Waco, TX (Sports Network) - Brittney Griner posted game highs of 26 points and
15 rebounds to lead top-ranked Baylor to a 76-58 victory over West Virginia in
a Big 12 encounter from the Ferrell Center.
Griner added nine blocked shots and went 11-of-17 from the field in an all-
around dominant performance that helped extend the Lady Bears' Big 12-record
win streak to 28 games against conference foes in regular-season play. They've
won 49 in a row at home overall to extend the nation's longest streak.
Odyssey Sims added 15 points and seven assists for Baylor (16-1, 6-0 Big 12),
which has now ripped off 14 straight victories since a two-point loss to
Stanford on Nov. 16. Kimetria Hayden chipped in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting
in the triumph.
West Virginia (11-6, 3-3) had a string of three straight wins snapped despite
a 25-point, seven-rebound effort from Christal Caldwell. Taylor Palmer
finished with 14 points and Crystal Leary grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss.
Palmer opened the contest with a 3-pointer, but that would be the only lead
the Mountaineers would hold on the evening. Baylor responded with a 20-2 run
over the next eight minutes, and was never seriously threatened thereafter.
West Virginia brought the deficit under double-digits with a 6-0 spurt that
began with back-to-back layups from Caldwell, closing within 20-11 with 10:40
to go in the half. The Mountaineers shot just 27.8 percent for the period,
however, and trailed 40-24 at the break after the Lady Bears' Makenzie
Robertson buried a trey 51 seconds prior to intermission.
Baylor stayed in control during the entire second half, maintaining a
differential of at least 14 points and breaking the game open with a 10-0 run
highlighted by a pair of triples from Hayden that made the score 70-42 with
five minutes remaining.
With her nine blocks, Griner now has a Big 12 record 651 career blocks; 12 shy
of Louella Tomlinson's (Saint Mary's (Calif.]) NCAA Division I record of 663.
The Sports Network