Bears Hammer Hawaii 89-49, Advance to Round of 32
WACO, Texas — The No. 2 seed Baylor women’s basketball team trounced the No. 15 seed Hawaii Rainbow Wahine 89-49 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Led by a 23-point, 8-rebound and 5-assist effort from Jordan Lewis, Baylor took Hawaii’s best shot in the first half before running them off the court in the second half.
Queen Egbo was locked in from the jump, scoring all 10 of her points in the first half and making the paint harder to get into than Fort Knox for the Wahine.
By the end of the day, Egbo would have another double-double with 14 rebounds as well.
While they could not score in the paint, netting just 12 paint points compared to Baylor’s 54, Hawaii stayed in the game thanks to Amy Atwell.
The graduate forward had 20 first-half points on her way to a 29-point, 13-board night, to try to keep her team in the game.
At halftime, Baylor was up 38-29, and the Bears were not struggling in any aspect. Atwell was just hitting shots at an incredible rate to keep Hawaii close.
Jordan Lewis and the Bears were grinding this game out though. She had six points in the first quarter and five in the second before jumping to 12 points in the third.
Not to be outdone, NaLyssa Smith exploded for 17 of her 21 points in the third period, while also grabbing nine rebounds. She finished the day with 14 rebounds.
“ Lyss was a little under the weather and didn’t have a lot of energy but somehow rallied,” coach Nicki Collen said after the game.
“At any given moment I know she’s gonna off,” Sarah Andrews added.
By the end of the third quarter, Baylor was up 72-37 and the game was decided thanks to Smith’s rally and one of the Bears’ best scoring quarters this year.
Andrews, who has been dealing with a hand injury that has limited her practice time, found a great rhythm to start the fourth quarter. She scored 10 straight points for the Bears. She finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for her best outing lately.
Up next for the Baylor is a round of 32 matchup with South Dakota on Sunday.
Coach Collen made a point of noting the potential WNBA talent on the Coyotes roster.