Sunday, January 04, 2009
By Brice Cherry
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Keep the Baylor Lady Bears cooped up for a couple of weeks, and they apparently will get the itch to run and play.
Seventh-ranked Baylor showed no sluggishness from its holiday layoff, pushing the tempo to generate a slew of easy baskets in a 95-55 win over Texas State before a crowd of 6,054 Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
At times it looked as if Baylor merely kept its pregame layup drill going once the game began. The Lady Bears (12-1) shot 57.6 percent from the floor — with 66 points coming in the paint or in transition — in racing to their biggest offensive outburst since a 101-47 win over St. Mary’s on Nov. 10, 2007.
“We’re going to push it, and we work on that all the time,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “Anytime there’s a change of possession or a long rebound, we’re going. I like to do that. I just think it makes us a better team. We have to get buckets in the open floor.”
Nobody got better looks at the basket than junior post Danielle Wilson. Dropping in 11 of 14 shots, most from point-blank range, Wilson racked up a career-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocked shots in 26 minutes.
It marked the fifth time in the last seven games Wilson has led Baylor in scoring.
“Danielle has been playing her best basketball,” Mulkey said. “She is very active on the defensive end of the floor, she’s down in her stance, she’s guarding people off the dribble, she’s running the floor. Then she’s trying to really do things offensively, and not be timid. Not be soft.
“All the things she’s doing offensively are with an aggressive attitude and with a confidence. She’s very confident right now.”
Yet everyone got in on the fun against the visiting Bobcats (6-6). With seven points, senior forward Rachel Allison became Baylor’s 26th member of the 1,000-point club.
When Allison reached the milestone with a baseline move and short jumper off the glass at the 14:09 mark of the second half, the reaction from the crowd was immediate and enthusiastic.
“I was surprised,” Allison said of the crowd’s applause. “I didn’t think they had any idea. Just a few games ago, I didn’t have any idea either.”
“It shows how much they love these kids and how much they appreciate them,” Mulkey said. “They probably would have been mad at me if I’d have taken her out and not let her get it tonight. She’d have gotten it at Colorado.”
For Baylor junior Morghan Medlock, the game was less about milestones than it was a way to escape. Medlock’s mother Shannan Barron was killed Dec. 19, and Medlock was playing her first game back in Waco since the tragedy.
Showing tremendous resolve, she scored a career-high 15 points in 12 minutes off the bench, even leading the break at one point late in the second half.
“Like Coach said, I’m really at peace and I’m praying that she puts me in games so I’m not sitting there thinking about everything that has happened,” said Medlock, whose mother was honored with a moment of silence prior to the game. “Once I get out there, I think my adrenaline, along with my teammates, it helps a lot. I just go out there and have fun.”
Jhasmin Player turned in a terrific all-around performance with 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals, while freshman Lindsay Palmer netted a career-high 10 points, sinking two 3-pointers.
How good were things going for Baylor? With 11 minutes to play and BU leading by 28, Player chased down a loose ball and made a blind flip while falling out of bounds. Wilson was right there for the reception and the layup.
“She was just trying to save it, but she said, ‘Thanks, D,’ ” Wilson said.
The Bobcats penetrated through BU’s defense early to stay within striking distance, trailing 14-10 eight minutes into the game, but the Lady Bears eventually sped away by pushing the accelerator. BU shot 60 percent in the first half, with a fair amount of its baskets on layups.
Guard Ashley Cole topped Texas State with 14 points, and Gabrielle Mattox had 11.
Baylor’s next action will be its conference opener at Colorado Jan. 10.
BEAR FACTS: Baylor will host a memorial service for Shannan Barron at 3 p.m. today at the Truett Seminary chapel. The public is invited to attend.
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