FINAL BOX | SEASON STATS 

WACO, Texas - No. 24/23-ranked West Virginia battled No. 2/2 Baylor, but fell, 79-73, in a hard-fought contest on Saturday afternoon in front of 6,462 fans at the Ferrell Center.

West Virginia (15-5, 3-5) held brief leads in the first and second quarters and for a total of 3:21 in the game. Baylor (19-1, 8-0) held a 40-34 advantage at the half, marking the closest halftime margin for the Lady Bears in Big 12 play.   

Katrina Pardee made a layup and hit a three-pointer to trim the game to four, 65-61, with 5:51 left in the game. However, BU made six free throws in the final minute to collect the win.

BU came into Saturday's game with a +35.1 scoring margin in Big 12 games and had its closest game, a 23-point victory over TCU. WVU's 73 points were the most scored against the Lady Bears this season.

Teana Muldrow led WVU with a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Tynice Martin tallied 18 points, while dishing out four assists. Pardee finished with 13 points, followed by 11 points and five assists from Chania Ray.

"I thought both teams played hard and aggressive," coach Mike Carey said. "I thought Baylor executed down the stretch better than we did. We got into a little bit of foul trouble deep inside. They are so deep in the post and we're not. So, when we get into foul trouble in the post, it hurts us a lot more than it does them. Give our players a lot of credit. They played hard. Baylor played hard."

Baylor finished shooting 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the field compared to WVU's 41.7 percent (30-of-72). The Lady Bears won the rebound battle, 42-38, and edged WVU, 44-42, inside the paint. Baylor made 20-of-26 from the charity stripe for 76.9 percent compared to West Virginia's 9-of-13 for 69.2 percent.

Pardee, Muldrow and Ray combined for West Virginia's six-point run to take a 12-6 lead with 6:42 left in the first. However, Baylor proceeded on a 13-1 to push its lead to seven. The Mountaineers fought back and Muldrow's trey capped the period, trimming the contest to 25-24.

Martin's layup at the 8:10 mark gave West Virginia its first lead, 28-27. The two teams traded buckets throughout the game, but BU eventually stretched out to a 40-34 lead at halftime after outscoring the Mountaineers, 15-10, in the quarter.

WVU shot 35.9 percent from the field (14-of-39) compared to Baylor's 43.8 percent (14-of-32) at the half.

An Alexis Jones layup pushed Baylor's lead to 11 points at the 5:21 mark in the third. Alexis Brewer followed up with a layup plus connected on the and-one, while Martin added a jumper to trim the contest back to six. BU made six of its next eight to extend its lead to 59-47 with 1:25 left in the third. At the end of three, Baylor maintained a 63-52 advantage.

Pardee's bucket with 6:39 left in the fourth trimmed the game to 65-58. She followed up the next possession with a three to narrow the game to four. However, Baylor responded with back-to-back jumpers to extend the lead to eight.

Muldrow made a bucket and converted the and-one to trim the game to 73-68 with less than two minutes remaining. However, Baylor kept its distance down the stretch to improve to 8-0 in the Big 12. Jones paced the Lady Bears with 16 points.

West Virginia returns home to face Texas Tech in a 7 p.m. matchup at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 25. All WVU Faculty and Staff members will receive free admission to Wednesday's contest. ­­

NOTES: WVU's 73 points were the most points scored against Baylor in Big 12 play this season … Baylor led by six at halftime, marking the closest margin that the Lady Bears have seen at halftime in a Big 12 game this season … With a five rebound performance against Baylor, Lanay Montgomery extended her streak of consecutive games with a rebound to 94 … Montgomery has also blocked a shot in 15 straight games … Tynice Martin recorded 18 points against the Lady Bears and has scored in double-figures in 22 straight games  … with a three-point field goal in the second quarter, Martin stretches her streak of consecutive games with a made three pointer to eight games … Martin also extended her streak of consecutive games with a field goal to 30 games.