Cox's big game lifts Baylor to 96-46 rout of Grambling State

WACO, Texas -- Lauren Cox entered Baylor last season as the nation's top recruit, then had to scratch and claw for playing time on a deep team as a freshman.

It's a much thinner Lady Bear roster this season, clearing the way for the 6-foot-4 Cox to form a duo with 6-7 All-American Kalani Brown that's difficult for any team in the nation to handle -- but particularly one as undersized as Grambling State.

Cox had a career-high 30 points and 17 rebounds to lead four players in double figures, and second-seeded Baylor beat No. 15 Grambling State 96-46 in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

"When you're a freshman and you're coming off the bench, your window is pretty short. You can't make many mistakes or you're going to come out," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "Now they have to play through those mistakes because they can't come out. We don't have anybody to sub for them. I think conditioning, her knees feel as good as they've ever felt, we watch her closely and monitor her diabetes. She eats healthier now, and she has fun. I think Lauren Cox is just a happy kid right now."

The Lady Bears (32-1) scored 17 of the game's first 18 points and were never challenged in picking up their 29th straight win. Cox tied the Lady Tigers' offensive output of 19 points in the first half by herself and tied for a team-high five assists.

"A big part of it was our size advantage. I was just able to catch it, turn and face, and shoot over them," Cox said. "Kalani and I are going to be a matchup disaster for some teams. You have to focus on one of us, and when you focus on the other, the other one is going to go off."

The Lady Tigers went missed their first eight shots and went without a field goal until an Ariel Williams jumper with 3:30 to go in the first quarter. Things didn't go much better the rest of the way, and they finished at 25 percent from the floor and 19 percent (5 for 26) from 3-point range.

Kalani Brown chipped in 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Dekeiya Cohen just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Jazmin Boyd scored 20 points to lead Grambling State (19-14), the SWAC Tournament champion.

"I was excited. Being that they are a bigger team than us, it felt good to hit shots on them, to score, to get in the rhythm," Boyd said.

BIG PICTURE

Grambling State: The Lady Tigers made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 19 years, but they never had a chance in this one. Other than Boyd, Grambling State didn't have anybody who could consistently create offense against a focused Baylor defense. Their next two leading scorers combined to go 6 for 29 from the field.

Baylor: The Lady Bears' size figured to be a problem for Grambling State, and it was from the opening tip. Cox, Brown and Cohen all had mismatches inside, and the Lady Bears dominated in the points in the paint 56-22 and on the boards 60-26, and blocked 11 shots. The Lady Bears shot 52 percent from the floor.

GOOD TIMES AT GRAMBLING

For Kalani Brown, it wasn't just another game in the NCAA Tournament. This was one against a team from her home state and one close to where her parents went to college.

Brown's father P.J. and mother DeJuna Brown were both standouts at Louisiana Tech, before P.J. went on to a 15-year NBA career.

"It was great. My mom and dad told me many stories about Grambling, what a great school it was and how much fun they had there," Kalani Brown said. "Some players I played against in AAU went there, and my teammate Darae Taylor went there. I hadn't seen her because college split us up, so it was great seeing her."

CONSISTENCY NEEDED

Grambling State coach Freddie Murray didn't point to any specific calls, but he made his feelings known on the officiating.

"I think the physicality of the game was a little different," Murray said. "I'm not making any excuses, but it was a little different for our players. In our conference a lot of the physicality is actually called from the referees. Here at this level, it's allowed. So if there's anything I want to bring a light to, it's consistency in officiating across the board. Officiating should be the same way everywhere, and our players kind of got caught up into calls they would normally get in our conference, they don't get now."

The Lady Tigers were called for 16 fouls to 11 for Baylor, and the Lady Bears had a 24-11 advantage in free throw attempts.

UP NEXT

Baylor will face seventh-seeded Michigan in the NCAA Tournament second round Sunday.