Jan. 31, 2007
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Waco, Texas - Missouri put a scare into the Lady Bears, but Baylor's Jhasmin Player came off the bench and took the game into her own hands as she scored 15 of her career-high 21 points in the second half to lead the No. 13 Lady Bears to a 71-70 victory over the Tigers in action at the Ferrell Center on Wednesday night.
"Thank God for Jhasmin Player," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. "She was not hesitant out there. She was not afraid out there."
In the first half, Baylor spread the ball around as eight different players scored for the Lady Bears as BU went into the break with a 34-25 lead.
But the Missouri (14-7, 2-6 Big 12) came out hot in the second half, going on a 28-10 run to give the Tigers a 53-44 lead with 9:53 remaining.
Player then scored 11 straight points for the Lady Bears as the junior put Baylor right back into the game.
"It's so unfair to expect Bernice [Mosby] and [Angela] Tisdale to come out and have big nights every night," said Player. `I'm not going to have a game like this every night, but it's wasn't anything I did. I just had a lay-up drill in there."
Mosby added 17 points, and Rachel Allison contributed eight points and four steals in the Lady Bears victory.
Missouri outscored Baylor 45-37 in the second half and out-rebounded the Lady Bears 33-29, but the Tigers also committed 24 turnovers.
"This is one of the toughest places to play in the country," said Missouri coach Cindy Stein. "The crowd really got into it and gave them a lift."
Missouri senior Eetisha Riddle led all scorers with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Alyssa Hollins added 19 points and five rebounds, and senior guard Tiffany Brooks contributed 15 points.
Missouri gained possession of the ball with nine seconds remaining, but missed a deep jumper at the buzzer for the win.
"They out-coached us and out-played us," said Mulkey. "We were lucky to win."
Baylor's next game is at No. 22 Nebraska on Saturday, February 3 at 2:30 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb.
