Lewis' Triple-Double Leads Bears' 87-54 Bashing of West Virginia
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – The No. 11 Baylor women's basketball team (15-4, 5-2) cruised to an 87-54 victory against the West Virginia Mountaineers (10-7, 3-4) thanks to a 20 point effort from Queen Egbo and a triple-double from Jordan Lewis.
Lewis' final stat line was 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists while Egbo led the Bears in scoring with her 20 points coming on an efficient 10/11 shooting. Egbo also grabbed 8 boards while playing extended minutes with NaLyssa Smith picking up her 4th foul with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
Despite the limited playing time in the second half, Smith notched 20 points of her own by the end of the game to go along with her 7 rebounds. Sarah Andrews was as dynamic as ever scoring 15 and assisting 4 other baskets.
The game broke open in the first quarter when Smith converted an and-1 before the Mountaineers leading scorer Kirsten Deans went down injured on the next possession. From there the Bears went on a 22-4 run to end the quarter with a 28-10 lead.
The Bears did not slow down and built a halftime lead of 51-21 thanks to smooth offense, smothering defense, and good hustle plays like Egbo hitting the floor to spill an offensive rebound to Lewis for an easy bucket.
Baylor shot 64% from the field and 63% from deep in the half before cooling off to 57% and 45% for the game respectively.
WVU did show some fight at the start of the third quarter going on a 10-4 run, but the game never got closer than 25 points in the second half. Smith also picked up her 4th foul and a technical around this time, but coach Nicki Collen's squad responded well.
The high-water mark for the Bears was a 36 point lead during the fourth quarter, thanks to Smith coming back from foul trouble and knocking down shots.
The Baylor defense was stifling today, and after the game coach Collen said that eliminating transition opportunities and staying between their man and the basket were the keys to holding the Mountaineers to 30% shooting from the field.
Collen was also able to spread minutes out more today with such a big lead, hopefully keeping her squad in better shape heading into a daunting slate of 4 games in 7 days starting next Wednesday.
Some further notes on Lewis' historic afternoon: She is the third player in program history to register a triple-double, joining Brittney Griner and Alexis Jones in the record books. Lewis also recorded her 100th assist of the season today, a good sign of Baylor's offensive development.
Up next for the Bears is Oklahoma at home in Waco. Baylor's chance to avenge their earlier loss will be Wednesday 2/2 at 7 PM CT and the game will be available on ESPN+.