BY TRAVIS CRAM l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

WACO — Baylor’s win over Texas Tech Wednesday night was not necessarily quick, but it felt like it with the way the No. 6 Lady Bears never stopped going in their 83-53 win at the Ferrell Center.

“It was like drive-by shootings all night,” Tech head coach Kristy Curry said.

Baylor was simply quicker — quicker on the boards, quicker in transition and quicker in moving off screens and finding an open player — which was not too hard to find most of the time.

Jhasmin Player, Kelli Griffin and Melissa Jones led the charge for Baylor’s guards, combining for 34 points and nine steals. Player seemed to give Tech point guard Maria Moore trouble in the backcourt and helped hold her to just five points after Moore put up 22 against Baylor in Lubbock.

The Lady Bears leaped out to a 24-7 lead with 11:40 to go in the first half and never stopped, beating Tech for the seventh consecutive time and the 11th time in the last 12 meetings. Baylor also earned its largest margin of victory against a Big 12 Conference opponent this season.

Baylor's Danielle Wilson plays tight defense against Texas Tech forward Dominic Seals during the first half of their game Wednesday in Waco,

It was also Tech’s second-worst loss of the season and the worst against Baylor since a 110-56 setback in 1977.

Baylor (22-4, 10-3 Big 12) had a comfortable 48-28 lead at the half thanks to outscoring Tech by 16 points in the paint while scoring 20 points off 15 Tech turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

“They obviously punched and we never ever got up,” Curry said.

The only thing Tech (15-12, 5-8) could do right for most of the night was hit free throws, which ironically is where the team has struggled this season. The Lady Raiders were 21 of 23 from the free-throw line.

But it wasn’t just poor shooting that doomed the Lady Raiders early on.

By the time the Lady Raiders decided they were going to go point-for-point with the Lady Bears, they were already trailing by 21 points.

Freshman Kierra Mallard was the only Lady Raider hitting shots from anywhere for the most part. Mallard had 18 points and six rebounds and hit 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.

She helped narrow Baylor’s lead to 15 points early in the second half, scoring six of Tech’s points during an 8-2 run. But the Lady Raiders could find very little help from anywhere else on the floor or bench — particularly with their seniors.

“It comes down to character, and it starts with your senior class. It starts with Maria Moore and it goes down to Dominic Seals,” Curry said. “… We don’t have anybody that understands Baylor better than (Tech assistant coach) Bill Brock. And for our kids to come out and compete like they did tonight is embarrassing.”

The Lady Raiders had more turnovers (22) than field goals (14), and had 10 turnovers in the first 8:20 and shot 21.9 percent as the Lady Bears extended their lead to 24-7.

Tech shot just 34.8 percent in the first half, getting 10 of its 28 points from the free-throw line.
“It all started up top (with our guards) tonight,” Curry said. “It’s just disappointing. … It’s the kind of night where you have to take it, get on the plane and have a short-term memory. But we still have a lot to play for.”

To comment on this story:
travis.cram@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8736
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com uE06C 766-8735