Published: February 14, 2009 11:20 pm      

Wilson paces No. 7 Baylor past Missouri, 72-43

Texas Women's Roundup

WACO (AP) — Baylor standout Danielle Wilson already knows how she will prepare this week for a rematch with the top team in the Big 12.

“Scouting and also free throws,” Wilson said after matching her career high with 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots in the No. 7 Lady Bears’ 72-43 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

She would have scored even more if she hadn’t struggled at the free throw line.

Despite being fouled on three consecutive possessions late in the game, when the only remaining drama was whether Wilson would surpass her career scoring high, she missed five straight free throws. She finally made one with 6 minutes left, shortly before she came out for good.

With a rematch looming against second-ranked Oklahoma next Saturday, the only thing coach Kim Mulkey really had to gripe about was the free throw shooting.

“Free throws are going to win or lose or game sometimes,” she said. “We’ve won games at the foul line and we’ve probably lost a few at the foul line. And it’s not just at the end of games. At some point if you shoot like this in a close game, you’re not going to win.”

Wilson was 4-of-14 from the line and Baylor was 10-of-27, a season-low 37 percent.

Still, the Lady Bears (21-3, 9-2 Big 12) have won four straight games since back-to-back home losses against conference-leading Oklahoma and Texas.

At least the Lady Bears, without a midweek game, have a little breather before going to Norman.

“This break comes at a good time,” Mulkey said. “It’s a long year. (The players) need a break. They need to be away from basketball. They need to go do something different. It’s coming at very good time.”

Wilson scored the game’s first basket and blocked Missouri’s first shot. The Lady Bears never trailed after Wilson scored eight of Baylor’s first 13 points.

Missouri (11-12, 2-8) tied the game at 13, but Jhasmin Player and Morghan Medlock then paced a 16-4 run that put Baylor in control. Player had 14 points and seven rebounds.

“I don’t know how Kim feels, but this could be the best team she’s ever had,” Missouri coach Cindy Stein said.

Jessra Johnson led Missouri with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Tigers are 0-6 against Top 25 teams this season.

After taking a 32-21 lead at the break, Baylor opened the second half with a 32-14 spurt, taking a 64-35 lead on Jessica Morrow’s fast-break layup with 9 minutes left. That came only seconds after Wilson’s three-point play, part of her nine points in the run.

After Christine Flores hit a free throw for Missouri to tie the game at 13, Player hit a 3-pointer. Player had seven points in that game-turning spurt and Medlock had six.

It was Wilson’s 14th double-double this season, and 22nd of her career.

“Wilson’s a ton. We didn’t do a good job on her,” Stein said. “Obviously we wanted to keep her away from the basket. She’s so strong and she’s pretty mobile. We had a freshman on her, a freshman and sophomore. That’s a big learning lesson for them.”

Other Texas Results

No. 12 Texas A&M 79, Colorado 50

COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Tanisha Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 12 Texas A&M to an easy 79-50 win over Colorado on Saturday, the Aggies’ sixth straight win over the Buffaloes.

Texas A&M (19-5, 7-4 Big 12) never trailed and at one point pushed the lead to 50-24 after a layup by Adaora Elonu with about 15 minutes left.

Colorado (10-12, 2-8) scored nine straight points in the next 2 1/2 minutes to cut the lead to 17, but the Aggies went on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 59-35.

The Buffaloes were led by Brittany Spears who had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Danielle Gant and Tyra White added 12 points apiece for Texas A&M, and Takia Starks had 11.

Nebraska 62, Texas Tech 56

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Cory Montgomery recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Nebraska past Texas Tech 62-56 Saturday.

The Cornhuskers (11-12, 2-8 Big 12) snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Red Raiders and got double-digit scoring from Dominique Kelley with 15 and Yvonne Turner with 12. Kelley was 6-of-6 on free throws.

Jordan Murphree led Texas Tech (14-10, 4-6) with 18 points. Kierra Mallard had 13.

Nebraska led 28-23 at halftime and took control with a 13-4 run to start the second half.

The lead grew to 19 with 7:47 remaining before Texas Tech came back. The Red Raiders had a chance to pull within two late, but Mallard missed a jumper with 29 seconds remaining.