LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Juicy Landrum came up big when finally getting the chance to start for No. 3 Baylor.
Landrum made her first eight shots, including four 3-pointers, and the sophomore scored 20 points to lead all five starters in double figures Saturday for the Lady Bears as they overwhelmed Texas Tech for the second time this season. They won 90-44 for their 18th straight victory.
“I saw a very confident kid and a kid who’s waited her turn. I told her yesterday she would start,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “She’s put in a lot of extra work in the gym. I think you saw that it’s paid off for her. Juciy has an unbelievable shot. A great shot. It’s good to see her step in like we didn’t miss a beat.”
The game was tied 6-6 halfway through the first quarter before Baylor (21-1, 11-0 Big 12) ended the quarter with 15 straight points. Five different players scored in that spurt for the Lady Bears, including Landrum, who hit a 3-pointer.
“I know I have a pretty good shot, but when coach says you have an opportunity you just try to take advantage of it,” said Landrum, whose first start came in her 42nd career game. “I think I did that today.”
Landrum also had nine rebounds and four assists with no turnovers while playing a career-high 33 minutes.
Dekeiya Cohen had 19 points for Baylor, while Kristy Wallace had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lauren Cox had 12 points and Kalani Brown scored 11.
Jada Terry had 10 points to lead Texas Tech (7-15, 1-10), which shot 27 percent (19 of 70) from the field.
Baylor played with only seven players, with guards Natalie Chou and Didi Westbrook held out because of minor ailments to rest with a short turnaround before the next game two days later.
“My plan was to rest the bigs (Brown and Cox), and we did that. My plan was not to play the two kids,” Mulkey said. “The flow of the game went exactly like you want it to go.”
After the Lady Raiders lost 97-49 at Baylor on Dec. 31, coach Candi Whitaker was fired. They are 1-8 under interim coach Shimmy Gray-Miller, and three of their last four losses are by at least 30 points, including a 51-point home loss to No. 8 Texas two weeks ago.
“I’m incredibly optimistic, but I’m also very realistic. It’s hard for anyone to beat Baylor,” Gray-Miller said. “So (we) stop attaching ourselves to outcomes. … I thought we definitely played harder than Baylor in spurts, particularly in the first half. We didn’t sustain that, but I thought we played hard.”
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Lady Bears are 11-0 in Big 12 play for the second year in a row. Before that, the last time they were 11-0 was during their 40-0 national championship season six years ago.
Texas Tech: The Lady Raiders have a 48-42 series lead, but have now lost 17 in a row and 27 of 28 against Baylor.
NO OTHER OPTIONS
Mulkey spoke briefly with Gray-Miller when they shook hands after the game, telling her what the Lady Bears had to do with their limited roster.
“Told her that the five players I had in I couldn’t sub for because I’m only playing seven and didn’t want the bigs to go back in,” Mulkey said. “I just wanted her to understand that I played a 2-3 zone the whole fourth quarter with five guards and that’s about all I could do.”
UP NEXT
Baylor plays its next two games at home, starting Monday night against Oklahoma.
Texas Tech goes to Kansas State on Wednesday night.
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