No. 5 Baylor rolls past No. 18 DePaul, 104-72

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) - Baylor had 37 points at halftime. The Bears topped that in the third quarter alone.

And a trip to the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase is their reward.

Alexis Prince scored 19 points and No. 5 Baylor used a huge third-quarter run to ease past No. 18 DePaul 104-72 on Saturday in the tournament semifinals. Nina Davis scored 16 points and Kristy Wallace handed out 15 assists for the Bears (6-1), who will play in the tournament championship game on Sunday night.

"Kristy was awesome today," Prince said. "Running the point and on defense also. That's what it's going to take."

Alexis Jones had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Baylor, which outscored DePaul 39-17 in the third to turn what was an 11-point game at halftime into a rout. Beatrice Mompremier added 14 points for Baylor.

"Once the second half came, we were ready to put it to them," Prince said.

Jacqui Grant scored 18 points for DePaul (4-1), which got 11 from Ashton Millender. The Blue Demons were 15 of 41 from 3-point range, getting the majority of their points from outside the arc. From 2-point range, DePaul was 10 for 29.

"I don't like giving up 72 points and I sure don't like giving up 15 3's," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.

Baylor shot 60 percent and held a massive 55-24 edge in rebounding. The Bears started the second half 21 for 26 from the floor, never missing consecutive shots after halftime until midway through the fourth quarter.

BIG PICTURE

DePaul: The Blue Demons had four different stretches where they missed at least five consecutive shots. ... No DePaul player had more than three rebounds. Baylor had seven with at least that many.

Baylor: The Bears started 2 for 10 from the field, and then made 40 of their final 60 shots. "It was a little up and down game. I give a lot of credit to DePaul for playing that style of play. They had us on our heels in the beginning," Prince said. ... Baylor outscored DePaul 64-16 in the paint and held a 35-24 edge in bench scoring.

HELLO, AGAIN

This is the second time Baylor and DePaul played, the only other meeting coming last season. The Bears won 86-72 at home on Nov. 22, 2015.

DEFENDING THE 3

DePaul's affinity for the 3-pointer tested Baylor - both the guards and the bigs. And Mulkey lauded the way her post players were able at times to extend out to the 3-point line defensively. "That's difficult when you're a big," Mulkey said.

UP NEXT

DePaul: Either No. 8 Ohio State or No. 11 Syracuse on Sunday in the third-place game.

Baylor: Either No. 8 Ohio State or No. 11 Syracuse on Sunday in the championship game.