Griner Leads Baylor Over Notre Dame
Diggins, Irish Struggle in Rematch
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brittney Griner had 24 points and 14 rebounds, three other Baylor players scored in double figures and the third-ranked Lady Bears beat No. 5 Notre Dame 73-61 Wednesday night in a repeat of last season’s national championship game.
The Fighting Irish could do little to slow Griner, who was 10 of 16 from the floor. The Lady Bears (7-1), with all five starters back from the team that went 40-0 last season, used a 10-0 run late in the second half to pull away.
The Irish (5-1), with just two starters back, were simply no match, especially with AllAmerica senior Skylar Diggins struggling on 4-of-19 shooting.
Odsyssey Sims returned after missing four games with a hamstring injury and added 16 points for Baylor. Brooklyn Pope had 14 points and Jordan Madden 12.
Freshman Jewell Loyd led Notre Dame with a seasonhigh 24 points, Kayla McBride had 16 and Natalie Achonwa 11.
The Lady Bears dominated inside, outscoring the Irish 36-26 in the paint and outrebounding them 44-35. Baylor also held the Irish to 36 percent shooting, while making 49 percent of its shots.
Diggins drove inside to give the Irish a 50-49 lead with 8:19 left, but Griner responded with a three-point play. After Diggins scored again, Madden hit a layup to spark a 10-0 run, which included six points from Sims.
Sims’ first basket during the spurt came on an inbounds pass that she bounced off the back of Notre Dame’s Natalie Achonwa before grabbing the ball and scoring. She capped the run with another basket and the Irish never got closer than seven after that.
No. 21 NORTH CAROLINA 64, RADFORD 44: In Chapel Hill, N.C., Waltiea Rolle scored 24 points and Xylina McDaniel had 16 to go with eight rebounds as the Tar Heels defeated the Highlanders (3-4).
Krista Gross, who ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding, pulled down a career-high 17 for North Carolina, which bounced back from a 102-57 loss to No. 14 Tennessee on Sunday.
North Carolina (8-1) opened the game on an 11-2 run, and after Jordynn Gaymon’s jumper cut the deficit to 13-4, the Tar Heels scored the next eight points to lead 21-4 with 4:19 left in the first half.
CREIGHTON 66, No. 25 NEBRASKA 57: In Omaha, Neb., Marissa Janning provided the spark Creighton needed off the bench, leading the Bluejays with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting including four 3-pointers to give Creighton a victory over the Cornhuskers (6-3).
Creighton (4-2) shot 56.3 percent from the field, making 27 of 48 including nine 3-pointers. McKenzie Fujan was the other Bluejay in double figures with 13 points.