Baylor, Oklahoma women move on to Big 12 Tournament semis

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Big 12 player of the year NaLyssa Smith scored 15 points, Baylor shut out Oklahoma State into the second quarter and the No. 4 Bears rolled the rest of the way to a 76-36 victory Friday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Ja’Mee Asberry scored 16 points for the top-seeded Bears (26-6), who appear intent on continuing their dominance of the Big 12 under first-year coach Nicki Collen. They easily advanced to play No. 21 Oklahoma, which knocked off Kansas earlier in the day. The Cowgirls (9-20), playing their final game under longtime coach Jim Littell, missed their first 13 field-goal attempts, fell behind 41-14 by halftime and never made a run. They wound up shooting 22.8% for the game. Oklahoma State’s leading scorer, Lauren Fields, went 0-for-11 from the field and finished without a point, while Kassidy De Lapp finished with a team-best nine points. NO. 21 OKLAHOMA 80, KANSAS 68 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Madi Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, Taylor Robertson also scored 19 points and Oklahoma beat Kansas to advance to the Big 12 Conference Tournament semifinals. Fourth-seeded Oklahoma (24-7), which picked up its first conference tournament victory since 2016, avenged a 73-67 loss at home against the Jayhawks five days ago in the regular-season finale. Liz Scott added 11 points and eight rebounds for fourth-seeded Oklahoma (24-7). It was the Sooners’ first conference tourney win since 2016. Zakiyah Franklin scored 15 points with five assists for Kansas (20-9). Aniya Thomas finished with 13 points and Ioanna Chatzileonti had 11. Taiyanna Jackson set the single-season blocks record at Kansas, finishing with eight points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. NO. 24 PRINCETON 72, HARVARD 67 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Abby Meyers scored 22 points, Ellie Mitchell had 11 points and 16 rebounds for her sixth double-double, and Princeton beat Harvard in the Ivy League semifinals in the final game for coaching icon Kathy Delaney-Smith. Delaney-Smith, the winningest coach in Ivy League history for men’s and women’s programs, will retire from Harvard with 11 conference championships and the six trips to the NCAAs – including the one that produced the biggest upset in the tournament’s history in 1998 when No. 16 Harvard beat top-seeded Stanford. Princeton (23-4) advances to the championship game of the Ivy League tournament on Saturday. Kaitlyn Chen finished with 18 points and Julia Cunningham had 12. McKenzie Forbes scored 21 points for fourth-seeded Harvard (13-14). Harmoni Turner added 19 points and Lola Mullaney had 15. ___ More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25