WACO, Texas (AP) - Alexis Jones entered an exclusive chapter of the Baylor record book Sunday.
The senior guard had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the second Lady Bear with a triple-double while No. 2 Baylor beat No. 20 Oklahoma 92-58.
Jones and former center Brittney Griner are the only Lady Bears to pull off the feat. Griner had five triple-doubles in her career, the last on March 3, 2013 against West Virginia.
“She’s just an amazing player overall,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said of Jones. “Triple-double, she knocked down shots, got rebounds, and she makes us all better. It all starts with the point guard, so when she’s doing good, we’re all doing good.”
Baylor (21-1, 10-0 Big 12) shot 57 percent over the final three quarters after struggling to 6 of 20 in the opening 10 minutes. Reserve Khadijiah Cave had 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds, Nina Davis added 13 points and Alexis Prince finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“I just try to go out there and be that spark plug, energy player,” Cave said. “Crashing the boards and running the floor is what I do best, and I just try to be that spark to give the team the energy they need.”
Oklahoma (16-6, 7-3) got 15 points from Peyton Little. The Sooners led by eight during the first quarter, but Baylor scored the first 13 points of the second quarter to cap an 18-2 run and take control. Maddie Manning had 11 points, and Vionise Pierre-Louis and Gabbi Ortiz added 10 points apiece. Ortiz also pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Sooners shot 33.3 percent in the first quarter, but that was their high watermark. Baylor locked down from there and limited Oklahoma to 23.2 percent the rest of the way.
“We missed quite a few layups and took the wind out of our own sails, and that gave them a window to attack,” Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. “They do that very well. I think it sends a message sometimes when you miss those easy layups. It’s not just the layup, but Baylor does a really good job of sensing if you’re nervous or you’re scared. They attacked at that point.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma: The Sooners’ offense was too stagnant to break down a stingy Baylor defense. Oklahoma had only nine assists to go with 17 turnovers. When the Sooners’ turnovers didn’t trigger a quick score on the other end, a 6-for-26 performance from 3-point range often led to long rebounds that did.
“(Nine assists) was not making shots,” Coale said. “You don’t get assists unless the person you throw it to makes the basket.”
Baylor: The Lady Bears’ size and depth make a tough matchup for anyone in the country and it showed again Sunday. Baylor outrebounded Oklahoma 55-44, blocked eight shots and held a 60-26 edge in the paint.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma will return home for its second game against Kansas on Wednesday. The Sooners won the first meeting 84-54 on Dec. 29.
Baylor goes on the road for its next two games, against Iowa State on Wednesday and Texas Tech on Saturday.
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