Thomas’ 17 points propel No. 3 Duke past No. 6 Baylor 69-46 in 2nd round of women’s March Madness

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Delaney Thomas had 17 points and Toby Fournier scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half, helping No. 3 Duke beat No. 6 Baylor 69-46 on Sunday in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Arianna Roberson had 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Ashlon Jackson added 12 points for Duke (26-8), which never trailed.

The Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season and 20th time overall. They will play No. 2 LSU, a 101-47 winner over No. 7 Texas Tech, in the Sacramento 2 Regional.

Baylor (25-9) was held to its worst offensive output of the season. The Bears managed just eight points in each of the first two quarters and finished 0-of-14 from beyond the arc, failing to make a 3-pointer for the first time this year. They shot 30.2% overall.

“One of our better defensive efforts of the season,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “I thought we started the game with the appropriate level of force, physicality and attention to detail. We really just locked in on that end.”

Taliah Scott, who scored 24 points in a season-opening 58-52 win over Duke in Paris, led Baylor with 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting.

Duke jumped ahead 9-0 as Baylor missed its first six shots and didn’t score for 5:56. Nine of the Bears’ 23 turnovers came in the first quarter.

It only got worse from there for Baylor, as the Blue Devils shot 7-of-15 in the second quarter to stretch their advantage to 38-16 at halftime. Duke’s largest lead of the game was 29.

“I thought we were frantic against their pressure early,” Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. “When I look at them down the stretch, I thought their pressure was really amped up.”

Reaching new lows

Baylor finished with its fewest points since a 52-45 loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 30, 2015. The Bears came in averaging 71.3 points.

Helping the cause

Taina Mair became the first Duke player to record eight assists in multiple NCAA Tournament games.

“It’s an honor,” said Mair, who also had eight assists in the first-round win over College of Charleston. “I give the credit to my teammates. They’re hitting shots for me to get the assists, so shoutout to them.”

Up next

Duke is off to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Blue Devils will play No. 2 LSU in a rematch of an earlier meeting that the Tigers won 93-77.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness