Baylor Dominates Iowa State, Takes Big 12 Women’s Championship 75-47
By Brian Spaen
Mar 11, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Ashley Hagedorn (23) and center Anna Prins (55) and Baylor Bears guard Kimetria Hayden (1) scramble for a loose ball during the first half of the championship game for the Big 12 Conference tournament at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Brittney Griner and the Baylor women’s basketball team sweep the Big 12 conference for the second straight season, pushing away Iowa State for the third time this season to take the crown in Dallas.
Or the tiara, if you will.
The Cyclones (23-8, 12-6) were no match from basically the start, committing 15 turnovers and scoring 13 points in the first half. They were down by 28 points at halftime and were outscored 26-2 inside the paint.
Anna Prins led the team with 20 points, going 8-12 from the field and nailing all four 3-pointers, albeit most of the production in garbage time throughout the second half. Nikki Moody finished with nine points and actually led the team in scoring at halftime, but her ball handling and passing decisions were suspect with a team-high nine turnovers. Iowa State had 21 total turnovers.
Griner was amazing for the Lady Bears (32-1, 18-0) as expected; her stat line was an impressive 31 points on 14-17 shooting from the field, eight rebounds, and five blocks. Underrated Odyssey Sims was also extremely efficient from the field making 7-9 shots and 4-5 from 3-point range. She finished with 20 points. Kimetria Hayden led the team in assists with eight.
Baylor’s defense was simply too much to handle tonight, making up for a sub-par effort by their standards on Sunday against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys almost completed a comeback but fell short, 77-69, against the Lady Bears.
Iowa State was outrebounded 35-23 and had more turnovers than field goals made (21 TOs-17 FGM). Baylor had six more offensive boards and had 22 assists on 31 field goals made.
The Lady Bears will obviously lock the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament when the field is selected next Monday. Before the blowout loss, the Cyclones were projected as a 6-seed against the Charlotte 49ers according to ESPNW’s Bracketology with Charlie Creme.