Bears Bounce Back, Beat Longhorns 75-63
WACO, Texas — The No. 9 Baylor women’s basketball team (16-5, 6-3) battled through a physical game with the No. 13 Texas Longhorns (15-5, 5-4) to come out on top 75-63.
On a night where defense had the edge, NaLyssa Smith carried the Bears with 25 points and eight boards.
The Bears came out strong in the first quarter, particularly on defense to build an 18-7 lead in the first 7 minutes. They controlled the boards and made shots despite looking a little out of rhythm on offense.
That lack of rhythm was probably due to Texas’ aggressive defense, which included heavy
pressure on every inbounds pass. Post position was also tough to come by for Baylor, but they shot well enough to continue building their lead into the second quarter.
With 6:16 left in the second, Baylor had stretched the lead to 14 points, but the Longhorns clawed back to within 5 as halftime neared.
Texas’ 13-4 run to make it 39-34 coincided with the refs allowing greater physicality, and UT took advantage.
However, Sarah Andrews hit a 3 to end the run and send the Bearss to the locker room with a 42-34 lead.
Ja’Mee Asberry had a stellar half shooting 4-8 from deep for all 15 of her points. However, she only took two shots in the second half as the offense stagnated and the defenses locked down.
Queen Egbo struggled with trouble through the night and fouled out with 4 minutes left, contributing just 6 points and 3 rebounds. She did play strong defensively though, leading the Bears with a +16 split on the night.
However, the Bears were gritty and determined, earning 24 free throws on the night, 15 of which were in the second half. They hit 14 of those 15 and 21 of the 24 overall, which helped the Bears keep a double-digit cushion for much of the second half.
The nerviest moment of the game came towards the end of the third quarter when Texas close the gap to 3 points at 48-45, but free throws and defense helped the Bears grind it out to 11 points by the end of the third.
"There were times we were tired,” Coach Nicki Collen said after the game, “their press makes you tired.” But she added that the crowd was great and gave them a lot of energy. In fact, the crowd included the second-largest contingent of students to ever attend a women’s basketball game at Baylor.
The final dagger to Texas’ heart came from Baylor’s No. 1 when Smith stepped up and coldly nailed a 3 to cap off her great performance.
Up next is the second half of the season series with the Longhorns on Sunday. That game will tip-off in Austin at 3 PM CT and will be televised on ESPN 2.