KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The top-seeded Lady Bears took on the Longhorns in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon, a team they beat twice during the regular season.
The Bears got off to an incredible start holding Texas scoreless through the first six minutes of play, but the Longhorns outscored Baylor in the second quarter 18-17. Despite slowing down for a few minutes the Bears came out victorious 66-55.
The Big 12 Player of the Year, NaLyssa Smith, scored Baylor's first 6 points and remained hot all game finishing with 21 .
The Lady Bears dominated on the boards 50-28, and Queen Egbo had 10 points a game high 18 rebounds, followed by Smith with 14. Baylor had 28 second chance points.
DiJoani Carrington and Moon Ursin also finished in double figures in scoring with 14 and 19, respectively.
Joanne Allen-Taylor and Celeste Taylor combined for 39 of the Longhorns total points, and finished the second quarter with 15 of 17 Texas points. Charli Collier picked up two early fouls and played just three minutes in the first half, ending the game with 16 minutes and 3 points.
Baylor struggled with turnovers picking up 10 in the first half and 16 throughout the game, something Kim Mulkey said they need to work on heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Bears will move on to Sunday's tournament championship game against either Oklahoma State or West Virginia, that game tips-off at noon.
