Baylor vs. Lamar final score: Lady Bears easily dispatch of Cardinals, 80-34

The Baylor Bears extended their winning streak to 41 games, as they opened their NCAA women's basketball title defense with a blowout 80-34 win over the Lamar Cardinals. Baylor was simply too much for Lamar and at the half led 40-25, but the second half really ran away from Lamar as the Bears outscored the Cardinals 40-9.

Baylor returns all five starters and it showed as it shot 53 percent from the field. The Bears defense had a great defensive game by holding Lamar to just 25 percent shooting from the field. They also forced 28 turnovers, and had 12 steals on the afternoon.

Baylor star Brittney Griner led all players by scoring 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting, plus five rebounds and two blocked shots. Odyssey Sims contributed with 11 points and Jordan Madden chipped in with 10.

While this game was a breeze for the Bears, they will be challenged in their next two games, one of which is a Tuesday home game against No. 6 Kentucky. At that game, Baylor will raise the national title banner. Then on Friday in Hawai'i, the Bears will be playing No. 4 Stanford.