Bears Squander 12-Point Lead to No. 16 Sooners, Fall in OT 98-92
WACO, Texas — The Baylor Women’s Basketball team (16-7, 7-4) fell 98-92 in overtime to the visiting No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners (19-4, 9-3) despite a 12-point lead with 5:19 to play and a career-high 30 points from Caitlin Bickle.
Sarah Andrews contributed 20 points of her own, with Darriana Littlepage-Buggs and Ja’Mee Asberry adding 14 and 11 respectively.
Bickle and Andrews carried the Bears in the frenetic first half, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively before the break.
Their play was highlighted by a 9-0 run lat win the second quarter which was a beautiful sequence of plays.
It started off with a Sarah Andrews three ball, followed by a Jaden Owens block at the other end. Then Owens dished the ball to Andrews who knocked down another three, forcing an Oklahoma timeout.
After the timeout, Caitlin Bickle knocked down a triple to complete the run.
The green and gold tallied 46 points before hitting the locker room for halftime, but a late 8-0 run by the Sooners kept things close at 46-42.
The refs tightened things up in the third quarter, but Oklahoma committed more of the offenses. After eight total first-half fouls, the Sooners were called for seven and the Bears three.
That did not deter the green and gold offense, who still put up 20 points in the frame and withstood a 7-0 run from the visitors to grow a 54-51 lead into a 66-58 advantage by the quarter break.
The fourth quarter would not go so well for the home team though.
After a 7-0 run for the Bears boosted the lead to 12, Oklahoma embarked on an 11-1 response making it 76-74 with 2:31 to go.
The Bears missed too many shots down the stretch and a key turnover gave Taylor Robertson the opening she needed to tie the game at 83-83 with a dagger triple.
Ja’Mee Asberry missed her chance at the winner and the game went to overtime.
In the extra period, Oklahoma earned a five-point lead before a pair of Bickle free throws and a clutch Andrews three tied things up again at 90-90.
Sadly for the green and gold, they could not hang around much longer. Maddie Williams hit a jumper and the Sooners went on to ice the game from the charity stripe. 98-92 final.
Aside from the notable scoring marks, Littlepage-Buggs grabbed 17 boards and Owens dished 14 assists.
The Bears will be hoping to put up similar offensive stats and find a way to translate that into a win when they travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday. That game will tip off at 2 PM on ESPN+.