. She’s an incredible player,” Davis said. “She put the work in the off season and it will pay off for her now.”
If not for Browns’ assistance, Baylor’s turnover total would have increased and possibly led to more Bruins points. That was one of the Baylor’s weakest points of the game finishing with 15 turnovers on the evening. Conversely, Baylor forced just 10 turnovers.
The tides fully turned in Baylor’s favor during the first ticks on the fourth quarter as the lead jumped to as high as 81-63 with Brown boosting her double-double to 25 points and 19 rebounds in total. Her 19 boards almost kept pace with the Bruins’s 25 rebounds. Baylor out-rebounded UCLA 53-25.
“I thought our defense not only picked up the intensity, we just added positioning where we were smarter,” Mulkey said. “I don’t like giving up 70 points. I’d like it to be at our goal which is 63. You take away those threes and shots in the first half, I just think we played pretty good defense there.
Brown also added a team leading six assists tied with Wallace. As a team, Baylor went on a 13-point run to virtually run away with the game that was only two Korver three’s away from a tied game with 10 minutes remaining — she missed three perimeter shots in UCLA’s rally attempt under pressure.
Baylor visits third-ranked Connecticut on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Never miss the latest news from SicEm365!
Join our free email list