AMES – No. 1 Baylor (25-1, 15-1 Big 12) defeated No. 20 Iowa State (20-7, 10-5 Big 12) 73-60 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.
The Bears had three players in double figures, led by Chloe Jackson’s 18 points.
Bridget Carleton tallied 28 points, including 20 in the second half, to pace the Cyclones. It was her 15th game this season with 20 or more points. She also grabbed a team-high eight boards.
Alexa Middleton was in double-figure scoring for the third game in a row with 14 points.
How It Happened
Baylor jumped out to a 12-2 lead, as the Cyclones made just 1-of-8 from the field to open the game. The Bears led 23-13 after the end of the first period.
Ines Nezerwa gave the Cyclones a little spark from off the bench in the first quarter with six points on two baskets, one on a conventional 3-point play and another from a corner trey.
BU extended its lead to 42-22 with 2:55 left in the first half and went into the break with a 44-28 lead.
ISU was focusing on the Bears talented posts Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox, but Jackson and Juicy Landrum made the Cyclones pay from the perimeter. The duo combined for 21 first-half points, knocking down 10-of-16 shots on mostly mid-range jumpers.
Carleton got hot to open the second half, hitting a 3-pointer to close the gap to 13 points (46-33). However, Landrum and Jackson again answered with back-to-back jumpers to push BU back up 51-33.
Carleton had 14 points in the third quarter, but the Bears still held a comfortable 63-45 lead heading into the final frame.
ISU kept battling. An Ashley Joens trey and two buckets by Middleton formed a 7-0 run to cut the BU lead to 63-52. A Carleton lay-in made it a single-digit game (65-56) with 4:42 left, but Landrum then hit a big 3-pointer to slow down ISU’s momentum.
Players of Note
Bridget Carleton scored 20 of her 28 points in the second half to pace the Cyclones. Carleton, who had 14 points in the third quarter, recorded her 37th career game of 20 or more points. She also had eight rebounds and two 3-pointers.
Ines Nezerwa made a solid contribution from off the bench, scoring nine points (3-7 FG) and grabbing five boards. It was the most points scored by Nezerwa vs. a conference opponent this season.
Up Next
Iowa State travels to Texas Tech on Tuesday (Feb. 26). Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest.
