Brittney Griner scored a season-high 35 points and third-ranked Baylor cruised to an 89-49 victory over Rice on Tuesday night.

Playing a college basketball game in her hometown of Houston for the first time, Griner received a standing ovation from the predominantly Baylor-backing crowd when she was announced before the game.

The 6-foot-8 senior added nine rebounds and four blocks as Baylor (6-1) raced to a 46-17 halftime lead and never looked back.

When Griner was benched with more than 12 minutes remaining in the game, she had seven more points than Rice's entire team.

Jessica Kuster scored 18 points for Rice (2-4) in the loss. The Owls missed 15 of their first 16 shots from the field and shot under 25 percent against Baylor's stellar defense.

Baylor All-American point guard Odyssey Sims missed her fourth straight game since sustaining a strained hamstring in the Lady Bears' loss to Stanford.