Bears Survive Scare, Beat Tech 71-60

TL;DR: Bears overcame a late run by Tech to advance to the third round of the Big 12 Tournament. 

The Bears had to lean on a dominant fourth-quarter performance to win the game after slipping in the third and allowing Tech to pull within two points. 

The Bears were led by Sarah Andrews, who scored 13 points. She was joined in double figures by Aijha Blackwell, who scored 11, and Yaya Felder and Bella Fontleroy, each with 10. 

Off the boards, Blackwell led the pack with nine rebounds.

Final Stats

Baylor 

FG: 27-54 (50%)

3FG: 5-13 (38.5%)

FT: 12-14 (85.7%)

REB: 27

A: 9

PF: 16

TO: 18

Texas Tech

FG: 23-48 (47.9%)

3FG: 5-15 (33.3%)

FT: 9-13 (69.2%)

REB: 26

A: 7

PF: 13

TO: 23

First Quarter

TL;DR: Bears started off strong with two threes to take the lead. Tech cut it down to as little as two, but Baylor recovered and now leads by eight. 

Tech won the tip, but Jada Walker quickly stole the ball away and brought it down the court, passing it off to Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who missed her layup. Tech took it back down the court, where Jasmine Shavers missed a three-point shot and then fouled to turn the ball over. Bella Fontleroy wound up with the ball and drained a three for the game’s first points. Both teams squandered a handful of possessions, with the refs ending a couple of short with a quick whistle. Sarah Andrews got the scoring started again with a three from the top of the court from Sarah Andrews The Bears held a 6-0 lead with 7:15 to play when the officials called a media timeout to review a play. The play under review was a potential foul on Aijha Blackwell, but the officials found no foul. Coming out of the timeout, Fontleroy tried to put up another three but couldn’t find the net. Tech took the ball down the court but passed it out of bounds. When the Bears regained possession, Blackwell went for a layup but was found under the basket by Ashley Chevalier; Blackwell went 2-2 from the strip to put the Bears up 8-0. The Lady Raiders finally made it on the scoreboard thanks to a jumper from Jasmine Shavers, and they scored their first points at the 6:04 mark. Shavers was sent to the line by a shooting foul from Andrews; she went 1-2, bringing the score to 8-3 in favor of Baylor. After almost two full minutes without any scoring on the court, Bailey Maupin puts up a layup to bring Tech within three, but Jana Van Gytenbeek quickly kicks the lead back up to six with a three, assisted by Andrews. Jada Wynn took the ball on the next possession for TT and drained a jumper, making it 11-7 in favor of the Bears. Baylor turned the ball over, and Shavers capitalized, draining a shot from the paint to cut Baylor’s lead down to two. Aijha Blackwell was the next shooter and rebounded her own shot for a second-chance layup, bringing the score to 13-9. Ashley Chevalier fouled and sent Van Gytenbeek to the line, where she went 2-2 with just over a minute left to play in the first. Tech didn’t make anything happen on their next possession, but Yaya Felder rebounded the missed shot from Wynn and took the ball the length of the court for a layup; this would prove to be the final points of the quarter. 

First Quarter Stats

Baylor 

FG: 5-15 (33.3%)

3FG: 3-5 (60%)

FT: 4-4 (100%)

REB: 8

A: 3

PF: 4

TO: 4

Texas Tech

FG: 4-8 (50%)

3FG: 0-2 (0%)

FT: 1-2 (50%)

REB: 6

A: 1

PF: 5

TO: 8

Second Quarter

TL;DR: Texas Tech woke up and scored 10 more points than they did in the first, but the Bears still grew their lead by four thanks to their 50% shooting from 3 in the first half.

Baylor started the second quarter with a jumper for Felder in the paint; Tech answered with an identical shot from Maupin. Van Gytenbeek upped the ante with a three, and Tech couldn’t match that, having to settle for another jumper in the paint from Maupin. Dre’Una Edwards joins the three-party and drains one assisted by Van Gytenbeek. Maupin responds with three of her own, and this is Tech’s first three of the game. But the second was close to following, with Rhyle Mckinney draining one after Elina Arike stole the ball from Andrews. Baylor was sure to stop TT’s momentum with a layup from Littlepage-Buggs; Bears led 27-19 with 6:44 left in the second. After a foul on Arike, Littlepage-Buggs is sent to the line, where she went 2-2, extending the Bears’ lead to 10. Shavers took the ball on a fast break and dropped one in for two, but Edwards responded with a two of her own to keep the Bears up by 10, 31-21, with 5:04 remaining in half. Littlepage-Buggs drained another layup, and Tech called the timeout to regroup, the Bears leading by 12 with 4:09 to play in the half. Coming out of the timeout, Tech fouled Fontleroy and sent her to the line, where she went 1-2. Jazmine Lewis put up a layup for Tech, and Fontleroy responded with a mid-range jumper; then Shavers and Fontleroy exchanged shots again, keeping the Bears’ lead at 13. Wynn broke up the cycle for Texas Tech and dropped in a three to cut the Bers lead down to 10; Andrews tried to put up one of her own but couldn’t make it happen. Andrews redeemed herself with a steal for a layup to bring the lead back up to 12 for the final points of the half. 

Second Quarter Stats

Baylor 

FG: 9-14 (64.3%)

3FG: 2-5 (40%)

FT: 3-4 (75%)

REB: 9

A: 4

PF: 1

TO: 3

Texas Tech

FG: 8-17 (47.1%)

3FG: 3-6 (50%)

FT: 0-0 (0%)

REB: 6

A: 3

PF: 2

TO: 2

Third Quarter

TL;DR: The Bears barely held onto their lead after being outscored 22-12, Tech went on a 11-2 run over two minutes to get back in this ballgame.

In the third quarter, both teams are quick to strike. Andrews drops in one from the paint for the Bears, and Merritt quickly responds with a layup. On the following possession, Blackwell knocks down a second-chance layup for the Bears, and this is the largest lead of the game so far, with the Bears up 14. Blackwell fouls and sends Shavers to the line; she goes 1-2 and knocks the lead back down to 13 for the Bears. Jada Walker puts up a shot from the paint, and Shavers responds with a three to cut the lead down to 12 for the Bears, which is right back to where we started the half. Merritt drops in a layup for Tech, and Andrews covers it with a layup for the Bears. Shavers responds with yet another layup and the Bears’ lead is cut down to 10 as Tech calls a timeout with 5:35 to play in the quarter. Maupin fought her way to the rim for a well-earned layup after the timeout, and the Bears are now leading by single digits, 48-40, with 4:51 to play in the third with another media timeout. Tech comes out of the timeout with a big three from Wynn, then a layup from Maupin to bring the lead down to three. Walker answers for the Bears with a layup, but the lead is still only a five-point advantage over the Lady Raiders. Tech went on an 11-2 run from 7:05 to 4:24 to get back in this game. Andrews puts up another two points for the Bears, but Merritt negates it with a jumper, and we still have a five-point game with 2:09 left in the third. Tech calls their third timeout with 1:21 left in the quarter; this feels like a now-or-never moment for the Lady Raiders. I speculate their coach thinks if they don’t take the lead now, they never will, and I don’t disagree. Play resumes, and Shavers puts in a layup and makes the free throw for the and-one; we have a two-point ball game. The Bears escape a scary series of shots from Tech with a two-point lead at the end of the quarter. Baylor leads 52-50 with 10:00 left to play today. 

Third Quarter Stats

Baylor 

FG: 6-14 (42.9%)

3FG: 0-1 (0%)

FT: 0-0 (0%)

REB: 5

A: 0

PF: 4

TO: 6

Texas Tech

FG: 9-16 (56.3%)

3FG: 2-4 (50%)

FT: 2-3 (66.7%)

REB: 11

A: 3

PF: 1

TO: 5

Fourth Quarter

TL;DR: The Bears put up a dominant performance in the fourth quarter to seal their ticket to the next round. 

The fourth quarter started with Arike fouling Felder; she went 2-2 from the line to build the Bears’ lead back to four. Blackwell struck next with a layup, and the lead was back up to six. Blackwell swiped the ball away, and Fontleroy took it the distance for a short jumper. Then Felder stole the ball for a layup! A layup quickly took away the Bears double-digit lead from Loghan Johnson, but Blackwell restores it with a layup of her own, and the Bears have all of the momentum. Bears lead 62-52 with 7:07 left to play. Blackwell fouled and sent Johnson to the line; she went 1-2. Felder is the next to score with another layup, and the Bears are now up 11. Wynn rebounds for Tech but travels; Andrews takes the turnover and puts it down for a layup. This sends us to a media timeout with 4:42 left to play and the Bears leading by 13, 66-53. Tech struck first coming out of the timeout with a second-chance jumper from Maupin. Littlepage-Buggs put up a layup as time expired on the shot clock. Andrews fouled and sent Johnson to the line, where she went 2-2, and Baylor called their first timeout of the game with 2:01 left to play. Blackwell is sent to the line where she went 1-2, and the Bears are up 12 with just over a minute remaining. Johnson was sent to the line and went 1-2. Walker goes the line and goes 2-2, and the Bears will win the ball game. 

Fourth Quarter Stats

Baylor 

FG: 7-11 (63.6%)

3FG: 0-2 (0%)

FT: 5-6 (83.3%)

REB: 5

A: 2

PF: 7

TO: 5

Texas Tech

FG: 2-7 (28.6%)

3FG: 0-3 (0%)

FT: 6-8 (75%)

REB: 3

A: 0

PF: 5

TO: 8