Griner leads No. 1 Baylor past Kansas 76-37

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Brittney Griner had 22 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, leading No. 1 Baylor to a 76-37 rout of badly overmatched Kansas on Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-8 Griner and the Lady Bears (17-1, 4-0 Big 12) dominated start to finish, scoring the game's first 11 points and racing to a 30-7 lead with about 9 minutes remaining in a lopsided first half. Freshman Odyssey Sims had 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting for the Lady Bears, whose only loss remains to then-No. 1 Connecticut.

Baylor, running its winning streak to 14 straight, had 55 rebounds to just 25 for Kansas (14-4, 1-3). In their 17 previous outings, the Jayhawks had outrebounded opponents an average of 8.2 per game.

The Lady Bears pulled their starters with a 76-30 lead with more than 5 minutes remaining as coach Kim Mulkey raised her career record to 12-1 against the Jayhawks.

Keena Mays came off the bench and led Kansas with nine points.

Carolyn Davis, who came into the game averaging 19.5 points for Kansas, was guarded most of the night by Griner and managed only two points. Her shooting percentage of 67.5 percent had been second in the nation but she was only 1 for 6. It was just the second time all season she was held to single digits.

The Bears, led by Griner, outrebounded the shorter Jayhawks 30-10 while seizing a 40-14 halftime lead.

Griner, fouled by Davis, completed a 3-point play for a 28-7 lead. Then Griner blocked a shot and Brooklyn Pope converted a bucket on the other end to cap a 14-0 surge.

The outmanned Jayhawks had only one brief flurry, outscoring Baylor 7-6 in the opening minutes of the second half. But then the rout was back in full swing. Griner got a layup over Davis, then hit another bucket. Sims scored on a fast break, Melissa Jones got inside for a bucket, then Sims blocked a shot and fed Williams for another layup and a 52-21 lead with about 14 minutes left.

Griner's putback made it 54-21 and the Jayhawks were helpless to stop the nation's No. 1 team. At that point, the rebounds were 38-11 in favor of the Lady Bears. Jones went around Davis for a layup, and Griner made it 60-21 when she jumped above the rim for a layup, capping an intimidating 14-0 spree.

Mays finally scored for Kansas, but Sims came right back with a 3-point bucket.

Destiny Williams had 12 points for Baylor, which mashed Oklahoma State 70-39 its previous game.

Monica Engelman had seven points for the Jayhawks, whose previous low score this year was a 56-41 victory over UMKC. The Jayhawks dropped to 0-6 all time against No. 1 teams.