Baylor muscles Mountaineers
New Mexico State stays unbeaten in the WAC
WACO, Texas — Alexis Jones and second-ranked Baylor can take some blows and keep on winning.
Jones had 16 points while playing with a swollen black right eye, and the Lady Bears withstood a feisty effort by 24th-ranked West Virginia to win 79-73 Saturday. Their 17th consecutive victory was the first this season decided by single digits.
“Games like this are going to help us down the road. We’re not going to keep blowing teams out like we have been,” senior Nina Davis said. “The (NCAA) tournament is right around the corner so just having games close like this is just a challenge that we need.”
Baylor (19-1, 8-0 Big 12) has won 54 consecutive games at home since a 71-69 loss to the Mountaineers on March 2, 2014.
West Virginia (15-5, 3-5) scored seven straight points in the fourth quarter, with Katrina Pardee making a jumper and then a 3-pointer with just under 6 minutes left to cut the gap to 65-61.
But Alexis Prince then made a layup after chasing down the loose ball of her own missed 3. Jones, who was head-butted by an Iowa State player in Wednesday night’s game, stretched the lead to a jumper and finished 7-of14 shooting.
“It’s ugly,” Jones said of her eye. “It didn’t affect my shot.”
Davis had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Kalani Brown scored 13 points for Baylor. Prince finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Teana Muldrow had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead West Virginia.
(12) TEXAS 77, TEXAS TECH 57: In Lubbock, Texas, Joyner Holmes scored 13 points and grabbed a careerhigh 15 rebounds to lead the Longhorns (14-4, 8-0 Big 12) over the Red Raiders (11-7, 3-4).
MARQUETTE 102, (19) DEPAUL 101 (OT): In Chicago, Danielle King had 27 points, Allazia Blockton scored 24 points and the Golden Eagles (16-4, 7-2 Big East) beat the Blue Demons (16-5, 8-1) in overtime.
IOWA STATE 75, (22) KANSAS STATE 69: In Ames, Iowa, Jadda Buckley scored 21 points as the Cyclones (11-8, 2-6 Big 12) upended the Wildcats (15-5, 5-3). Iowa State is 8-1 in its last nine home games against Kansas State.
MWC
BOISE STATE 86, SAN JOSE STATE 64: In Boise, Idaho, the Broncos (14-4, 4-3) made 14 3-pointers in a win over the Spartans (6-13, 3-4). Brooke Pahukoa made five 3-pointers and had 23 points for Boise State.
COLORADO STATE 74, UTAH STATE 43: In Fort Collins, Colo., Elin Gustavsson had 22 points and Ellen Nystrom added 20 as the Rams (14-5, 6-1) coasted past the Aggies (9-9, 2-5).
FRESNO STATE 68, NEVADA 54: In Fresno, Calif., the Bulldogs (11-8, 4-4) outscored the Wolf Pack (7-11, 1-6) 42-20 in the second half to record the victory. Tory Jacobs had 21 points, while Bego Faz Davalos added 18 for Fresno State.
UNLV 60, AIR FORCE 56: In Air Force Academy, Colo., Dakota Gonzalez and Katie Powell each scored 13 points as the Rebels (13-6, 4-3) beat the Falcons (2-15, 0-7).
State colleges
NMSU 60, UMKC 43: Gia Pack scored 16 points as the Aggies (13-6, 5-0 WAC) completed a sweep of the Kangaroos (6-12, 1-4).
Brooke Salas contributed 11 points for New Mexico State, all in the first half when the Aggies went on a 19-0 run and built a 36-17 lead.
Moriah Mack added 12 points for NMSU, while Tamera William added nine points and seven rebounds.
NMSU, which beat the Kangaroos 78-72 earlier this season in Las Cruces, held UMKC, the WAC leader in field goal percentage (42.4 percent), to only 31.0 percent from the field. The Aggies shot 51.0 percent.
The Aggies’ next game will be at home against Seattle on Thursday at 7 p.m.
ENMU 76, (11) ANGELO STATE 72 (OT): In San Angelo, Texas, Mikaehla Connor scored 25 points and added nine rebounds as the Greyhounds (143, 10-0 Lone Star) remained unbeaten after the first half of league play. Daeshi McCants contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds for Eastern. Jasmine Prophet scored 20 points for the Rams (14-2, 7-2), ranked 11th in NCAA Division II.
TEXAS A&M KINGSVILLE 71, WNMU 62: In Kingsville, Texas, Meesha Wade scored 18 points as the Javelinas (9-7, 4-6 Lone Star) stopped the Mustangs (4-13, 0-10). Jordan Gutierrez and Keshaun Clark had 17 points each for Western.
COLORADO CHRISTIAN 83, NMHU 52: In Las Vegas, N.M., the Cougars (8-10, 6-7 RMAC) outscored the Cowgirls (2-14, 1-12) 36-12 in the paint. Kaelin Shaffer led Highlands with 15 points.