LAWRENCE, Kan. – Baylor coach Kim Mulkey had a simple reason for keeping Brittney Griner, the reigning player of the year, on the floor in the waning minutes of a blowout win over Kansas.
“I didn’t recruit her to sit,” Mulkey said matter-of-factly.
Besides, it wasn’t as though the Jayhawks were doing much to slow her down.
Griner finished with 33 points while playing all 40 minutes, and the top-ranked Bears had little trouble beating the No. 17 Jayhawks 82-60 on Sunday for their 12th straight win.
“There was no need to rest Brittney,” Mulkey said. “She was pretty much dominating the game. She didn’t seem to be fatigued, she’s healthy and you just go with what you feel.”
Griner was feeling it in the first half, when she scored 22 points to help Baylor (14-1, 4-0 Big 12) seize control of the game. Odyssey Sims added 14 points and Brooklyn Pope had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 4 DUKE 73, WAKE FOREST 44: In Winston-Salem, N.C., Elizabeth Williams scored 18 points and Duke routed Wake Forest for its 38th straight victory in the series.
No. 6 KENTUCKY 69, MISSOURI 43: In Columbia, Mo., DeNesha Stallworth scored 17 points and A’dia Mathies added 14 to help Kentucky extend its school-record winning streak to 15 games.
No. 7 CALIFORNIA 67, No. 5 STANFORD 55: In Stanford, Calif., Gennifer Brandon had 14 points and 12 rebounds and California snapped Stanford’s 81-game winning streak against conference opponents.
No. 8 PENN ST. 80, NEBRASKA 58: In State College, Pa., Alex Bentley scored 19 points and led a swift backcourt trio that created havoc all over the floor to help Penn State beat Nebraska.
No. 9 TENNESSEE 78, FLORIDA 75, OT: In Gainesville, Fla., Meighan Simmons scored 27 points, Bashaara Graves added 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Tennessee beat Florida, snapping the Gators’ 15-game winning streak at home.
No. 10 MARYLAND 74, VIRGINIA TECH 45: In Blacksburg, Va., Alyssa Thomas had 26 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks and Maryland took charge from the opening tip.
No. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 79, GEORGIA TECH 58: In Chapel Hill, N.C., Megan Buckland scored 19 points, leading five players in double figures as North Carolina rolled to its 10th straight win.
No. 13 GEORGIA 42, No. 18 SOUTH CAROLINA 40: In Athens, Ga., Jasmine Hassell scored 19 points as Georgia outlasted South Carolina to post its lowest winning point total in school history.
NO. 14 UCLA 85, WASHINGTON 68: In Los Angeles, Jasmine Dixon tied her season high with 13 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds, and UCLA overcame a turnover-plagued first half.
No. 18 FLORIDA STATE 86, No. 24 MIAMI 65: In Tallahassee, Fla., Leonor Rodriguez scored 21 points and Natasha Howard had 20 points and nine rebounds as Florida State routed Miami.
No. 20 TEXAS A&M 78, AUBURN 56: In College Station, Texas, Kelsey Bone had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas A&M.
No. 21 OKLAHOMA ST. 64, TEXAS 52: In Austin, Texas, Toni Young had 19 points and seven rebounds and Oklahoma State defeated Texas.
No. 23 COLORADO 56, UTAH 43: In Salt Lake City, Jen Reese scored 11 points to lead Colorado.
BALL STATE 57, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 51: In DeKalb, Ill., The Cardinals improved to 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference for the first time since the 2007-08 season as Nathalie Fontaine scored 18.
