Kansas falls to No. 3 Baylor on the road, 90-43

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WACO, Texas –  Kansas women’s basketball couldn’t hold off the top offense in the Big 12 Conference, as Baylor secured the New Year’s Day victory, 90-43, over the Jayhawks on Sunday afternoon inside the Ferrell Center.
                              
The Jayhawks (6-7, 0-2 Big 12) tied the ballgame twice and stayed within a possession of the nationally-ranked Lady Bears (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) for most of the first quarter, but BU pulled ahead in the latter 10 minutes of the first half. Baylor took its first double-digit lead 13 minutes into the contest and despite KU’s best efforts to fend off the most productive offense in the league, Baylor prevailed as the game wore on.
 
For the second game in a row, redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington led Kansas’ offense. The Tulsa, Oklahoma product scored 18 points for her eighth double-digit effort of the season and fifth in row. Washington has led all scorers in back-to-back Big 12 games.
 
Coming into the game, Baylor’s offense averaged 94.6 points per game and with four Lady Bears in double figures came within four points of their average point total. Senior forward Nina Davis and redshirt senior guard Alexis Jones led BU’s offensive charge with 16 points each. Sophomore post Beatrice Mompremier netted 15 points, while sophomore post Kalani Brown recorded 11 points.
 
Washington began the game recording KU’s first four points as the Jayhawks trailed Baylor, 6-4, in the early minutes of the contest. BU’s Kristy Wallace knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Lady Bears advantage, but Washington answered with her second shot from long range to keep KU within a possession of nationally-ranked Baylor. With just over minutes to play in the first quarter, senior forward Sydney Umeri tied the game, 9-9, with her first make of the day.
 
With the scoreboard even at 11 points each, Baylor went on a 4-0 run to take control of the opening period, but Washington ended the run with a jumper and brought the Jayhawks back to within a possession, 15-13. The Lady Bears ended the first 10 minutes with five unanswered points to increase its lead, 20-13. Washington led all scorers at the conclusion of the first period after netting 11 points, her second time this season to reach double digits in the opening quarter.
 
An 8-4 Baylor run started the second period as the Lady Bears extended its lead to double digits over Kansas for the first time on Sunday afternoon. Senior forward Jada Brown converted a layup under the basket, which brought KU’s deficit back to single digits, 28-19, midway through the second quarter. After cutting BU’s lead down to nine, the Lady Bears went on an 11-0 run to reestablish a double-digit lead, 39-19. Sophomore guard Jayde Christopher ended the BU run with a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc, but after outscoring KU, 28-11 in the second period, Baylor entered the intermission with a 48-24 advantage over the Jayhawks.
 
The Lady Bears opened the second half with a 10-0 run before Washington halted the run with her first bucket of the third quarter. Baylor answered with its fourth 3-pointer of the day, which ignited seven unanswered BU points. Halfway through the third period, Baylor had extended its lead, 69-26, over the Jayhawks.
 
Coming out of the media timeout, senior guard Timeka O’Neal sank her first 3-pointer of the afternoon, becoming the third Jayhawk to score from long range and ended the Lady Bears 11-0 run going into the timeout. Despite finishing the third quarter with a quick 5-2 run by the Jayhawks, Baylor headed to the final period with a 75-34 lead.

Despite holding Baylor to a game-low 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks couldn’t find an answer for the Lady Bears potent offense. BU defeated Kansas, 90-43, in the first meeting of 2017.

UP NEXT
Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse to host its third-straight nationally-ranked opponent when Texas comes to town on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tipoff against the Longhorns is slated for 7 p.m., on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3 and the Jayhawk Radio Network.

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