No. 5 Baylor women win 8th in a row, 85-77 over Kansas

WACO, Texas (AP) — NaLyssa Smith scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and fifth-ranked Baylor remained tied for the Big 12 lead with an 85-77 victory over Kansas on Saturday.

Smith only had one assist, but that came on Ja’Mee Asberry’s 3-pointer midway through the third quarter that finally put Baylor ahead to stay.

It was Smith’s 19th double-double this season. Asberry finished with 19 points while Queen Egbo had 14 points and nine rebounds.

With two conference games remaining, the Bears (23-5, 13-3) can guarantee at least a share of their 12th consecutive Big 12 title with a win at No. 9 Iowa State (24-4, 13-3) on Monday night.

Baylor lost its first two Big 12 games for first-year coach Nicki Collen, but it has won 13 of 14 since. The Bears have an eight-game winning streak.

Ioanna Chatzileonti scored 21 points and Zakiyah Franklin had 17 for Kansas (19-7, 10-6), which had won seven in a row before consecutive losses this week to the Big 12 co-leaders. The Jayhawks lost 85-59 at home to Iowa State on Wednesday night.

Chandler Prater added 13 points for Kansas, and Julie Brosseau finished with 11.

Smith’s lone assist came after an offensive rebound. Asberry’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:31 left in the third made it 46-45 for the 10th and final lead change of the game.

The Bears got the ball back on a steal when Caitlin Bickle took the ball away from Brosseau and passed ahead to the breaking Asberry, who made the layup when being fouled hard and added the free throw. Bickle added a three-point play of her own less than a minute later.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Despite the the two losses this week, the Jayhawks are having an impressive season. Their 19 wins are the most since 2013-14, and the 12-win improvement over last season is already a school record. … Kansas was undone by turnovers before halftime, with 11 turnovers that led to 16 Baylor points. The Jayhawks had only our turnovers after the break.

Baylor: The Bears have won 17 in a row over Kansas, including an 82-79 win in Lawrence on Jan. 16 that was Collen’s first Big 12 win.

MORE THAN ANYONE

Jordan Lewis had six points and eight assists in her 158th career game, breaking a tie with UConn’s Kalana Green (2005-10) for the most in NCAA history. Lewis, a graduate transfer taking advantage of the extra season of eligibility every player got because of COVID-19, has played 28 of those games with Baylor after 130 for Alabama.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kansas, the second team among others receiving votes in the current poll, missed a chance to get ranked for the first time this season with consecutive losses against the Big 12 co-leaders.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Plays its third consecutive Top 25 opponent, hosting No. 11 Texas on Wednesday night.

Baylor: The Lady Bears won the first meeting against Iowa State 87-61 at home on Jan. 23.

___

More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25