No. 9 Baylor rips KU women

Bears treat Jayhawks as tuneup for No. 3 LSU in 50-point blowout

? Kim Mulkey-Robertson couldn’t have asked for a better prelude.

With a matchup looming against third-ranked LSU on Monday, the No. 9 Lady Bears waltzed past Kansas, 90-40, on Saturday.

Baylor faced LSU twice last season, losing, 71-70, in the season opener and defeating the Lady Tigers, 68-57, in the national-championship semifinal.

“The LSU game is a testament to where our program has come,” Mulkey-Robertson said. “It will be great publicity for our university and will be hyped up as a rematch of the Final Four, but we’re not going to allow that to be our focus.”

Against the Jayhawks, the Lady Bears (15-3, 5-3 Big 12) received balanced scoring throughout their lineup, with six Baylor players reaching double figures.

Sophia Young led the offense with 17 points along with nine rebounds, while Angela Tisdale added 13 and Chameka Scott and Jhasmin Player 12 apiece. Jordan Davis contributed 11 points, and Tricia Abbott rounded out the group with 10.

“Once we get some balance, it gives the post a lot of room to work,” Young said. “The guards were knocking down some big shots for us, and everybody was looking to score.”

Baylor put Kansas (13-5, 2-5) away in the second half, outscoring the Jayhawks 29-10 and going in front 75-33 with just over seven minutes left to play.

Baylor dominated on the boards, outrebounding Kansas 45 to 25. The Jayhawks also committed 23 turnovers, leading to 37 Lady Bear points.

Crystal Kemp paced the Kansas offense with 10 points.

“I thought we played with them (Baylor) early, and I got a decent rotation,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “Then the bottom fell out and never closed again.”

Baylor closed out the first half on a 17-2 run, holding Kansas to a basket over the final six minutes. Davis, Tisdale, and Scott keyed the spurt with three-pointers. Tisdale banked her three in as time expired to end the half.

The Lady Bears led 46-23 at halftime, with Young providing 13 first-half points.