Needing little more than a hot start, the Baylor women’s basketball team flexed its Big 12 Conference Championship muscles Wednesday night in defeating the Missouri Tigers at home, 84-52.
The loss marks four straight for the Tigers, who now hold a record of 12-17 and 4-11 in the Big 12.
Baylor made sure from the moment the game started it would close out Senior Night with a victory. The Bears sped out to a 12-0 lead and widened the margin to 30-8 in a dominating start to the team’s final home game of the season.
The closest Missouri would get to making it a game would be to close the gap to 37-21 with 3:31 remaining in the half. Baylor closed out the first half in style to take a 43-22 lead to the locker rooms.
There was simply no stopping the Bears in their own building that night. In bulking its resume for a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Baylor clinched its second Big 12 championship behind better than 50 percent shooting, seven three-pointers and a rebounding edge of 44-27.
For yet another game, Missouri received a big night from senior guard RaeShara Brown. In her final regular season road game in a Tigers uniform, the team’s statistical leader across the board led the offensive effort Wednesday with 17 points and six steals. Shakara Jones, the team’s other senior, followed up Brown’s scoring with 10 points of her own.
Another positive the Tigers were able to take away from the game was the performance cashed in by junior forward Christine Flores. Having worked her way back into the starting lineup just a few games ago, Flores set a career high seven assists to go along with six points and six rebounds.
A season of road woes came to a close with the loss, as the Tigers closed out the 2010-2011 season with a 2-11 road record. The defeat marked Missouri’s 11th straight road loss as the team completed a conference road slate with a 0-8 record.
Although the Tigers were far from impressive on the road, they did show promise at points away from home. Missouri upset then-No. 12 Georgetown on a neutral court and came within single digits on four different occasions.
Coach Robin Pingeton talked earlier in the season about the difficulty of a young team playing in its first season under a new coaching staff in one of the most highly-regarded conferences in the nation. Though the Tigers have stumbled down the home stretch with four consecutive losses, they can take pride in holding their own at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers enter their final home game with a 10-6 record in home games, including a 4-3 mark in conference games.
Missouri will have one final opportunity to impress at home before embarking on the Big 12 Tournament next week. The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena on Sunday to play No. 25 Iowa State and will recognize Brown and Jones for their efforts as part of the Senior Night festivities.
