• Recap
• Bleachers

Unbeaten No. 11 Nebraska beats No. 9 Baylor 65-56

Jan 18, 2010 - 12:06 AM By DAVID JIMENEZ Associated Press Writer

WACO, Texas(AP) -- Nothing was working for Nebraska early in the game.

The Cornhuskers couldn't get any looks inside with 6-foot-8 Baylor freshman Brittney Griner clogging the lane. They weren't making anything from the outside either, missing 10 of their first 11 from 3-point range.

The veteran squad didn't panic, however, and eventually the shots started falling as No. 11 Nebraska continued the best run in school history.

Yvonne Turner made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, Cory Montgomery added 18 points and the Cornhuskers remained unbeaten by defeating No. 9 Baylor 65-56 Sunday.

"At some point, we figured we were going to make some of those 3s," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "Our kids are confident, obviously, and I think that was a good part of the reason that we won. We're playing with a lot of confidence and you need that when you play on the road."

The Cornhuskers (16-0, 3-0 Big 12) are one of three unbeaten schools in the country, joining No. 1 Connecticut and No. 17 Wisconsin-Green Bay.

After the cold shooting start, Nebraska finished with 12 3-pointers to extend their school-record winning streak and surpass their victory total from last season.

With four seniors on the floor, Nebraska went on a 17-6 run over the final 8:23 to end Baylor's 14-game home winning streak.

"Our experience was the difference down the stretch," said Nebraska forward Kelsey Griffin, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds. "Coach Yori puts us in great position going through late-game situations in practice. She prepares us really well for that."

Griner had 18 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for Baylor (14-3, 1-2).

Baylor struggled offensively over the final eight minutes, hitting just 2 of 11 shots and turning the ball over three times as Nebraska made its game-ending push.

With the Cornhuskers packing the paint to defend Griner inside, the Lady Bears missed all 10 of their 3-pointers.

"I can live with our effort today," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "Our effort was there. They did everything they could. We just couldn't execute on the offensive end."

Mulkey was given a technical foul with 13:30 left after she stomped down the sideline and threw her jacket aside because she wanted a foul called when Griner had a shot underneath the basket blocked by two Nebraska defenders.

"I should have gotten thrown out if you want to know the truth," Mulkey said.

Griner scored seven of Baylor's next nine points to give the Lady Bears a 50-48 advantage.

The Cornhuskers then scored on five straight possessions to take control of the game. Montgomery hit a 3-pointer to put Nebraska up 52-50 and Turner hit a pair of free throws.

Turner was good on her sixth 3-pointer and Griffin scored over Griner to give the Cornhuskers a 59-52 lead with 5:30 left.

Turner punctuated the victory by hitting a 3-pointer with 35.3 seconds left, giving the Cornhuskers 65-54 advantage.

Nebraska made more 3-pointers (12) than it had from inside the arc (10).

"Going into this game, we were not thinking about shooting all 3s," Turner said. "Coach told us just be smart with our shot selection."

The Cornhuskers missed 16 of their first 18 shots before hitting seven of their next 10 from the field, including three 3-pointers.

Turner scored all the points in an 8-0 run, and her 3-pointer gave Nebraska a 24-18 lead with 5:45 remaining in the first half.

Baylor scored the first six points of the second half to grab a 32-31 lead.

That was the first of nine lead changes in the second half. Neither team led by more than seven until there was 1:21 left in the game.