Cox, Brown double-doubles as No. 3 Baylor women beat UCA

WACO, Texas -- With Lauren Cox and Kalani Brown in the middle, No. 3 Baylor did what it was supposed to do against three overmatched opponents in five days to start the season.

After an 86-55 win over Central Arkansas, when Cox and Brown both had double-doubles and the other three starters also scored in double figures, things will get a tougher for the Lady Bears.

"Let's make it perfectly clear. It's about winning," coach Kim Mulkey said. "We won. We've got to move on, quickly. We have a very good UCLA team in front of us on the road. Sure they've been waiting on us since last year."

The Lady Bears (3-0) won their first three games by more than 45 points a game. They play next at No. 8 UCLA, which last year lost 84-70 in Waco when both teams were also in the Top 10.

"We're going to have to get focused tomorrow," Cox said. "They have a lot of good returners coming back, so it's going to be a tough game."

Cox had 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Brown had 19 points with 11 rebounds for third consecutive double-double to start the season and the 15th of her career. Natalie Chou and Kristy Wallace added 11 points, and Dekeiya Cohen had 10 points and eight rebounds

Central Arkansas didn't have a player as tall as the 6-foot-7 Brown, or the 6-4 Cox.

"Wow, they are big, fast, good," UCA coach Sandra Rushing said. "There was nothing we could do. Everything that we tried, they had something for us. This was a great experience for our program."

Kamry Orr had 23 points for Central Arkansas (1-1) while Taylor Baudoin scored 13 points with nine rebounds. Kierra Jordan had 11 points.

BIG PICTURE

Central Arkansas: The Sugar Bears are the two-time defending tournament champions in the Southland Conference. But they're just not big enough to sustain a game-long challenge against the Baylor team that has won the last seven Big 12 regular season titles and been an NCAA Elite Eight team the last four years.

Baylor: The Lady Bears were held under 100 points for the first time this season. Three of their next six games are against Top 25 opponents, including their next two home games (No. 25 Kentucky on Nov. 30, and No. 14 Stanford on Dec. 3).

CHOU FROM 3

All three of Chou's 3-pointers came at key times for the Lady Bears. Chou had consecutive 3s, both on assists from Brown, to start a 10-0 run in a span of just more than 2 minutes in the second quarter that put Baylor in control.

"We practice it, so she knows where I am, and I'm an option," Chou said of the passes from Brown.

Chou's 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter came after Baylor went more than 5 minutes without a field goal, but still led 61-45.

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE

Brown finished with a game-high seven assists. Mulkey would rather her try to score more often.

"It's just that sometimes I want Kalani to shoot it and score instead of pass it." Mulkey said. "Sometimes she'll pass it for a 3 and give up a two-point layup for herself. ... Her turnovers come when she's trying to pass and be kind to a teammate, instead of being aggressive and just go score."

UP NEXT

Central Arkansas goes to Alcorn State on Friday night before playing four straight home games.

Baylor's first test of the season is Saturday at No. 8 UCLA before three games in the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving holiday.