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Texas and Big 12 Basketball Capsules: Baylor finally comes to Bay Area to face Cal
Comments 0 | Recommend 0BERKELEY, Calif. — Alexis Gray-Lawson and her California teammates are long overdue to face Baylor on their home court. Little did they know they would have to prepare for defending the dunk.
The teams were supposed to meet at Haas Pavilion last Dec. 22, but a severe winter storm in the Northwest kept the Baylor team from getting to the Bay Area after its game at Oregon. The eighth-ranked Lady Bears (1-1) will finally come to play the No. 17 Cal Golden Bears (2-0) on Sunday.
"We’ve been waiting for this game a really long time," Gray-Lawson said.
And now there’s an intriguing new dimension to the matchup: star Baylor freshman Brittney Griner and her attempts to dunk.
"It’s great for the women’s game," Cal coach Joanne Boyle said. "You just don’t see it that often."
While the Cal players know that the 6-foot-8 Griner dunking could be a big boost for their sport, they would rather it not happen against them. Griner is trying become the seventh woman to dunk in a college game and the first since Tennessee’s Candace Parker on Feb. 3, 2008, against Kentucky — the seventh career dunk for the current Los Angeles Sparks star. Lisa Leslie has dunked twice in WNBA games.
"Everybody loves everybody who can dunk," Gray-Lawson said. "People like her ‘cuz she can dunk. She’s a good player."
Fifth-year senior Gray-Lawson, teammate Natasha Vital and Boyle know some fans will come out Sunday to not only see Cal but also because of their interest in Griner and whether it will be her day to dunk. She sometimes dunks in warmups, too.
"For a woman player to dunk, it brings a lot of excitement to the women’s game and brings a lot of people out to watch us. I think it’s good for our fan base," Vital said.
Griner missed her lone attempt in a 100-55 victory over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday night, but still wound up with 10 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks.
Griner already threw down a right-handed dunk in an exhibition game earlier this month and coach Kim Mulkey ran a set play for Griner to make it happen. If Mulkey’s Lady Bears have Sunday’s game in hand, she might just go for it again.
Griner has her own Web site — www.brittney-griner.com/ — in which the header reads "Basketball Phenom."
"They all know who she is," Boyle said of her team. "There’s a lot of pressure on a freshman. You guys saw her against Tennessee. She gets in foul trouble. She’s a freshman just like everybody else. We have to play her like we would anybody else: make her make tough shots, make her uncomfortable, get her off the block."
It will be an important early test for a young Cal team, which narrowly escaped Saint Mary’s with a 68-65 win Tuesday night and struggled offensively. Boyle acknowledged afterward her team would have to be much better against Baylor "to have a chance."
Gray-Lawson is the lone remaining player from a highly touted recruiting class in 2005. While her comrades — Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton — have departed, Gray-Lawson is back for her senior season after missing all but nine games of her sophomore campaign with a serious knee injury that required surgery. She redshirted the season.
This is a new role for her, leading a roster filled with freshmen.
"It’s an everyday process. We have a lot to learn," she said. "I’m just trying to do the little things so my teammates can follow from there."
Friday's Games
Nash's 20 points lead No. 10 Texas 96-52
AUSTIN — Texas was already well on its way to a blowout victory when forward Ashley Gayle took an outlet pass and bolted for the basket.
This was her chance. She grabbed the ball and went high for the dunk. Just not high enough.
She instead tossed the ball over the rim — and missed. Her coach laughed. Nothing wrong with having a little fun on a Friday night during a 96-52 romp over North Texas.
"I've dunked but not in a game," the 6-foot-4 Gayle said. "I've waited for that outlet pass a long time."
Texas coach Gail Goestenkors didn't mind the miscue in an otherwise near perfect game.
"I'm glad she tried it," Goestenkors said. "If it was a two-point game, I might not have been as pleased."
Kat Nash scored 20 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and led six Texas players in double figures. Gayle finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
Texas (2-1) needed the laugher after an 83-58 blowout loss to No. 1 UConn three days earlier in San Antonio. The Longhorns are pushing for a return to the nation's elite in the program's third year under Goestenkors, and that loss just showed they are still far from closing the gap on the Huskies.
"I don't think we lost our confidence, but we understand to be a great team, we need to play with a high level of intensity, a high level of focus, for 40 minutes," Goestenkors said.
Jasmine Godbolt scored 11 points to lead North Texas (0-3).
Texas played fast and loose against the Mean Green (0-3), who were no match for the Longhorns' size or speed. Gayle and Cokie Reed easily posted up smaller defenders and Nash ran off North Texas players for open 3-pointers.
Reed scored six straight points and Gayle scored seven to push the Longhorns to a 30-16 lead midway through the first half. Nash made consecutive 3-pointers from the right corner and Texas took a 44-25 advantage into halftime.
Nash was 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and made four 3-pointers, while Texas shot 56 percent and scored 46 points in the paint.
"Too easy. Those 2-foot shots will kill you," North Texas coach Shanice Stephens said.
Defensively, Texas forced 26 turnovers and turned them into 39 points.
"We're at our best when we play pressure defense," Goestenkors said.
As for Gayle's dunk attempt, it could be a while before she tries one again. It has to come at just the right moment and she doesn't like to try in practice because Goestenkors isn't so kind behind closed doors.
"Missed layups equal sprints," Gayle said.
-- Jim Vertuno
Men
Sloan's 22 lead Texas A&M past Samford 68-49
COLLEGE STATION — Donald Sloan said he had been working overtime on his shot. It showed Friday night.
Sloan scored a game-high 22 points as Texas A&M pulled away from Samford in the second half to win 68-49.
"I was really proud of the way our guys guarded in the second half," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said.
The Aggies (3-0), who led by only 36-35 at halftime, busted the game open midway through the second half on the strength of 3-pointers by B.J. Holmes, Sloan and Nathan Walkup in a span of 2 minutes 33 seconds. The last one lifted A&M to a 56-44 lead.
Sloan, a 6-foot-3 senior, finished 7 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
"I put a lot of work in on my shot in the past six months," said Sloan, who entered the game leading the team at 19 points per game. "Right now it's paying off."
The Aggies shot 50 percent in both halves (12 of 24 and 11 of 22). A&M guard Derrick Roland followed Sloan with 14 points, and point guard Dash Harris chipped in 11. Andy King led Samford with 17 points.
"They're a really good basketball team," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said of the Aggies, who've made four consecutive NCAA tournaments. "Sloan holy cow, we don't have anybody who can come close to matching up with him. They just shot lights out."
The Aggies held the Bulldogs to 6-of-20 shooting in the decisive second half after Samford had shot 14 of 27 in the first half.
"We played with more energy," Sloan said of the difference between the first and second halves for the Aggies, who next head for the 76 Classic in Anaheim starting Thursday against Clemson.
The Aggies committed only five turnovers to 12 for Samford.
A&M was held under 80 points for the first time but has defeated its first three opponents by an average of 17 points.
"I've got a long list of things that I avoid in life," Tillette said, adding that the list includes "Mark Turgeon-coached teams. There's not a weakness there."
Harris, Sims help Michigan beat Houston Baptist
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Opponents had a hard time defending DeShawn Sims in the paint in previous seasons. Now they have to worry about stopping his 3-point shooting.
Sims had 22 points, including 15 off of 3-pointers, and Manny Harris led all scorers with 25 Friday, to help No. 15 Michigan beat Houston Baptist 77-55.
With his five 3-pointers, Sims matched his career-best and has hit six of 10 in his first two games. Over his first three seasons, the 6-foot-8 Sims has only been a 30 percent shooter from behind the 3-point arc.
"My 3-point percentage is going to be out of the roof this year compared to last year," Sims said. "I'm not going to take a lot of threes unless I'm making them or unless I'm open. I've been shooting the ball well this whole preseason. So I'm confident in my shot and my teammates are confident in my shot."
After what he's seen early in the season, Michigan coach John Beilein said he's not going to stand in the way of stopping Sims' long-range attempts.
"We're going to let him shoot it," Beilein said. "He's got a pretty green light. As far as the 6-8 guys, he's got one of the greenest lights in the country. When he's open like that, it's was important for us to back those down from the corner."
Harris and Sims each had 12 points during a decisive 29-13 run at the end of the first half that put Michigan (2-0) in front for good.
Michigan struggled at the start, hitting only four of its first 21 shots. The Huskies were unable to take advantage because of their own poor shooting and could build a lead no larger than five points.
Harris who had a triple-double in the opener against Northern Michigan with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, was Michigan's primary offense at the start until Sims connected on four straight 3-pointers.
"It was kind of a nasty game," Harris said. "They were giving us open looks and we were missing shots. Then DeShawn his those shots and that got us going.
"Those shots turned the game around. When DeShawn gets into a rhythm like that, other teams better look out."
The Huskies continued to struggle from the field in the second half and were unable to get any closer than 12 points. The Wolverines largest lead was 28, following Zack Gibson's 3-pointer with 9:27 remaining.
Michigan hit 36.6 percent of its shots, including 10 of 28 3-pointers. Houston Baptist was held to 34.4 percent shooting from the field, including 9 of 28 in the second half. The Huskies outrebounded the Wolverines 52-39 but had 24 turnovers.
"Anytime you take a team with the size of our team and outrebound a team like Michigan by the margin that we did, I've got to be pleased with that kind of effort," Huskies Head Coach Ron Cottrell said. "We certainly need to cut down on our turnovers. That's what cost us the game."
Mario Flaherty scored 17 points, and Andrew Gonzalez had 14 for the Huskies (0-4), playing their third season in NCAA Division I.
"I was very pleased with our guys' effort," Cottrell said. "We came out and played as hard as we could play. The guys weren't intimidated by the situation or intimidated by the opponent. They just gave everything they had."
Sims also had six rebounds in the game to become the 38th Michigan player with 500 career rebounds. He now has a total of 502.
"What is that equivalent to?" Sims asked. "I wish I would have had more. It's a great accomplishment and I'm just going to keep striving."
Northern Colorado edges past Texas Southern 66-62
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Northern Colorado's Will Figures sank two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to seal a 66-62 victory over Texas Southern in the first round of the Reggie Minton Classic at Friday night.
The Bears (4-0) built a 13-point lead early in the second half, but the Tigers used a 15-3 run to close the gap to 46-45 with 11:55 remaining. Figures had 21 points to lead Northern Colorado, and Devon Beitzel added 17.
Texas Southern (1-3) was playing without its leading scorer, Junior Treasure, who was sitting out the second game of a two-game NCAA suspension. Travele Jones led the Tigers with a game-high 25 points in his absence, and Deandre Hall scored 16 in the loss.
Taylor Montgomery also had 13 points and Mike Proctor added 10 for the Bears, who scored 10 of their last 12 points from the free-throw line.
Big 12
Warren leads Ole Miss to 86-74 win over K-State
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Chris Warren scored 27 points and Terrico White had 25 to help Mississippi beat Kansas State 86-74 Friday night in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off semifinals.
Eniel Polynice added 13 points and Murphy Holloway 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Rebels (4-0), who advanced to play No. 5 Villanova for the title on Sunday.
Ole Miss shot 63 percent from the field in the second half, quickly building on a 32-30 halftime lead. White's jumper with 8:58 remaining made it 63-53, and the Wildcats (3-1) never managed to get the lead back under 10 points.
Curtis Kelly had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State. Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente added 17 points each, and freshman Wally Judge finished with 11 points.
Villanova beat No. 18 Dayton 71-65 in the tournament's other semifinal.
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