No. 14 WBB Falls to No. 23 Oklahoma

Wednesday, January 12

Norman, OK

6 PM

Baylor

10-4,0-2Big 12

Oklahoma

14-2,3-1Big 12

Baylor

Oklahoma

No. 14 WBB Falls to No. 23 Oklahoma

1/12/2022 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            NORMAN, Okla. – Considering they were coming off a 10-day COVID pause, things could not have gone much better for the 14^th-ranked Baylor Bears through almost three quarters of Wednesday's Top-25 showdown at the Lloyd Noble Center.
            Sparked by the momentum of Kennady Tucker's 3-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter, though, No. 23 Oklahoma overcame three 10-point deficits and outscored Baylor, 12-2, in the last 4 ½ minutes to hand the Bears their second-straight loss, 83-77.
            "People are going to take shots at me and say we lost another close game," said first-year Baylor head coach Nicki Collen, whose team fell to 10-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12, "but players have got to make plays late. We were really good from the field until the fourth quarter. We shot our worst percentage across the board. It's players making plays late in those big moments. When the game is on the line, are you prepared to hit that shot?"
            The Bears scored the game's first 10 points, had another 10-0 run to go up 31-21 in the second quarter and took a 59-49 lead with three minutes left in the third on a Caitlin Bickle layup.
            In fact, Oklahoma (14-2, 3-1) didn't take its first lead of the game until Skylar Vann knocked down a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the game. In a game filled with runs, the Sooners scored nine-straight points, held the Bears without a field goal for the last 4:30 and closed on a 12-2 run to snap a 13-game losing streak in the series dating back to 2015.
            "I am so proud of this basketball team," said first-year OU head coach Jennie Baranczyk, whose team posted its fourth victory this season when rallying from a double-digit deficit. "I love the balance that we have. I love the belief that we have and that we just kept playing. When we focus on ourselves and just play like that and share the ball – it becomes really fun. The scoreboard then takes care of itself."
            Playing its first game since a 68-59 loss to Kansas State on Jan. 2, Baylor got a career-high-tying 30 points from senior All-American NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo's 24^th career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
            While Baylor dominated the boards, 39-28, scored 17 second-chance points and outscored Oklahoma in the paint, 40-26, the Sooners shot a season-best 51.9% from 3-point range (14-of-27) and got 33 bench points from Vann and 5-2 sophomore guard Nevaeh Tott.
            More than doubling her scoring average (10.8), the 5-11 Vann had a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
            "Ever since they lost (Ana Llanusa), Vann has been their spark," Collen said. "While (Liz Scott) is a rebounder and maybe more sizeable, with how they play and their ability to stretch the court, (Vann) was a difference-maker."
            Madi Williams chipped in with 18 points and seven assists, while Taylor Robertson was 5-for-5 from 3-point range and broke Laurie Koehn's career record with her 393^rd trey.
            "Taylor Robertson is amazing. It's mind-boggling that she runs off screens for 40 minutes, all game long," Collen said. "I thought Ja'Mee (Asberry) did an unbelievable job of guarding her all night. . . . Our goal was to keep her at four, because we didn't want her to break the Big 12 record. So, really disappointed that that happened, but hat's off to her."
            Egbo scored on a layup with 4:30 left to put the Bears up 75-71, missing a free throw that would have given her a three-point play. But, down the stretch, Baylor turned it over four times and missed its last four shots from the field.
            After Vann blocked a Smith shot, the Sooners tied it up on a Williams layup and took the lead, 78-75, on Vann's third 3-pointer of the game.
            Collen called a timeout to draw up a play, but another turnover led to a Williams layup on the other end that capped a 9-0 run and gave the Sooners an 80-75 lead with 2:15 left.
            "It doesn't matter what play you call, or what thing you draw up, if you turn the ball over and you don't execute," Collen said. "I thought we ran some really good stuff and got the ball where it needed to go a lot of the night. So, it was just making the same sound decisions that gave us a four-point lead to get us to 75-71."
            With last week's two home games postponed because of COVID protocols, Baylor will play its third-straight conference road game with a matchup at 2 p.m. Sunday against Kansas (11-2, 2-1). The Jayhawks upset 13^th-ranked Texas, 70-66, Wednesday night in Austin.
            "There's a lot of pressure on these guys," Collen said. "But, to me, it's about continuing to figure out little ways to keep getting better, little ways to keep getting better every day, getting over the hump. This game is absolutely mental, so sometimes it takes just getting over the hump."