Feb. 11, 2009
Box Score | Notes | Game Action 
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- No. 7 Baylor had not been outrebounded by an opponent this season and had not lost a Big 12 Conference road game.
The Lady Bears were outrebounded 53-51 by Oklahoma State on Wednesday night, but found a way to gut out a tough 64-62 overtime victory.
Danielle Wilson and Jhasmin Player each scored 19 points and Rachel Allison pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds as Baylor improved to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in Big 12 games.
Wilson added 11 rebounds to record her eighth double-double in nine games and the 19 points were a season high for Player.
"It was a game that we very easily could have lost when we got down eight or whatever it was with 9 or 10 minutes to go, but I just thought we never showed any panic, we were very poised and I thought our three seniors tonight were big," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "What can you say about Jhasmin Player? She hit a big three when we cut it to five and they come out in a zone and she just stroked it right there."
Said Wilson: "We felt pretty good about ourselves. We just knew our defense wasn't going to fail us this time, you know just play our defense the way we've played it all season and rebound the ball."
The Lady Bears, winners of at least 20 games for the ninth consecutive season under Mulkey, trailed 50-41 with 8:30 to play.
Andrea Riley, who led Oklahoma State (14-8, 3-6) with 21 points on 8-of-34 shooting, hit a long-range 3-pointer that gave the hosts their biggest lead.
Taylor Hardeman's 3-pointer with 5:40 to play halted a Baylor 7-0 run and gave the Cowgirls a 53-48 lead.
But Player led the Lady Bears back, knocking down a 3-pointer and adding a runner in the lane to tie the game at 56.
Riley responded with a left-handed layup off the glass, but on Baylor's next possession Wilson turned an offensive rebound into a basket and it was tied at 58 with 45 seconds to play.
Both teams had chances but failed to capitalize, sending the game to overtime where Jessica Morrow had two key baskets.
Baylor missed consecutive 1-and-1 free-throw attempts, Riley and Oklahoma State failed to make a field goal over the final 2:25 of the extra session.
"We won that game because if you look at what you did on the defensive end of the floor you kept them off the foul line, you made sure that any buckets that they got, somebody other than Riley was scoring them and the ones she did get at least had to be difficult shots," Mulkey said.
Baylor made 6-of-16 foul shots and was 4-of-12 from 3-point range. Oklahoma State went to the line five times, hitting three.
"This one hurts a little more than probably any other so far," said Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke, whose club has lost consecutive games to No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 13 Texas and No. 7 Baylor.
"I thought the kids executed a game plan as close to perfect as we can do it. It's just hard to win in this league when you shoot 32 percent. I thought effort-wise they were really good and I thought they understood their assignments.
"As we told them afterwards, you play the seventh-ranked team down to the wire and that last shot was about half in, half out. We can't get our heads down. We have to keep pushing for it. We're a lot closer to being at a higher competitive level today than we were yesterday."
Shaunte' Smith added 11 points for the Cowgirls, who lost a third straight league game at home. Megan Byford pulled down 12 rebounds.
Oklahoma State opened the second half on a 15-4 run to lead 39-31 with 13:45 to play and Kristin Hernandez turned a baseline drive into a 3-point play that gave the hosts a 42-34 advantage with 12:05 remaining.
Baylor led 27-24 at halftime. The Cowgirls outscored the Lady Bears 12-6 over the final 9:20 as both teams struggled from the field, combining to hit 21-of-66 (32 percent) attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
Riley, the Big 12's leading scorer at 23.7 points per game, hit 2-of-11 attempts in the first half and had six points. The 5-foot-5 guard hit 6-of-23 in the second half.
Riley scored 33 points in a 75-57 loss to Baylor in Waco on Jan. 17.
