Smith, No. 2 Baylor beat Washington St 89-66 at Paradise Jam

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — NaLyssa Smith scored 18 points and No. 2 Baylor pulled ahead early and cruised past Washington State 89-66 Thursday night at the Paradise Jam tournament.

Queen Egbo added 16 points, DiDi Richards had 14 and Te’a Cooper 10 for the Bears (6-0). The defending national champions led by double digits in the first 3½ minutes and cruised to their 35th consecutive victory.

Chanelle Molina scored 25 points and Borislava Hristova had 15 for the Cougars (4-1).

Baylor had control from the outset, scoring the first 10 points and racing to a 19-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears led by 22 points twice in the second quarter, the last at 44-22 on Egbo’s tip-in with 38 seconds remaining, en route to a 44-24 halftime lead.

Baylor took its largest lead in the fourth quarter when Erin DeGrate’s layup made it 89-64.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: The Bears’ winning streak dates to the 2018-19 season and is 12th best in NCAA women’s basketball history. Baylor’s last loss was 68-63 to Stanford on Dec. 15, 2018.

Washington State: The Cougars are still off to their best start since the 2016-2017 season, when they were also 4-1. That loss came against Oklahoma State, which is competing in a different division at the Paradise Jam.

UP NEXT

Baylor plays No. 17 Indiana on Friday at the Paradise Jam.

Washington State goes against No. 5 South Carolina on Friday at the Paradise Jam.