WACO, Texas | The Grambling State University women's basketball team saw its magical season come to an end on Friday night as the Lady Tigers went the first six-plus minutes without a field goal in the opening quarter as No. 2 Baylor picked up a 96-46 victory to advance to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at the Ferrell Center.
 
Baylor, the No. 2 seed in the Lexington (Ky.) Region advances to the Round of 32 and will meet Michigan on Sunday. Michigan, the No. 7 seed, defeated Northern Colorado, the No. 10 seed, 75-61.
 
Baylor raced out to a 10-1 advantage within the first four minutes, which forced Murray to call a timeout. The Lady Bears (32-1) continued to roll in the opening quarter and took advantage of just two Lady Tiger field goals and 13.3 percent shooting (2-of-15) to grab a 27-6 advantage.
 
The Lady Tigers (19-14) settled down in the second quarter as the Lady Bears took a 45-19 advantage into the break. However, Baylor outscored Grambling State, 31-16, in the third to take a commanding 76-35 lead into the final period.
 
 Jazmin Boyd, who sits just five points shy of 1,000 for her collegiate career, paced Grambling State with a team-high 20 points, long with three board, two steals and one assist. Shakyla Hill finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
 
Lauren Cox led Baylor with a double-double of 30 points and 17 rebounds, along with five assists. Kalani Brown added a double-double of 22 points and 15 boards, while Dekeiya Cohen registered 17 points and nine rebounds. Alexis Morris chipped in with 12 points, five boards and five assists.
 

Thank you for a great season! #Gramfam pic.twitter.com/geQDiCtsPX

— GSU Athletics (@GSU_TIGERS) March 17, 2018

Turning Point
The opening quarter proved to be the difference in Friday's opening round.
 
Baylor raced out to an early 6-0 lead after a jumper by Kalani Brown with 7:43 left, but Grambling State was able to go to the foul line as Shakyla Hill sank one-of-two at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to 6-1 with 6:59 left.
 
The Lady Bears used an 11-0 run, capped by a Alexis Morris layup with 3:44 left to take a 17-1 advantage.
 
Grambling State got buckets by Ariel Williams and Monisha Neal as Baylor built a commanding 27-6 lead through one quarter.
 
Baylor extended the advantage to 38-11 after a Dekeiya Cohen layup with 5:37 remaining in the first half and the margin grew to 40-11 after a bucket by Didi Richards with 4:21 remaining.
 
Grambling State outscored Baylor down the stretch, 9-5, as the Lady Tigers trailed 45-19 at the half.
 
The Lady Bears put the game out of reach in the third quarter by out-scoring the Lady Tigers, 31-16, to take a 76-35 lead into the final quarter.
 
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 25.4 percent (17-of-67) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the free-throw line.
* Baylor was 37-of-71 (52.1 percent) shooting and 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
* Grambling State finished with 26 rebounds, with 13 coming from the offensive glass.
* The Lady Bears recorded 60 rebounds, including 37 on the defensive end.
* Grambling State finished with 22 points in the paint and 14 points off turnovers.
* Baylor registered 56 points in the paint, 30 second-chance points and 22 points off turnovers.
 
News and Notes
* Grambling State came into the game as the No. 15 seed in the Lexington (Ky.) Region.
* The Lady Tigers earned the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Automatic Bid into the tournament.
* Baylor entered the contest as the No. 2 seed in the Lexington (Ky.) Region and No. 2 nationally.
* The Lady Bears were the Big 12 Champs after going 18-0 in conference play during the regular season.
* Friday night's matchup marked the second time Grambling State had faced a ranked opponent (#17 Florida State – Nov. 19).
* Grambling State was making its sixth-ever trip to the Big Dance.
* Jazmin Boyd is now five points (995) away from 1,000 career points for her collegiate career.
* Shakyla Hill made her 96th consecutive start, which dates back to the 2015-16 season.
* Grambling State had two players reach the 1,000-point plateau in the 2017-18 season (Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal)
* Shakyla Hill became the fourth player in NCAA Women's Basketball history to record a quadruple double on Jan. 3 against Alabama State (15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals).
* Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal were selected to the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) First Team.
* Shakyla Hill and Monisha Neal earned All-SWAC Tournament honors, with Hill being named the tourney's Most Valuable Player.
* The Lady Tigers made their first NCAA Women's Tournament appearance in nearly 20 years (1999).
* Grambling State finishes with a 19-14 record (better than the 2016-17 season of 19-15).
* Lady Tigers head coach Freddie Murray is 1-2 in postseason games (defeated Ole Miss; lost to Tulane and Baylor).
 
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