TCU women stay competitive but No. 2 Baylor flexes muscles

Freshman Lauren Cox made her first seven shots and scored a game-high 19 points as second-ranked Baylor won its 51st consecutive home game, beating TCU 77-54 on Wednesday night.

Alexis Jones added 14 points and Alexis Prince 10 for the Lady Bears (16-1, 5-0 Big 12), who had their smallest victory margin in a conference game so far but trailed for only a 12-second span after TCU made a 3-pointer for its first basket of the game.

TCU (8-8, 0-5) has lost 21 in a row since 1991 against the Lady Bears, including an 0-9 mark in the five seasons the Frogs have been in the Big 12.

AJ Alix led TCU with 17 points. Jada Butts had 15.

Butts made a 3-pointer for TCU just more than 2 minutes into the game, but Kalani Brown quickly responded with a Baylor basket to make it 4-3. Jones was only 3-of-13 shooting from long range, but had all three of her made 3-pointers in a stretch of just over 2 minutes midway through the first quarter.

Baylor was up by 13 at the half after Khadijiah Cave had a basket and Beatrice Mompremier made consecutive inside shots in the final 91 seconds.

BIG PICTURE

TCU: The opening Big 12 stretch in coach Raegan Pebley’s third season has been difficult. Baylor was the fourth Top 25 team the Frogs have played in their first five conference games. Things should lighten up a bit before another round in February against those same ranked teams.

Baylor: The Lady Bears had won their first four Big 12 games by an average margin of 37 points, the most dominating start to league play in school history. They sure seem to be on track for a seventh straight Big 12 title.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

As long as No. 1 UConn keeps winning, the Lady Bears have hit their ranking ceiling. Baylor has 14 in row since its Nov. 17 loss to the Huskies, who on Saturday at SMU can break their own NCAA record with their 91st consecutive victory.

UP NEXT

TCU: The Frogs are headed home to finally play one of the teams that is also in the lower half of the conference standings with them. TCU hosts Iowa State on Sunday, the first of three home games in a four-game span.

Baylor: The Lady Bears are in their most condensed stretch of Big 12 home games with three of four, and four of six, at the Ferrell Center. After starting that stretch against the Frogs, Baylor plays at Kansas on Sunday, and then is back home next week to play Iowa State and No. 18 West Virginia.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 9:32 PM with the headline "TCU women stay competitive but No. 2 Baylor flexes muscles."