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College Basketball Capsules - Women: Griner, No. 1 Baylor women dominate Oklahoma again
WACO (AP) — Baylor and Oklahoma have often played the most anticipated and best games in the Big 12 each season. Not this year, when Brittney Griner and the top-ranked Lady Bears have made it no contest.
Griner scored 27 points with eight rebounds and eight blocks and Baylor remained undefeated with their second lopsided victory in less than two weeks against the Sooners, winning 81-54 at home Monday night.
Oklahoma's plan to be physical with Griner backfired, with Baylor's 6-foot-8 phenom making all 13 of her free throws. And the Sooners made things even worst when they went nearly 11 minutes after halftime before finally making a field goal.
"We're talking about a team that we have so much respect for," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "We're talking about great shooters."
Not against the Lady Bears (24-0, 11-0 Big 12), who are beating everybody by big margins.
"They're buying into what we're teaching them on the defensive end of the floor, they're listening to scouting reports, they're making it very difficult for people to score," Mulkey said. "And they're taking pride in that."
By the time Sharane Campbell made a basket with 9:14 left in the game, the Sooners (15-7, 7-4) had missed 16 shots in a row and trailed 68-36. They finished shooting a season-low 27 percent (16 of 60) for the game.
Baylor stretched its home winning streak to 36, this win coming only 11 days after they beat the Sooners 89-58 in Norman.
Odyssey Sims had 14 points and four steals for Baylor, while Brooklyn Pope had 11 points and six rebounds. Destiny Williams had 15 rebounds.
Whitney Hand had 20 points to lead Oklahoma, which had won three in a row since the loss to the Lady Bears. Campbell had 13 points.
"Even at halftime, I didn't feel like we had let anything get away," coach Sherri Coale said. "At halftime, we felt OK. We just knew we had to weather the first four minutes of the second half, and when you go 0-for-16 to start the second half, you're not going to win many games."
Mulkey said it was probably the most physical game of the year for Baylor, which has already defeated the likes of Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame.
Just about every time Griner got the ball under her basket, she was surrounded by Sooners in pink jerseys. All she did was keep making free throws.
"Definitely, I loved it," Griner said.
"She separates herself as a post player because she has become so efficient at the free throw line," Coale said. "That really makes her a handful, even more than she's been in the past."
Griner, whose 13 made free throws were a career best, came out of the game for good with about 11½ minutes left. She had played every minute until then as Baylor built a 64-33 lead.
Her departure came after an active sequence on both ends of the floor.
After Griner had a steal under the Oklahoma basket, she got the ball to Sims, who got the ball back to her going to the other way. Griner made a strong move for a short jumper while being fouled by Joanna McFarland and made the free throw for a 60-33 lead.
Less than a minute later, Kimetria Hayden inbounded from under the basket to Griner in the lane. Griner worked around three defenders to get the layup for a 64-33 lead.
Baylor scored 24 points off 17 Oklahoma turnovers, and outscored the Sooners 42-18 in the paint.
McFarland played for the first time after missing six games because of a broken jaw. Wearing a plastic protective mask over her face, McFarland had nine rebounds but was 0-for-3 shooting with one free throw made in 25 minutes.
Griner got off to a quick start, scoring the first basket of the game. The Sooners then scored seven in a row, going ahead on a 3-pointer by Morgan Hook and leading 7-2 on Hand's jumper.
The Sooners had their last lead when Hand made a jumper with 14 minutes left in the first half to make it 11-9. But Baylor then scored 13 in a row and Oklahoma went more than 6½ minutes without a field goal until Aaryn Ellenberg made a 3-pointer.
"I thought we flustered them in the first half," Hand said. "In that stretch they got going, and when they get going, it goes pretty fast."
Big 12
Oklahoma guard named Big 12 freshman of the week
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The Big 12 Conference has named an Oklahoma guard freshman of the week. Sharane Campbell was honored Monday for her performance in the Sooners' victories over Oklahoma State and Kansas. Campbell averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while hitting 74 percent of her field goal attempts in those games.
She scored a career-high 23 points in Oklahoma's 78-64 win over Kansas and had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the 80-71 Bedlam victory over Oklahoma State. Oklahoma faces No. 1 Baylor Monday night. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Polls
Baylor still No. 1 in AP women's basketball poll
Baylor is once again the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll while St. Bonaventure entered the Top 25 for the first time ever.
The Lady Bears received all the first-place votes Monday for the 10th straight week after routing Missouri and Kansas State. Baylor hosts Oklahoma on Monday night.
St. Bonaventure came in at No. 25. The Bonnies have won 22 of their 24 games this season with the only losses coming to No. 12 Delaware and Villanova. They visit UMass on Wednesday.
Notre Dame, Connecticut, Stanford and Duke followed the Lady Bears. Miami was sixth. Kentucky, Maryland, Green Bay and Ohio State round out the first 10.
South Carolina also re-entered the poll at No. 24 after beating Tennessee for the first time in 32 years. Texas Tech and BYU dropped out of the Top 25.
Women's AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in the The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 5, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Baylor (40) | 23-0 | 1,000 | 1 |
| 2. Notre Dame | 23-1 | 960 | 2 |
| 3. UConn | 21-2 | 917 | 3 |
| 4. Stanford | 20-1 | 882 | 4 |
| 5. Duke | 18-3 | 805 | 5 |
| 6. Miami | 20-3 | 803 | 7 |
| 7. Kentucky | 21-3 | 728 | 6 |
| 8. Maryland | 19-3 | 709 | 9 |
| 9. Green Bay | 20-0 | 659 | 10 |
| 10. Ohio St. | 20-2 | 651 | 11 |
| 11. Tennessee | 17-6 | 582 | 8 |
| 12. Delaware | 20-1 | 556 | 12 |
| 13. Nebraska | 19-3 | 507 | 16 |
| 14. Georgetown | 18-5 | 444 | 17 |
| 15. Texas A&M | 16-5 | 417 | 18 |
| 16. Purdue | 19-5 | 385 | 15 |
| 17. Rutgers | 17-6 | 334 | 13 |
| 18. Penn St. | 18-5 | 307 | 19 |
| 19. Gonzaga | 21-3 | 268 | 20 |
| 20. Louisville | 17-6 | 217 | 14 |
| 21. Georgia | 18-6 | 207 | 21 |
| 22. Georgia Tech | 17-6 | 128 | 24 |
| 22. North Carolina | 17-5 | 128 | 23 |
| 24. South Carolina | 18-5 | 123 | — |
| 25. St. Bonaventure | 22-2 | 82 | — |
Others receiving votes: DePaul 38, BYU 28, California 25, Texas Tech 24, Oklahoma 18, Arkansas 14, Princeton 12, St. John's 12, Florida Gulf Coast 8, Kansas St. 7, UTEP 7, Fresno St. 6, Bowling Green 1, West Virginia 1.
Top 25
Capsules: Liston scores 23 points as Duke routs UNC
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Tricia Liston scored 16 of her 23 points during the decisive first-half run in No. 5 Duke's 96-56 rout of No. 22 North Carolina on Monday night.
Richa Jackson added 17 points for the Blue Devils (19-3, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They shot 54 percent and led by 41 in claiming their third straight win over their fiercest rivals — and their most lopsided since a 101-58 romp in 2000.
Chelsea Gray finished with 15 points and Elizabeth Williams had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Duke, which outscored North Carolina 39-12 during a 10½ minute stretch late in the first half. Liston hit three of the Blue Devils' seven 3-pointers during that run.
Chay Shegog had 19 points to lead the Tar Heels (17-6, 7-3). They managed just four field goals over the last 13 minutes of the half and had their five-game winning streak snapped.
No. 8 MARYLAND 64, No. 22 GEORGIA TECH 56
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Alyssa Thomas scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Tianna Hawkins added a career-high 23 points and Maryland beat Georgia Tech.
Despite a difficult shooting night from the field, Thomas went 12 of 12 on free throws to help Maryland (20-3, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) win its second straight.
Sasha Goodlett, who finished with 15 points, was the only player to score in double figures for Georgia Tech (17-7, 7-4). The loss snapped the Yellow Jackets' four-game winning streak.
No. 10 OHIO STATE 72, WISCONSIN 58
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Samantha Prahalis scored a career-high 34 points and No. 10 Ohio State made the most of an eight-day layoff to beat Wisconsin, the Buckeyes' 20th consecutive victory over the Badgers.
Tayler Hill, the Big Ten's leading scorer, added 18 points for the Buckeyes (21-2, 8-2), who had lots of time to mull a disappointing 76-65 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 29.
Ohio State broke the game open with a 16-3 second-half run.
Taylor Wurtz had 20 points and Morgan Paige 14 for Wisconsin (8-15, 4-7), which hit a school-record 12 3-pointers.
Bonnies women break into AP poll ranked 25th
With each victory, St. Bonaventure women's basketball coach Jim Crowley knew his team couldn't fly under the radar forever.
"I guess our kids are doing a great job of making sure that people can't not notice us," Crowley said with a chuckle on Monday.
The Atlantic 10 Conference-leading Bonnies (22-2, 9-0) became harder to ignore Monday after breaking into the Top 25 of The Associated Press poll for the first time in program history. St. Bonaventure came in ranked 25th — moving up one spot from the previous week — after receiving votes on 31 of 40 ballots to earn 82 points.
Though Crowley's focus remains on preparing his team for its next game, Wednesday at Massachusetts, he couldn't help but take a brief moment to appreciate what this means for St. Bonaventure and his players.
"The ranking is a great piece of national recognition that our players have worked extremely hard to achieve," Crowley said. "I am certainly smart enough to know what's going on with this team, and it's not something that happens very often."
It's so rare that the last time the St. Bonaventure men were ranked was January 1971, a year before the Bonnies women played their first game.
History aside, a national ranking doesn't mean it's time for Crowley or his players to start letting up.
"Obviously, it's my job and all of our jobs within the program to make sure we maintain what's got us here," Crowley said. "We're pretty good about making sure we're focused on what's in front of us. And what's most important right now is UMass."
Coming off an 80-69 win over George Washington on Saturday, the Bonnies have won 11 straight, to match a school record. Their 22 wins are one short of matching a season mark set in both the 2008-09, and 2009-10.
From a national perspective, the Bonnies' 22 wins rank third in the nation behind only No. 1 Baylor (23-0) and No. 2 Notre Dame (23-1).
St. Bonaventure hasn't lost since a 55-44 defeat to Villanova at the Monmouth University Hawks Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. The Bonnies only other loss came against No. 12 Delaware in late November.
The Bonnies are in contention to win their first A-10 regular-season title while also seeking their first NCAA tournament berth.
"We're kind of excited, but at the same time, we know we still have to take it one game at a time," senior guard Jessica Jenkins of the Bonnies being ranked. "It's nice, but I think it'll be nicer at the end of the year."
Led by Jenkins' 15.6 points a game, the Bonnies possess a balanced attack that features seven players averaging 7 points a game or better.
It's a group that includes senior forward Megan Van Tatenhove, who is averaging 11.9 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds.
The Bonnies have so much depth that they've had seven players lead the team in scoring, and five players lead the team in rebounding this season.
"I think it's a group that's fully bought into the only way we can garner any success is what we do as a group," Crowley said. "It doesn't matter how many minutes someone plays or how many points someone gets, it matters when the final horn sounds that everybody feels OK because of the group result."
Crowley is in his 12th season as the Bonnies head coach, and still remembers the growing pains his program endured. It wasn't until his seventh year at St. Bonaventure, in 2006-07, when he enjoyed his first winning season (16-15). The Bonnies have gone 107-49 since, a stretch that's featured three consecutive WNIT berths.
The losing years are enough of a reminder to keep him motivated.
"While none of the players in our program now know anything but a lot of winning, I certainly know the other side of it," Crowley said. "Keep on plugging. We're fortunate to have the kids we have."
-- John Wawrow
News & Notes
UW freshman named Mountain West player of week
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — For the second time in three weeks, freshman forward Kayla Woodward has been named the Mountain West Conference women's player of the week.
The last Wyoming freshman to earn multiple player of the week honors was Aubrey Vandiver in 2006-07. The 5-foot-11 Woodward led the Cowgirls to two wins last week over TCU and UNLV.
The Sheridan product averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 56 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the free throw line in the two contests.
