Baylor
28-2,17-1Big 12
Iowa State
18-11,10-8Big 1
No. 2 WBB Drops Regular Season Finale in Ames
3/8/2020 2:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Bears finish 17-1 in the Big 12 regular season
AMES, Iowa – Much like a Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee back in 2004, the second-ranked Baylor Lady Bears had their national-best 58-game conference winning streak snapped because of a questionable foul call in the last second.
At least this one didn't end the season.
With DiDi Richards called for a foul on an inbounds play underneath the basket, Iowa State's Ashley Joens made a free throw with 0.1 showing on the clock as the Cyclones pulled off a huge 57-56 upset of the Lady Bears Saturday afternoon before a Hilton Coliseum crowd of 10,068.
"You don't call that," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team fell to 28-2 overall and 17-1 in the Big 12 with its first conference loss in more than three years. "You usually say, 'You know what, we're going to overtime.' . . . It doesn't matter if (Richards) fouled or didn't foul, it was called. You live with it and move on and get ready for the conference tournament."
Sixteen years ago, the Lady Bears didn't get that chance. The season ended with a 71-69 loss to the Volunteers when Tasha Butts hit a pair of free throws with 0.2 seconds left after Jessika Stratton was called for a loose-ball foul.
Joens, who had struggled from the line the last two games, calmly sank the first free throw as Iowa State (18-11, 10-8) matched its highest-ever ranked win (beat No. 2 Texas Tech in 2004).
Baylor had its streaks end at 58-consecutive regular-season conference games and 44 in a row on the road. The Cyclones also snapped the Lady Bears' 21-game winning streak this season, their first loss since falling to South Carolina, 74-59, on Nov. 30.
"This isn't going to just devastate us," Mulkey said. "This isn't going to keep us from being a high seed. I hope not, anyway. It shouldn't. I think our body of work is good. It's just one of those days. We don't experience this much, and we've got to handle it. And we will."
Playing without second-leading scorer Kristin Scott for the third-straight game, Iowa State got an early lift from seniors Jade Thurmon and Inez Nezerwa and closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 19-14.
While the Cyclones' triangle-and-two defense frustrated Baylor most of the game, limiting starting guards Juicy Landrum and Te'a Cooper to just one shot apiece in the first half, the Lady Bear defense held Iowa State without a field goal in the second quarter (0-for-10) to give Baylor a 28-22 lead at the break.
Richards knocked down a baseline jumper that gave Baylor its biggest lead of the game, 30-22, early in the third quarter. But, Iowa State answered with an 8-0 run to tie it at 30-30 and then took a 35-34 lead when freshman Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw buried a deep 3-pointer.
That's where Iowa State made the biggest difference in its second-half rally. After hitting just 2-of-7 from outside the arc in the first half, the Cyclones were 8-of-17 from distance over the final two quarters.
"We would extend the lead and then just do some bonehead stuff," Mulkey said. "That's because we've probably never been in this situation before. I've got two (forwards) out there, and you're giving up 3's when we've got fouls to give. Get out there and make them drive, foul them on the floor. It's just learning situations. Learn the game."
In a back-and-forth game that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes, junior guard Rae Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers that put Iowa State back on top, 46-44, with 7:20 left in the game.
A pivotal point came with 5 ½ minutes to play when Richards blocked a shot by Joens and saved the ball in play as she was falling out of bounds. It appeared to be a shot clock violation, but the officials went to the monitor and determined that Richards had possession and turned the ball over, with Morgan Kane scoring a go-ahead basket.
After Johnson hit her third trey of the quarter, Baylor got consecutive buckets from Richards and Queen Egbo to go up 52-51 with 1:44 left. At the end of another shot clock, Nezerwa got off a last-second shot over Egbo for just her fourth 3-pointer of the season and a 54-52 lead.
Facing another three-point deficit with time running out, Landrum launched a 3-pointer that tied it up, setting the stage for the final seconds.
But, as Mulkey said, "It's just one of those days."
Baylor's defense held Joens, the conference's leading scorer, to just 3-of-18 shooting from the floor and 15 points. Nezerwa and Johnson had 11 points apiece, and Thurmon chipped in with nine.
"I don't think (Joens) hurt us. We guarded her pretty good. She got that last foul call," Mulkey said. "But, I thought there were some other kids that are role players for them that hit some big buckets."
Lauren Cox recorded her 37th career double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, but was just 5-of-15 from the field. The Cyclones' triangle-and-two defense held Landrum and Cooper to a combined five points and six shots.
Richards had a team-high 15 points before fouling out, joining Cox and Egbo (10 points, six rebounds) in double figures.
The top seed for the Big 12 Championship that starts Thursday at historic Municipal Arena in Kansas City, Baylor will play a 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal game on Friday against the winner of Thursday's opening-round matchup between eighth-seeded Oklahoma State (15-15) and No. 9 seed Oklahoma (12-18).
