By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The 14th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and pulled away from the UTSA Roadrunners for a 73-55 victory Sunday afternoon in Waco.

Baylor guard Taliah Scott scored 17 of her game-high 19 points after intermission to pace the Bears. Guard Jana Van Gytenbeek added 16 and forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs 14.

Guard Ereauna Hardaway scored 15 points to lead the Roadrunners. Forward Cheyenne Rowe also reached double figures with 10.

Coming off a 66-39 loss to UNLV at home last Wednesday, UTSA entered the game looking to make amends.

The Roadrunners played well and stayed with their Big 12 opponent in the first half, trailing by four at the quarter and by five at intermission, only to see the Bears heat up offensively behind Scott.

With Scott scoring nine in the third quarter on three of three shooting, the Bears took a 12-point lead into the fourth and increased it to 20 twice down the stretch.

“I thought we played really hard,” UTSA coach Karen Aston told Neal Raphael on the team’s radio broadcast. “That was something we talked at length about after the UNLV game. You know, our effort just wasn’t acceptable against them, and we just needed to start with that.”

UTSA out-rebounded Baylor 40-31, including 18-8 on the offensive end.

“(You) got to show up,” Aston said. “You got to show up and put on your jersey and you got to compete. I thought we did that today. There were some critical moments that it got away from us. Just (our) decision making, and shot-making on their part.

“But I thought we competed hard today. I can do something with that. You know, I can’t do something with how we played against UNLV.”

Aston altered her starting lineup slightly, going with a dual point-guard look of Hardaway and freshman Adriana Robles, along with Damara Allen on the wing.

Robles had some good moments, finishing with nine points on four of 10 shooting.

The Baylor bench played well, outscoring UTSA’s reserves, 19-9. The Bears also enjoyed a sizeable advantage at the free-throw line, making 17 of 21 to the Roadrunners’ one of four.

“I thought we tried to be aggressive and get to the free-throw line,” Aston said. “But some of it’s the difference in the height and the bodies. They were a lot more physical than we were.

“But I thought we tried to get to the free-throw line. We just couldn’t get angles, couldn’t get into their bodies. They’re a really good shot-blocking team, I will say that, one of the better in the country and they showed it.”

Records

UTSA 3-5
Baylor 9-1

Coming up

Prairie View A&M at UTSA, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners, defending champions in the American Conference, finished their non-conference schedule against Power Four competition with an 0-4 record, with all four games played away from home.

Previously, UTSA lost by 29 at Texas Tech, and then followed a few days later, playing much better defensively but still falling by four at Houston. On Nov. 24 in Frisco, UTSA lost by 17 to Auburn.

The Roadrunners have lost 29 straight to power conference foes, dating back to Dec. 20, 2010, when they defeated the Big 12’s Kansas State Wildcats 72-55 in San Antonio.