Feb. 18, 2007

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Waco, Texas - Freshman Latara Darrett erupted with 14 second half points as Baylor cruised to a 71-56 victory over the University of Texas Sunday afternoon.

The marquee match-up between Baylor's Bernice Mosby and Texas' Tiffany Jackson turned out to be a dud as two freshmen took over the game.

"We're coming of age every game," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. "I'm not hesitant to put any rotation of players in early or at anytime."

Freshman Earnesia Williams led the Longhorns with 16 points and scored eight quick second half points to help Texas (16-11, 5-8) pull even at 38-38. But led by Darrett, Baylor (23-4, 10-3) then went on a 13-3 run to take a commanding lead.

"We did better against Mosby this time than the first time we played," said Texas coach Jody Conradt. "But anytime you give a team 20 points fro the line you're at a disadvantage."

Baylor made 20-of-31 free throws as Texas committed 25 fouls.

"We shut ourselves out of it, and we fouled ourselves out of it," said Conradt.

Texas went 0-for-12 from behind the arc, missing all of their 3-point attempts for the second time this year. Baylor, however, strived at the 3-point line, knocking down 5-of-9 3-pointers.

Darrett led the Lady Bears with 17 points in only 20 minutes of play on 5-of-7 shooting. Angela Tisdale added 12 points, and Bernice Mosby and Jhasmin Player each had 10.

Jackson scored 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Longhorns.

With the win, Baylor stays atop the Big 12 conference in a three way tie for first.

"We're gaining momentum at the right time, but I don't know," said Mulkey. "We are gaining experience though, the type of experience you need to win a championship."

Baylor's next game is Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Colorado. The game will be televised at 8:00 p.m. on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain.