Baylor Women Advance

via The Sports Xchange

Baylor exacted a measure of revenge against Louisville by defeating the Cardinals 97-63 on Friday night in the Sweet 16 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Louisville had a 2-0 lead in its all-time series against Baylor, having defeated the Bears twice in this same round of the tournament in 2009 and 2013.
But this time Baylor (33-3), the top seed in the Oklahoma City Region, took command early on the way to a convincing victory over fourth-seeded Louisville (29-8).
The Bears advance to play second-seeded Mississippi State in the regional final on Sunday.
Forward Nina Davis scored 21 points to lead Baylor. Center Beatrice Mompremier had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, guard Alexis Prince pitched in 14, and guard Kristy Wallace and center Kalani Brown each had 12.
Guard Asia Durr scored 21 to lead the Cardinals. Forward Myisha Hines-Allen added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Baylor put the game away in the third quarter with an 11-0 run to establish a 24-point lead.
Prince hit a pair of 3-pointers during the surge and guard Alexis Jones hit another trey to cap it, giving Baylor a 65-41 lead with 3:04 left in the third quarter.
Baylor started fast and took a 17-7 lead when guard Wallace hit a 3-pointer with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
The Bears then extended their margin at the end of the opening period when guard Natalie Chou was fouled going up for a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in the period. Louisville coach Jeff Walz objected to the call that Chou was shooting and Walz received a technical foul.
Jones buried the two technical free throws, then Chou made two of three attempts to give the Lady Bears a 25-9 lead going into the second quarter.
Baylor’s stretched out a 17-point lead on several occasions in the second quarter, including after Prince hit a free throw for a 39-22 lead with 3:22 to go before halftime.
The Bears held Louisville leading scorer guard Asia Durr to zero points through the first 16 minutes of the contest.
But Durr finally found the range when she hit a 3-pointer with 3:13 to go before the break.
Durr added another trey before the half, helping Louisville close the second quarter on a 9-4 run.
Baylor took a 43-31 lead to halftime on the strength of 22 points in the paint and a 25-20 rebounding edge