By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider 
            Shorthanded and playing its first game in 14 days, after not practicing all week, sixth-ranked Baylor started Saturday's game against Iowa State behind the eight ball. 
            And while the Lady Bears fought back from a double-digit first-quarter deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead, they saw their 61-game home court winning streak come to a shocking end. 
            Ashley Joens scored 12 of her game-high 27 points in the last 5 ½ minutes as the Iowa State Cyclones (9-4, 5-1) walked off the floor with a 75-71 victory Saturday night at the Ferrell Center. 
            "That's what great players do: they take over the game. Give her credit," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said of Joens, who was 10-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line. 
            Baylor (8-2, 3-1), losing its first home game since falling to No. 11 Texas, 75-69, on Feb. 6, 2017, dropped its second in a row to an Iowa State team that ended a COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 57-56 win in Ames on March 8. 
            "I can make a million excuses sitting here," said Mulkey, who had been out following a positive COVID-19 test and hadn't coached a game since Dec. 19. "I've seen my team two times since December 20. We haven't practiced all week. We miss (Caitlin) Bickle, we miss DiJonai (Carrington) in a game like this. But, it's 2020-21 and it's the COVID protocols and everything. You just have to go play."
            Going to a five-guard lineup for most of the fourth quarter with Moon Ursin, Jordyn Oliver, Trinity Oliver, freshman Sarah Andrews and UCLA transfer Jaden Owens, Baylor went on a 10-2 run and took a 60-58 lead with 6:46 left in the game when Owens picked Kristin Scott's pocket and hit a layup. 
            "I don't want to use the word desperation, but just give somebody else a shot," said Mulkey, when she was asked about her decision to go with the small lineup and sit starting post players Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith. 
            "We weren't finishing shots, we weren't executing things defensively, people were scoring. Give somebody else a shot. And I thought they did a great job. I thought the crowd got into it with their effort. . . . That's all I was looking for was just somebody to give us a spark, and I thought that group did."
            But in the end, it didn't matter what lineup was on the floor. The Lady Bears simply had no answer for Joens, who came up with the play of the game with an offensive board and dish to wide-open freshman Lexi Donarski for a 3-pointer that put the Cyclones back on top, 68-65.
            "Huge win, Baylor's a great team," Joens said. "Knowing that we can compete at the highest level with these types of teams, it kind of gives us confidence going into the rest of the season."
            Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said the Cyclones "caught a break" with Baylor coming off a pause and playing just its second game in the last month. Bickle and Carrington were both out with COVID issues, and senior guard DiDi Richards suffered leg cramps that limited her in the fourth quarter. 
            "I don't know when she did a lot of it, I thought she did a lot of it throughout the game," Mulkey said of Joens. "DiDi Richards couldn't go anymore. Trinity Oliver was guarding (Joens), and I thought Trinity did as good as she possibly could, really, playing out of position."
            Down the stretch, Joens iced the game with three free throws and a couple driving layups, including the clincher with six seconds left. 
            "I feel like she has a lot of counter moves. She doesn't just settle on one move," said Smith, who recorded her third-straight and 17^th career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. "Getting us in the air, drawing fouls, I feel like that's what she really excelled at."
            Iowa State, which handed Oklahoma State its first conference loss three days ago, also got a combined seven 3-pointers and 40 points from Donarski (17 points), Scott (8 points, 8 rebounds) and freshman Emily Ryan (15 points). 
            Owens, who hadn't scored more than seven points in her first 30 collegiate games, gave Baylor a huge lift off the bench with four 3-pointers, 15 points, three assists and two steals. The Lady Bears finished with a 25-4 edge in bench points, getting six points from Trinity Oliver and six points, seven boards and a block from Jordyn Oliver. 
            "I know that Jaden can give us energy and quickness, and I thought she did," Mulkey said. "I thought the 3's were just a little bit of icing for us, and it helped us get back in the ballgame, but she wasn't the only one. Kudos to Jordyn and Trinity and Jaden. I thought they gave you some stuff tonight."
            Ursin and Queen Egbo added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Lady Bears, who were outrebounded, 45-41. 
            "They probably weren't as ready as they feel like they probably could have been," Fennelly said. "They're a fantastic basketball team, and hopefully tonight our kids learned what they're capable of doing if they put their minds to it."
            Baylor goes back on the road to face Oklahoma State (9-4, 5-2) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Stillwater. The Cowgirls lost their second straight on Saturday, falling at West Virginia, 67-59.