The Lowdown

It may have been the second meeting of the season but the result was no different as No. 1 Baylor defeated No. 24 Iowa State, 66-51 on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

After being beaten by 29 points by Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla., on Sunday, the Cyclones (13-4, 4-3 Big 12) attempted to bounce back with a hard fought performance. In the end, however, they were not able to keep up with the Lady Bears (17-1, 7-0 Big 12) who regained their No. 1 ranking after suffering an early season loss to then-No. 4 Stanford, 71-69 on Nov. 16.

Turning Point

With the score at 6-4 and Iowa State earning 3-pointers by center Anna Prins and forward Hallie Christofferson, Iowa State then surrendered a 20-2 run and were not able to get within 10 points for the remainder of the game. 

X-Factor

Griner was a force for the Lady Bears offensively and defensively all night long. The 6-foot-8 senior center finished with a game-high 22 points while adding 8 rebounds and 6 blocks.

The ISU defense was able to slow down Griner somewhat in the first half only shooting 6 for 15 from the floor and 13 points. In the second half, Griner was limited to 9 points but was taken out at the end of the game and had four fouls.

By the Numbers

400: Number of offensive rebounds surpassed by forward Chelsea Poppens in her career. She had four in the loss on Wednesday night.

1: Times Griner dunked in the game.

18: Turnovers committed by Iowa State against the long defense of Baylor. The Lady Bears had just 8 turnovers in the game.

10: Iowa State players who saw time on the court in the loss against Baylor. Freshman Madison Baier was the lone member of the ISU squad who did not play because of an ankle injury keeping her out of the contest.

Quotables

“They do a lot of things defensively that are fundamentally sound. They keep you off balance with a mix of a zone and a 1-3-1. You have a great coach in [ISU coach] Bill Fennelly. He’s been doing this a long time and he figures out ways to compete.” — Baylor coach Kim Mulkey on Iowa State’s effort

“[Griner] is such an amazing basketball player and every perspective of her game has improved so much since freshman year. I can just tell her footwork and how she sets her player up before she posts up. It’s so hard to guard, she’s tough.” — Prins on the task of guarding Griner

“Obviously [Baylor’s] the best team in the country and they played like it. But I will say this, we have the best fans in the country. I was very proud of our team’s effort. I thought we competed.” — Fennelly on the Hilton Coliseum crowd’s support