Smith, No. 9 Baylor women rally past No. 13 Texas 63-55

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — NaLyssa Smith scored 28 points and No. 9 Baylor continued its dominant run against No. 13 Texas with a 63-55 win Sunday, the Bears’ second victory over the Longhorns in three days.

Baylor beat Texas 75-63 Friday night and the quick turnaround for the rematch happened because a Jan. 9 meeting had been postponed because of COVID-19 problems in the Bears program.

The Bears (17-5, 7-3 Big 12) have won 13 in a row over the Longhorns and 27 of the last 28 meetings in the rivalry.

Texas (15-6, 5-5) led by 10 early in the third quarter before the Bears stormed back behind Smith, who played almost the entire fourth quarter with four fouls. Her four consecutive free throws and a sprinting layup from a crosscourt pass put the Bears ahead 59-52 with 1:06 to play. Smith scored 18 in the second half.

The Bears needed to win to keep alive their chase for a 12th consecutive conference championship under first-year coach Nicki Collen. Their three league losses this season already match their total for the previous five seasons, and the Bears are sitting below Iowa State and Oklahoma in the chase.

Collen took over from three-time national championship winning coach Kim Mulkey, who left for LSU after last season.

Baylor looked unsettled early against a Texas defense that refused to allow penetrating drives or easy entry passes to Smith. After Baylor led 10-3 early, the Longhorns closed the first half with a 23-8 run fueled by a rash of Baylor turnovers, several of them unforced.

Baylor shot just 26% in the first half and Smith was the only Bears player with more than one basket over the first two quarters.

Smith led the Baylor charge in the third. She scored 10 in the quarter and Baylor used a 15-6 run to snatch a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth.

Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 18 points to lead Texas.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: The Bears cleaned up the turnover problems from the first half and found their shooting touch with three 3-pointers in the second half. And they were excellent from the free throw line, making 17 of 19 attempts.

Texas: The Longhorns lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, turnovers forced and steals per game and had the Bears flummoxed in the first half. But the Longhorns were undone by their own offensive miscues. Twelve turnovers led to 19 Baylor points and the Longhorns shot just 36% on their home court.

UP NEXT

Baylor: The Bears host Kansas State on Wednesday.

Texas: The Longhorns play at Texas Tech on Wednesday.

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