FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Juicy Landrum and the No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears are settling in coming off the hype of ending then-No. 1 UConn’s 126-game regular-season winning streak.
Now coach Kim Mulkey thinks her team might even get a little rest.
Landrum scored a career-high 23 points , Kalani Brown had 16 points and four blocks and the Lady Bears went on a huge first-half run before coasting to a 79-55 victory over TCU on Saturday.
Nine days removed from the 68-57 win over UConn, Baylor (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) won a third straight conference game since, holding the Horned Frogs without a field goal in the second quarter.
A 20-0 spurt started late in the first quarter and covered most of the second, when the Lady Bears outscored TCU 19-2 for a 35-11 halftime lead.
“We’ve had a remarkable little run here,” Mulkey said. “So now we’ll get to rest a little bit tomorrow and start back.”
It was the 15th time this season Baylor has scored at least 10 straight points, including one in each of its three Big 12 games. The Lady Bears beat TCU for the 26th consecutive time, 14 of those since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012-13.
Amy Okonkwo scored 20 points for TCU (11-4, 1-3), which missed all 10 shots in the second quarter and finished the first half at 14 percent (3 of 21) coming off a 38-point loss at Iowa State.
The Horned Frogs were much better after halftime, making 15 of 32 from the field to finish at 34 percent while staying even with the Lady Bears at 44-all over the final two quarters.
“I know we’re a team that can score,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. “I loved how there was more of that intensity and that confidence and that sense of urgency in the second half. But we’ve got to open games with that.”
Lauren Cox had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Mulkey’s 250th Big 12 regular-season win, which came two games after win No. 550 for her at Baylor.
Landrum, a junior who went to high school in Waco, was 3 of 4 from 3-point range in the second half , when he scored 16 points. She had eight rebounds and five assists. Brown had six rebounds, and Chloe Jackson led Baylor with seven assists.
“We’ve got a good mixture in that locker room,” Mulkey said. “We’ve got upperclassmen who have won Big 12 championships and can lead those freshmen. They can sure follow the lead of Lauren Cox and Kalani and Juicy and kids who have been in a setting on the road.”
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Lady Bears lost their distinction as the only team in the country holding opponents under 30 percent shooting. It was at 29.8 percent coming in and even lower after TCU’s 3-of-21 first half. But the Horned Frogs’ recovery left Baylor a fraction above 30 percent for the season.
TCU: The Horned Frogs have lost three straight since a school-record 11-1 start capped by a win over West Virginia in the 12 opener. It was TCU’s first loss in 10 home games this season. Pebley is seeking her first winning Big 12 record in five seasons, coming off her second 9-9 finish.
GOOSE EGG
The only points in the second quarter for TCU were free throws by Yummy Morris with 1:29 remaining. Kianna Ray, who had 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, had four of her six misses in the second. Center Jordan Moore had three of her misses on the way to a 3-of-13 game trying to work against the 6-foot-7 Brown and the 6-4 Cox, who had two blocks.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever coached in a game, quarters are new in college for us, but to have a zero percent field goal, hold a team to not scoring, well you can’t do anything but compliment your kids,” Mulkey said.
UP NEXT
Baylor: At Kansas on Wednesday.
TCU: Texas Tech at home Wednesday.
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