It's becoming an end-of-the-year certainty.
For the fourth consecutive year Baylor advanced to the girls' championship game of the Times Free Press Best of Preps holiday basketball tournament, rolling past Notre Dame 63-24 on Saturday at Chattanooga State.
The Lady Red Raiders (9-1), who won the last two tournament titles, never trailed and built by the end of the first quarter a double-digit lead that was extended throughout the game. They will play in Monday's final at 7 p.m.
Photo Gallery
Toadsuck Daze 2007
Thousands of festival-goers filled the streets of downtown Conway May 4-6 to enjoy food, fun and entertainment during the city's 2007 Toad Suck Daze festival.
"We're going to be OK offensively, but there are still times that we get in too big a hurry and just need to slow it down and let it happen," Baylor coach John Gibson said. "We'll see things opening up, but rather than wait and let it develop we get in too big a hurry.
"Defensively I'm really proud of the effort we're playing with, and that's what helped us in the first half."
Notre Dame was without two starters, including point guard Taelor Hill, and struggled with Baylor's continual pressure. The Lady Irish managed just four points in each of the first two quarters, and the Lady Raiders opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to build on their 20-8 halftime lead.
Sophomore Mya Long led all scorers with 18 points for Baylor, including four 3-point baskets, and Kameron Rich added 10 points.
"We only gave up eight field goals in the first half because we were playing our guts out on the defensive end, but we were limited without having everyone, especially without our best ball-handler," said Notre Dame coach Wes Moore. "That's tough against them."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.