By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When Sarah Andrews drained a 3-pointer from the Big 12 logo to give the 17^th-ranked Baylor women a six-point lead on Iowa State with 3 ½ minutes left in Saturday's quarterfinal of the Big 12 tournament, the Bears had to like their chances.
 
But other than a free throw by Bella Fontleroy, that was the last shot the Bears (24-7) made, missing their last nine shots from the field and 18 of their last 19 in falling to the fourth-seeded Cyclones, 67-62, in a heartbreaking loss at the T-Mobile Center.
 
"We've got a lot of things to fix, but our challenge is, you can't go 3-for-24 (in the fourth quarter) against an elite team," said Baylor coach Nicki Collen, whose team had its six-game winning streak snapped in falling to Iowa State for the fourth-straight time.
 
"When you get that many open looks, and we can't knock 'em down, you better want to get in the gym. Or you shouldn't put on a Baylor uniform. . . . We've got to have someone step up and make a shot in those late-game situations. Dre (Edwards) got an open look. Sarah got multiple open looks. Jana (Van Gytenbeek) got a couple open looks. Yaya (Felder) got a wide-open 3 at the end. Any one of those goes in, we're in a different press conference."
 
The defending Big 12 tournament champions, Iowa State (19-10) closed the game on a 12-1 run that included a go-ahead bucket by freshman forward Audi Crooks with 41 seconds left and four-straight free throws by Emily Ryan to seal the deal.
 
"Hard to win games going 3-for-24 in a quarter, especially when it's the fourth," Collen said. "That was our Achilles' heel. We were 0-for-11 from (inside the arc). We obviously got a bunch of threes in that stretch, but it was the 0-for-11 from the two that probably hurt us. Had a breakaway layup we missed and just couldn't create separation. And we fouled when we got frustrated."
 
The Cyclones advance to Monday's 1:30 p.m. semifinal against top-seeded and 19^th-ranked Oklahoma (22-8), which eliminated ninth-seeded TCU, 69-53, in the other early quarterfinal at the Big 12 Championship.
 
"That's what March basketball is supposed to be about," said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly, whose team won its fifth in a row. "That's an NCAA Tournament atmosophere. (I'm) so proud of our team. We do work on press offense, you can quote that. . . . The last thing I would say, it's ridiculous how many (Iowa State fans) are here. Without them, we're not winning this game."
 
Down by five at the half, Baylor used its press defense to force eight third-quarter turnovers and went up 50-48 when Edwards knocked down the first of her three 3-pointers with nine seconds left in the period.
 
The senior forward hit back-to-back treys to give the Bears a 58-53 lead and force Fennelly to call a timeout with 7:14 left in the game. She flashed the 3 sign to the Iowa State crowd after both buckets.
 
Both teams went through a rough three-minute scoring drought before Addy Brown made a pair of free throws with 4:00 left to make it a one-possession game, 58-55. And then, with the shot clock winding down, Andrews launched a deep 3-pointer that swished through and gave the Bears their largest lead, 61-55, with 3:32 left.
 
"I'm sure Bill is going, 'Really? We play great defense for 30 seconds and they hit a 30-footer?''' Collen said. "Sometimes, you've got to be lucky. Maybe that made up for all those wide-open jump shots she had in the lane that she didn't finish, and she usually does."
 
After not even shooting a free throw through the first 3 ½ quarters, the Cyclones scored 10 of their last 14 points from the line, with Ryan going a perfect 8-for-8. Brown missed the and-one after getting fouled on a layup, but Fontleroy returned the favor by missing one of two with 1:45 left and the Bears up by two.
 
Ryan knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game, then fed Crook for the layup that put Iowa State back on top, 63-62.
 
"I think her size is obviously a challenge," Edwards said of Crooks, who finished with a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks. "The biggest thing is being undersized and trying to push her out of the block and push her in a different area where she is not as good or her field goal (percentage) is not as good. Overall, our team defense on her was hard, for sure, especially when you've got shooters all around you."
 
After Crooks' go-ahead basket, Baylor's last four shots were all from distance, with Edwards missing two, Felder one and Fontleroy getting one blocked by Ryan.
 
"Like Coach Nicki said, it's really hard when we're shooting 30% from the floor," said Fontleroy, who made three of her first four from 3-point distance before missing her last six. "No matter how hard you go on the (offensive) rebounds, sometimes you're just not going to come up with them. And whenever we're not making shots, it's difficult."
 
Edwards and Fontleroy scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, for the Bears. Baylor forced 22 turnovers for the game and finished with a 25-5 edge in points off turnovers, but the Bears were outrebounded, 45-38, and were outscored in the paint, 32-22.
 
On top of Crooks' production, Iowa State got double-doubles from Ryan (12 points, 10 assists) and Brown (16 points, 12 rebounds). The Cyclones shot 47.2% overall and made 7-of-19 from 3-point range.
 
Knocked out of the Big 12 tournament by Iowa State in the quarterfinals for the second-straight year, Baylor will now await the NCAA Tournament selection show that will air at 7 p.m. CT next Sunday, March 17, on ESPN.
 


GAME NOTES

• The No. 17 Baylor women's basketball team was unable to overcome Iowa State on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, falling 67-62. 
• It marked the second-straight year that the Bears fell to the Cyclones in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. 
• For the second time this season against the Cyclones, Dre'Una Edwards led the way offensively, finishing with 17 points. 
• Edwards and Bella Fontleroy each knocked down a trio of 3-pointers marking the seventh time this season, and fourth time against a Big 12 opponent, that multiple Bears hit at least three from behind the arc. 
• Fontleroy joined Edwards in double figures, adding 14 points. 
• Fontleroy matched a career high, playing 35 minutes alongside Sarah Andrews. 
• Edwards grabbed a team-leading seven boards. 
• Andrews dished out a team-high four assists. She has led BU in assists 12 times this season. 
• Iowa State has won the last four outings against Baylor dating back to last season's two-game series sweep. 
• The Bears fell to 17-7 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. 
• The 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball Selection Show is set for 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, on ESPN.