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Baylor narrowly beats West Virginia to claim Big 12 title

Mar 11, 2014 - 4:01 AM Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Odyssey Sims and Niya Johnson each scored 19 points to lead No. 7 Baylor to a 74-71 win over No. 5 West Virginia and claim its fourth consecutive Big 12 title.

Nina Davis chipped in with 16 for the Lady Bears (29-4), who won their sixth conference title in school history and avenged a 71-69 home loss to the Mountaineers on March 2. Sune Agbuke recorded 10 rebounds in the win.

Bria Holmes led all scorers with 24 points, while Linda Stepney and Averee Fields each tallied 10 points for West Virginia (29-4).

Baylor brought a 38-32 lead into the locker room at the half, but the Mountaineers tied the contest courtesy of a 6-0 run early in the second half.

Holmes later gave West Virginia the lead, 52-49, following a 3-pointer with just under 12 minutes to play. The Mountaineers maintained the lead until Khadijiah Cave made a layup to put the Bears up 63-62.

The lead changed hands a few times in the final minutes until Sims made a jumper and Johnson stole the ball off of Fields on the ensuing possession, converting two free throws to push the margin to 72-69.

Stepney made a layup to trim the deficit to one in the closing seconds, but Johnson converted two more at the stripe and Stepney's last second heave was off the mark as Baylor held on for the win.