WACO, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team faced the No. 18 Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center on Thursday night.

"All in all, we were encouraged by what we saw tonight, and we felt like we improved," head coach Jeff Dow said. "Going up against the 18th ranked team in the country you know there are going to be challenges, especially because of their length and overall size. I thought that affected some of our shots around the rim on the offensive end and it obviously came up big for them with the 25 second chance points they came away with." 
 
Freshman Aliyah Collins led the Cardinals with 12 points while Paloma Simón and Nina De Leon Negron added seven points apiece. Chloe Storer finished with seven rebounds.
 
The Cardinals came out hot, trailing only by a few points to end the first down, 11-5. Destiny Terrell finished a bucket in the paint and then nailed a three for a quick five points to tie the game up, 13-13, in the second quarter. The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Aijha Blackwell, picked up 17 first-half points to lift the Bears to a 26-18 lead heading into the third quarter.

"It was great to see us battle back and tie it in the middle of the second quarter," Dow said. "And all things considered we were pleased to only be down eight at the half with three starters in foul trouble."
 
Baylor jumped to a 25-point lead in the third and held on until the end to win the game, 71-42. UIW leaned deep into the roster in the fourth as the Cardinals saw 21 bench points on the night.

"In the fourth quarter, the bulk of the minutes were played by four freshman. It was great to see how competitive the were in only getting outscored by four points."
 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals are back at the McDermott Center on Thursday, Nov. 17 against Northern Colorado at 6 p.m. CT.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.
 
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWWBB and on Instagram @uiw_womenshoops