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Sports

Griner leads No.1 Baylor women past Missouri

Associated Press
Published | Updated

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brittney Griner scored 18 points and Kimetria Hayden added 15 points with four steals and five assists to help No. 1 Baylor roll past Missouri 71-41 on Wednesday night.

Destiny Williams scored 10 points with 11 rebounds and Odyssey Sims had 12 points for the unbeaten Lady Bears, whose season-opening winning streak reached 22 games. BreAnna Brock and Sydney Crafton led Missouri with eight points each. Missouri's leading scorer Christine Flores, who was averaging nearly 19 points, was held to seven points on 3-of-15 shooting. Many of those misses came on shots either altered or rejected by the 6-foot-8 Griner, who had four blocks against a Missouri team whose front-line starters are five and six inches shorter.

The Tigers (10-10, 0-9) remain winless in their final season in the Big 12 Conference before joining the SEC next year. They set season lows for points in both the first half and the entire game.

Missouri kept pace with Baylor early on, briefly taking their only lead at 4-2, but trailed 28-18 at halftime after a seven-minute scoring drought that left the Tigers with just six points after 10 minutes. Baylor quickly took control in the second half, scoring the first 10 points and going on a 24-5 run over the first seven minutes of the period to put the game away.

Griner's impact on Missouri's game plan was apparent from the opening tip, when 5-foot-9 freshman guard Morgan Eye jumped center against a flat-footed Griner as Eye's four teammates remained in the backcourt. Griner, needless to say, won possession. She scored Baylor's first eight points and spent much of the second half on the bench as the game grew increasingly lopsided.

Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said the Tigers had hoped to spread the court and slow the game down. But her team converted just 31.4 percent of its field-goal attempts and 26 percent of their 3-point attempts while committing 22 turnovers, which led to 25 Baylor points.

The Lady Bears sped up the pace in the second half, scoring 12 fast-break points overall compared to none for Missouri.