Baylor
11-4,1-2Big 12
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Kansas
11-3,2-2Big 12
No. 14 WBB Rallies Past Kansas to Beat the Jayhawks, 82-79
1/16/2022 4:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Even when Ja'Mee Asberry missed an open 3-pointer from the backside corner, Sarah Andrews knew the next one was going in "as soon as it left her hand."
Asberry drained a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key and added two free throws after a steal as the 14th-ranked Baylor Bears snapped a two-game losing streak by scoring seven unanswered points in the last 14 seconds to beat the Kansas Jayhawks, 82-79, Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think (the players) needed that weight lifted more than I did, to be honest with you," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team improved to 11-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12 with its first win in 18 days. "I think this team needed to be rewarded."
After leading by as many as nine, the Bears found themselves down by four when Aniya Thomas made one of two free throws to finish off an 8-0 run and put the Jayhawks (11-3, 2-2) up 79-75 with 25 seconds left.
Facing the real possibility of an 0-3 start in league play after close road losses to 25th-ranked Kansas State and No. 23 Oklahoma, Baylor never panicked.
"We kind of went into the huddle (during a timeout) like, 'Everything is OK, act like you've been here before,''' said Asberry, who matched her season highs with six 3-pointers and 20 points. "It's all about being calm, trusting your teammates and playing together. That's really the answer to everything."
With KU still clinging to a one-point lead, Asberry stole Ioanna Chatzileonti's inbound pass and was immediately fouled by Julie Brosseau even though Baylor was out of timeouts.
"It kind of just fell into my hands," Asberry said.
Collen said it was a good foul "if you had a foul to give."
"But, when you don't have a foul to give, it's a really bad play," she said. "That kind of stuff happens in the pros, too. It's just the kid reacting."
Asberry calmly sank both free throws to give the Bears the lead back, then Andrews iced it with two more with 1.5 seconds left. Trying to get Brosseau open for a 3, the Jayhawks never got a shot off before the final buzzer.
"The whole team really wanted to get Coach her first Big 12 win," said Andrews, who had a career day, hitting 7-of-10 from 3-point range and scoring a career- and game-high 25 points to go with six assists, four rebounds, two steals and only one assist in 37 minutes. "We've kind of been here before with the older players. They know what it's like to win."
On a day when leading scorers NaLyssa Smith and Jordan Lewis combined to hit just 6-of-29 from the floor, Andrews and Asberry took up the slack by scoring 45 points and hitting 13-of-21 from outside the arc.
"I think it really builds up a lot of confidence, especially for Sarah," Asberry said. "She hit seven 3's, which is really great for her. That will definitely build up her confidence for the rest of the year, because she knows she can hit seven and maybe eight and maybe get to that 10 mark."
Holly Kersgieter, who led Kansas with 23 points, drained a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to put the Jayhawks up 20-14. And then she gave them their biggest lead of the game, 24-17, with a pair of free throws less than a minute into the second.
With Smith on the bench after picking up her second foul, the Bears went on a 14-0 run that included 3-pointers by Andrews and Asberry and a three-point play by Queen Egbo, who recorded her second-straight and fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.
Jaden Owens, who played 13 quality minutes off the bench, hit a 3-pointer that gave Baylor a 34-26 lead at the 6:22 mark in the second quarter. Like they did at the end of the first quarter, the Jayhawks hit another last-second three-pointer to make it 41-36 at halftime.
The Bears returned the favor at the end of the third quarter, with Asberry draining a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to give them a 63-60 lead going into the fourth.
In a back-and-forth final period that included six lead changes, Baylor got in the last blows to beat Kansas for the 16th-straight time.
"At the end of the day, we see the work we put in behind closed doors," Andrews said, "and it paid off today, and it showed."
Smith overcame a rough shooting day (6-of-22) to record her 12th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Kansas got 63 of its 79 points from three players –Kersgeiter (23), Chatzileonti (20) and Zakiyah Franklin (20). The Jayhawks, who won back-to-back games on the road, were trying to follow up their 70-66 overtime win on Wednesday at No. 13 Texas.
Because of a COVID pause that postponed two home games, the Bears started league play with three-straight games on the road. They return to Waco for back-to-back home games against Oklahoma State (6-8, 1-4) on Wednesday and No. 9 Iowa State (16-1, 5-0) next Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Ferrell Center.
