Feb. 26, 2005

Box Score

By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer

BOULDER, Colo. - Emily Niemann scored a season-high 20 points to help No. 6 Baylor clinch at least a share of the Big 12 title for the first time with an 84-65 victory over Colorado Saturday night.

Chameka Scott added 16 for the Bears (23-3, 13-2 Big 12), who won their 10th straight.

Colorado (8-18, 1-14) lost for the 11th straight time, this one coming two days after coach Ceal Barry announced she would step down after the 22nd year of an otherwise illustrious career with the Buffs.

Barry, 426-241 with Colorado, announced her decision after a 43-point loss at No. 13 Texas on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the Buffs scrapped and fought, only to be slowly dissected by a team with better shooters, ball handlers and rebounders.

Niemann hit a pair of 3-pointers and Sophia Young made three free throws to help the Bears on a 9-2 run for a 47-32 lead at halftime. CU never got the lead below 11 in the second half.

In its ninth season in the Big 12, Baylor maintained a one-game lead over Texas Tech and Texas, which both won Saturday night, with one game left for all three teams. A win Thursday over Texas Tech, and the Bears would win the championship outright.

Colorado, meanwhile, will finish last in the conference after decades as a title contender and player in the NCAA tournament.

But tougher recruiting and competition have hurt Barry as the years have progressed. The Buffs drew 3,057 Saturday night, which was about 1,000 more than average, but still only about half of what Baylor gets each game.

Clearly, it's not for lack of trying.

An hour before tip, Barry took a microphone out to the stands to entertain about 100 youngsters who came to watch her second-to-last home game. When the team came onto the floor, the coach ran not to the bench, but to the stands, where she shook hands with boosters and chatted for a while.

Then, it was back to the sideline to watch the next in a depressing series of losses. The 11 straight defeats added to a school record CU broke against Texas. Before that, the Buffs hadn't lost nine straight since 1975, their first year of varsity hoops.