No. 5/6 WBB Survives Push From No. 16/14 Michigan in Overtime, 78-75

Saturday, March 27

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2 p.m.

Baylor

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Michigan

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Michigan

Baylor

No. 5/6 WBB Survives Push From No. 16/14 Michigan in Overtime, 78-75

3/27/2021 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score WBB_30_MICH

Lady Bears advance to 10th Elite 8 in program history

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            SAN ANTONIO – Nothing close to the walks in the park they had in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament– 40-point blowout wins over Jackson State and Virginia Tech – the second-seeded Baylor Lady Bears actually had to sweat one out.
            Might have even been some nail-biting going on late in the game.
            But, just like they had done in eight of the previous 10 NCAA Tournaments, the Lady Bears (28-2) did whatever it took to get to another Elite Eight.
            NaLyssa Smith was a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and scored a game-high 24 points and DiJonai Carrington scored the go-ahead bucket off her fourth steal of the day as Baylor pulled out a 78-75 overtime win over sixth-seeded Michigan in Saturday's region semifinal at the Alamodome.
            "If it doesn't show today that we want to win the whole thing, then I don't what to tell y'all," said Smith, who tied an NCAA tournament record for most made field goals without a miss. "Games like this just show what your team is capable of."
            Ten weeks after a game against UConn was canceled because of a COVID pause, Baylor will face the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Huskies (27-1) at 6 p.m. Monday in the River Walk Region final at the Alamodome North court.
            "I don't know that it matters that it's UConn as much as it's more important to our program that we're in another Elite Eight," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team is making its 10^th Elite Eight and ninth in the last 11 tournaments. "I'm certainly not going to outcoach Geno (Auriemma), they better compete and try to out-play his players."
            The Wolverines (16-6), making their first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16, certainly looked like they belonged. When Baylor reeled off nine unanswered points and took its biggest lead of the game, 29-17, Michigan answered with 3-pointers by Maddie Nolan and Akienreh Johnson to get back within 29-23 at the break.
            "I haven't seen them on film shoot the 3 ball like that all year," Mulkey said of Michigan knocking down 9-of-24 from outside the arc. "I thought we contained (Naz) Hillmon pretty good. But, they had kids who barely score that were hitting 3's. They almost doubled the number of 3's they've averaged all year."
            Michigan also opened the third quarter by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and making it a two-point game, 31-29. Every time it looked like the Lady Bears might be on the verge of separating, the Wolverines answered.
            "I thought that was a great basketball game," said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico, who also took St. John's to the Sweet 16. "Baylor is obviously one of the top teams in the country. We had them on the ropes. Actually, I thought we had them for a period of time there. We put ourselves in a position in regulation and in overtime to win the game."
            Three years ago, when Baylor played Michigan in a second-round game in Waco, it was an 80-58 blowout. This time, the Lady Bears were lucky to get out alive.
            Even when Smith started out on fire, hitting her first five shots, Baylor had only a three-point lead to show for it at the end of the first quarter, 16-13. She became more of a facilitator in that 9-0 run, twice feeding Caitlin Bickle for easy layups when she penetrated inside and hit the junior forward on a back-door cut.
            "Just a phenomenal player," Mulkey said of Smith, who had her 66^th career double-digit game and 27^ththis season. "I thought she was an All-American on the floor for us tonight. When we struggled, I thought she was a leader somewhat. Lyss has just grown up a lot on that floor. Thank God she's on our team tonight, because she made some big-time shots for us."
            Moon Ursin scored seven of her 20 points in an 8-0 run in the third quarter that pushed Baylor's lead to double digits again, 47-36. But, Leigha Brown scored on a layup to end the run and then hit a pair of free throws with 5.8 seconds left that got the Wolverines back within 47-40 going to the fourth.
            Brown scored 11 of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a couple pull-up jumpers in the lane to answer a three-point play by Carrington and bring Michigan back within one, 62-61, with 52 seconds left.
            When Ursin missed one of two free throws, it left the door open for the Wolverines to send the game into overtime when Hailey Brown found Hillmon for a layup that tied it at 63-63. Baylor had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Ursin was short on a jumper from the top of the key, just inside the 3-point line.
            "I've got all faith in Moon," Smith said. "She can take the shot again."
            Michigan, which never led through the first four quarters, took its first lead on a Johnson jumper and twice led by two. But, Carrington buried a 3-pointer to put the Lady Bears back on top and then had a layup off a steal when the Wolverines had a chance to go back on top.
            Ursin had a wide-open layup with 8.7 seconds left, but Michigan had two final chances in the last few seconds, with Johnson missing a half-court shot and Brown coming up short on a 3-pointer.
            Hillmon, a first-team all-American and Wade Trophy finalist, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and was 7-of-10 from the floor. Johnson also scored in double figures (14) for the Wolverines, while Ursin and Carrington had 20 and 19 points, respectively, for the Lady Bears.
            "I don't take it for granted," Mulkey said. "Do you know how many teams would love to play in the Elite Eight? I don't know if we can get past Connecticut. It's going to hopefully be a good ballgame. What I do know, win or lose, we're right there again fighting for a national championship."
            While Baylor has won 20-straight games overall and nine in a row in the NCAA Tournament, UConn defeated Iowa, 92-72, for its 17^th-consecutive win since a Jan. 28 loss at Arkansas. The Huskies are led by 5-11 freshman guard Paige Bueckers (19.8 ppg, 6.1 assists), a finalist for the Wooden Award.