TL;DR: The Bears couldn’t hang on in the final 10:00, letting ISU go on an 8-0 run in the final 1:28 in a game that never had a lead larger than six. There were 14 lead changes, and the 14th was the final nail in the Bear’s coffin.
Recap:
In a game with 14 lead changes, the nerves were almost as high as the stakes for this game. The Bears couldn’t rise to the occasion, shooting just 31% from the field. The last time Baylor shot less than 35% from the floor was when they shot 34.8% against BYU on February 7 of this year.
Dre’Una Edwards led the Bears in scoring with 17, followed by Bella Fontleroy with 14. BU took 25 more shots than the Cyclones and made one fewer than they did.
The Cyclones didn’t go to the line until the fourth quarter, but when we started sending them there, we couldn’t stop. ISU went 10-11 from the line, where they solidified their win.
Final Stats
Baylor
FG: 24-78 (30.8%)
3FG: 8-30 (26.7%)
FT: 6-9 (66.7%)
REB: 38
A: 11
PF: 15
TO: 8
Iowa State
FG: 25-53 (47.2%)
3FG: 7-19 (36.8%)
FT: 10-11 (90.9%)
REB: 45
A: 20
PF: 9
TO: 22
First Quarter
TL;DR: Bears and Cyclones are both playing great ball and we’re in for a heater of a game. The score is knotted at 20, and the team’s shooting stats are damn near identical.
Baylor won the tip, but Iowa State struck first with a jumper from Addy Brown in the paint. The Bears got on the scoreboard with a foul from Audi Crooks that sent Aijha Blackwell to the line, where she went 1-2. Brown was our next scorer with a layup, but BU turned around, and Bella Fontleroy drained a three for Baylor’s first field goal. Brown drained three of her own on the following possession. Fontleroy drains another, and we have a tied-up ball game at 7-7 with 6:51 to play in the first. Blackwell drains a jumper for two, then Isnelle Natabou puts up a second-chance layup for ISU, and the teams are trading blows. Jada Walker and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs both put down jumpers, and the Bears are out in front with a two-possession lead, 13-9, with 4:33 left to play, heading to the media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, ISU puts up five with a layup from Crooks and a jumper from Diew. Bears respond with a pair of Walker and Dre’Una Edwards jumpers, and Baylor leads 17-14. Iowa State took the lead with back-to-back threes, one from Crooks and the other from Hannah Belanger. Fontleroy gets the ball and drains it for three, and the game is tied at 20 at the end of the first.
First Quarter Stats
Baylor
FG: 8-18 (44.4%)
3FG: 3-6 (50%)
FT: 1-2 (50%)
REB: 12
A: 4
PF: 1
TO: 3
Iowa State
FG: 8-17 (47.1%)
3FG: 4-8 (50%)
FT: 0-0 (0%)
REB: 9
A: 7
PF: 2
TO: 3
Second Quarter
TL;DR: Sloppy shooting handicapped both teams in the first 5:00; Iowa State bounced back after the media timeout, but Baylor did not.
Belanger started off the second quarter with a jumper for two, giving them the lead 22-20. Yaya Felder put up her first points of the day with a three-pointer to give the Bears the one-point lead. For all of the scoring we saw in the first, the second quarter is proving to be a defensive dogfight with an almost three-minute gap between FGs on the court. Andrews wakes up the offense with a mid-range jumper, and Crooks responds for the Cyclones with a second-chance layup, Bears lead 25-23 with 5:03 to play. At the media timeout, we only scored nine points on the court, with both teams shooting 20% from the field. ISU puts up five coming out of the timeout with a three from Jackson and a layup from Crooks. Andrews responds for the Bears with a layup, but Kelsey Joens puts up a three for the Cyclones. Felder gets the ball, fights to the rim for a layup, and is sent to the line with a chance for the and-one, but she misses it, and that’ll make the score 32-29 in favor of Iowa State. Brown puts up a jumper and extends the Cyclone lead to five. Walker gets sent to the line after a foul by Crooks; she goes 2-2. Emily Ryan closes out the half with a jumper and the teams will head to the locker room with the Cyclones leading 36-31
Second Quarter Stats
Baylor
FG: 4-17 (23.5%)
3FG: 1-7 (14.3%)
FT: 2-3 (66.7%)
REB: 9
A: 1
PF: 3
TO: 1
Iowa State
FG: 7-16 (43.8%)
3FG: 2-5 (40%)
FT: 0-0 (0%)
REB: 13
A: 5
PF: 2
TO: 4
Third Quarter
TL;DR: The Bears regained a narrow lead after outscoring ISU 19-12.
Crooks put up the first points of the second half with a layup for ISU, stretching their lead to seven. With 6:48 on the clock, we get our next points from a Blackwell layup. The Cyclones answer with a jumper from Crooks. Then Littlepage-Buggs and Crooks trade layups to keep the Cyclone lead at seven. Jada Walker puts up a jumper for two, then steals the ball from Ryan. The Bears get the ball to Littlepage-Buggs, and she brings it to a one-possession ball game with a layup. Ryan stretches the lead a little bit with a layup, but the Bears are holding all of the momentum, with Iowa State having to call a timeout. Bears maintained the momentum coming out of the timeout with a layup from Fontleroy, cutting the ISU lead down to three, and we’re heading to another media timeout. Edwards puts up a jumper out of the timeout, and Fontleroy drains a layup for the Baylor lead. Crooks drains a layup and regains the lead for the Cyclones. Edwards and Crooks trade shots, and the lead is still one-point in favor of the ‘Clones. Edwards strips the ball from Crooks and puts it down for a three! Baylor is in the lead again at 50-48 at the end of the quarter.
Third Quarter Stats
Baylor
FG: 9-16 (50%)
3FG: 1-4 (25%)
FT: 0-0 (0%)
REB: 7
A: 4
PF: 1
TO: 4
Iowa State
FG: 6-13 (46.2%)
3FG: 0-3 (0%)
FT: 0-0 (0%)
REB: 8
A: 5
PF: 1
TO:8
Fourth Quarter
TL;DR: The Bears shot just 12.5% from the field in the fourth quarter to hand ISU the win, who went on an 8-0 run over the final 1:28 to close out the game.
Crooks tied up the game at 50 to start the fourth quarter with a jumper in the paint. Brown fouled and sent Edwards to the line; she went 2-2, and regained the Baylor lead. Brown drained a three from the top of the court to give ISU the one-point advantage, but Edwards responded with a three for the Bears and took the lead right back. Edwards drains another three, this one from the top of the three, and the Bears now lead by five, and ISU calls a timeout. The almost three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought on the court ended when ISU was sent to the line for the first time today; Brown went 2-2 and cut the Baylor lead down to three. Andrews sinks a deep three and stretches the Bears out to a two-possession lead. Ryan goes to the line for the Cyclones and goes 2-2 to bring the Baylor lead back down to four. Brown throws up a layup, and we’re back to a two-point ball game. Fontleroy gets sent to the line; she goes 1-2. Edwards fouls and sends Ryan to the line, where she goes 2-2 and takes us down to a one-point-ball game. Crooks puts up a layup with 0:41 remaining, and the Cyclones have the one-point advantage. Felder fouls to stop the clock, and Ryan goes 2-2. Baylor has a three-point deficit and :19.2 to make something happen. Bears don’t make it happen; they send Ryan to the line, and she goes 2-2. That’s the ballgame.
Fourth Quarter Stats
Baylor
FG: 3-24 (12.5%)
3FG: 3-13 (23.1%)
FT: 3-4 (75%)
REB: 10
A: 2
PF: 10
TO: 0
Iowa State
FG: 4-7 (57.1%)
3FG: 1-3 (33.3%)
FT: 10-11 (90.9%)
REB: 15
A: 3
PF: 4
TO: 7
