Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising

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ESTERO, Fla. -- The foreshadowing came on the opening tip-off, when Baylors Beatrice Mompremier barely had to move to win possession against Kent States Naddiyah Cross.Then again, Mompremier is nearly a foot taller than Cross.So a lopsided height advantage decided the games first play, and plenty of plays after that as well. Kalani Brown scored 17 points, Lauren Cox added 15 and No. 5 Baylor rolled past Kent State 84-42 on Friday in the opening game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.Brown, Cox and Mompremier -- all between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-7, bigger than anyone who dared defend them -- combined to make 19 of their 25 shots, and Baylor (5-1) enjoyed a 49-23 rebounding edge.Really, you could just flip a coin, said Brown, who shot 8 for 9 and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in just 16 minutes. All of us did great things today and used it to our advantage, I guess.Baylor took control with a 15-0 run in the first quarter, and shot 52 percent.I have the luxury of having five outstanding post players, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. I have the three really big ones and two that are somewhat undersized, but we go to the boards hard.Larissa Lurken scored 15 for Kent State (2-3), which has dropped three straight. The Golden Flashes shot 29 percent for the game, 10 percent in the final quarter.We were just proud of the opportunity to play against a team like Baylor and compete at the highest level, Kent State coach Todd Starkey said. I thought our kids did a good job of executing. We had a couple things happen today that some of our players are going to remember for the rest of their lives.Among those things: Lurken scored her 1,000th career point, and senior Lacey Miller got the first basket of her college career.Those are the types of things those kids will be telling their families 20, 30 years down the road, Starkey said.BIG PICTUREKent State: Lurkens became the 20th Kent State player to reach the 1,000-point mark. ... It was the first time the Golden Flashes met Baylor since beating the Bears in 1997.Baylor: No Baylor player logged more than 23 minutes, which could help the Bears cause as the three-games-in-three-days tournament goes along. ... The Bears improved to 17-0 in 2016 against unranked opponents, 4-0 this season. ... Mompremier is playing this weekend about two hours from her Miami home, and reserve Alyssa Fry spent her senior high school season about 90 minutes north of the tournament site at IMG Academy in Bradenton.PROGRESS?Kent State had not led in either of its last two games, against Robert Morris and Detroit Mercy. The Golden Flashes actually had the lead against Baylor, holding it for 2 minutes, 27 seconds in the first quarter -- 5-2 being the largest.EARLY WAKE-UPIt was an 11 a.m. start time, and Baylors Alexis Jones got a wake-up call around 11:01 or so when she was benched 51 seconds into the contest. She had two turnovers in that span, including one 2 seconds into the game. But after sitting for nearly 5 minutes, Jones returned and scored 10 quick points.UP NEXTKent State: Faces Western Kentucky in consolation semifinals Friday.Baylor: Faces No. 18 DePaul in tournament semifinals Friday. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Saturday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EST:- MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota football team will play in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27, ending a threat to boycott the game because of the suspension of 10 players accused of sexual assault.- EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With Matt Moore filling in for injured Ryan Tannehill, the Miami Dolphins (8-5) look to stay in the playoff race when they face the New York Jets (4-9). Game starts 8:25 p.m.- The prospect of the Tennessee Titans winning the AFC South is much alive after their victory over Denver. They can make a further case for themselves by beating Kansas City on Sunday.- Six football bowls: Celebration (N.C. Central vs. Grambling, noon); New Mexico (Texas-San Antonio vs. New Mexico, 2 p.m.); Las Vegas (San Diego St. vs. Houston, 3:30 p.m.); Camellia (Toledo vs. Appalachian St., 5:30 p.m.); Cure (UCF vs. Arkansas St., 5:30 p.m.); New Orleans (Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 9 p.m.).- Some notable college basketball games: No. 2 UCLA vs. Ohio State (3 p.m.); No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 7 North Carolinna (5:45 p.ddddddddddddm.); No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 18 Butler (5 p.m.); No. 15 Purdue vs. No. 21 Notre Dame (2 p.m.).- OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors, with the NBAs best record at 23-4, play the Portland Trail Blazers in a rematch of last seasons Western Conference semifinals. Game starts 10:30 p.m.- VAL GARDENA, Italy -- Max Franz captures a World Cup downhill for his first career victory, ending Austrias 13-race drought in skiings signature event. Steven Nyman of the U.S. is third.- VAL DISERE, France -- Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia wins a World Cup downhill, her fourth victory in a remarkable season. Overall champion Lara Gut does not finish for the second straight race.- MOSCOW -- Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin has failed a doping test and will not be allowed to fight for the WBC title Saturday against Bermane Stiverne.- LONDON -- Premier League leader Chelsea wins its 11th straight game with a 1-0 victory over struggling Crystal Palace. Chelsea is nine points ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal. ' ' '