Baylor
USC
Baylor Falls to USC, 71-53
8/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The Baylor Lady Bear suffered a 71-53 defeat at the hands of the USC Women of Troy in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon.
Despite falling behind by as many as seven points at the beginning of the first half, the Lady Bears fought back to claim the lead at the 10:21 mark, 14-13, on a layup by sophomore forward Danielle Crockrom. Baylor led by three twice before USC tied the game at 20-20 with 6:23 left in the first half. The Women of Troy then went on a tear and outscored Baylor 20-6 in the final six minutes to claim a 39-26 halftime lead.
Poor shooting in the second half, 9-for-31 for 31.5%, spelled the Lady Bears' demise. A bright spot for Baylor was junior post Michelle Neely's career-high 11 points.
It was questionable as to whether Neely and point guard Nicole Collins would even play in the game. Both were sick on Saturday, missing practice, spending the day in their hotel room.
USC's largest lead was 24 points with 11:47 left in the game. The Lady Bears cut the lead to 12 at the 2:14 mark but could get no closer. "We had opportunities in the second half, we just didn't seize the moment," said head coach Sonja Hogg. "We couldn't convert on the offensive end in the second half."
Neely and junior post Monica Arnold led the Lady Bears in scoring with 11 points each. Collins was the only other Baylor player in double figures in scoring with 10. Crockrom was the team's leading rebounder with seven.
The loss drops the Lady Bears to 3-4 on the season while Southern California moves to 5-2. Baylor will stay in southern California and play at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7:15 p.m. (CST).
