Matchup of Big 12’s top teams fizzles out
Wallace puts up career-high 27 as Lady Bears rout Longhorns
WACO — With big post players Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox inside, senior guard Kristy Wallace doesn’t always have to do a lot of scoring for No. 3 Baylor.
But the Aussie can put up some points.
Wallace scored a career-high 27 points, while both post players had double-doubles and the Lady Bears won their 15th straight game, overwhelming No. 6 Texas 81-56 in a matchup of the Big 12’s top two schools Thursday night.
“How good are we? I think we found out tonight we’re pretty good,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.
Wallace scored nine of her points in a game-turning 28-7 run for the Lady Bears (18-1, 8-0 Big 12), who were in control before the end of the first quarter.
“She was dictating this game from the jump,” Texas coach Karen Aston said.
That game-turning stretch included a 14-4 run over the final 3½ minutes of the first quarter, during which Wallace hit a 3-pointer and emphatically punched her fist in the air as the crowd of 9,286 roared.
“I expected them to try to punch us and that’s exactly what they did,” Texas coach Karen Aston said. “A little surprised, a lot surprised by our team’s lack of composure and competitiveness.
“It was just a little bit of an old-fashioned buttkicking.”
The Bears outscored Texas 14-3 to start the second quarter.
“I just love moments like that. You feed off that,” said Wallace, who finished 11-of-16 shooting from the field.
Brown had 17 points and 11 rebounds, her ninth double-double this season and 21st in her career. Cox had 17 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-7 Brown and 6-4 Cox have combined for 129 points and 83 rebounds the past three games.
Brooke McCarty led Texas (15-4, 6-2) with 16 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
Lashann Higgs added 13 points and Ariel Atkins 11.
“It is frustrating when you don’t show up,” Atkins said. “They outworked us, had more energy, played with passion. They were a team tonight. We weren’t.”