Baylor Defeats Oregon to Advance to Women’s National Title Game

Written by Ernie Casanova

TAMPA, FL— The NCAA Women’s Final Four kicked off here in Tampa, Florida as the Baylor Lady Bears took on the Oregon Ducks in the first matchup of the night. The winner would return on Sunday to take on the winner of the Connecticut and Notre Dame matchup. The Ducks gave it their all against Baylor but came up short against the Lady Bears in the last couple of minutes by a score of 72-67 for a shot at the National Title.

Baylor won the tip-off and immediately scored in the first minute. After going up 4-2, the Ducks put their foot on the gas and started a 7-0 run that also included a pair of consecutive three-pointers. After going up 11-4, the Bears then started their own run of 10-0 to regain the lead and ended the first quarter up 19-15. In the second quarter, Oregon got things going first after Oti Gildon converted on a second-chance layup that cut the Bears’ lead to 19-17.

Sabrina Ionescu hit a jumper shortly after for the Ducks to tie it all up, and it was a contest to remember for then on. Each team answered back at each other on both sides of the ball and neither was able to pull away on the scoreboard as it remained a tight game the rest of the way. The Ducks closed out the second quarter really strong, going on a 10-4 run to head into the locker room with a 34-33 lead. In the third quarter, it was still an open game as each team drained their shots from beyond the arc.

Neither team led by more than five points after the first quarter, and it was much back and forth as none of these squads were ready to go home. You could see just how tough this Ducks’ team was as they came back up the floor every possession with some sort of pressure or answer. After going down by five in the third quarter, Oregon scored seven points in the next two minutes to hang around, but it didn’t last much longer. The Bears were struggling in containing this Duck’s offense but answered back on the scoreboard as they again headed into the next quarter with the lead after a later run.

The fourth quarter started with Baylor leading 58-55 after a quick layup from Didi Richards. After Juicy Landrum hit a layup for Baylor to 61-57, the Ducks followed up with a two-point jumper and then a three-point bucket as they regained the lead 64-61. As the clock started to wind down, Chloe Jackson hit a driving layup to put the Bears on top as they never looked back. The Ducks had an open look to tie it, but Satou Sabally failed to convert on a short-range jumper after she had just finished tying it at 67-67 on a shot from deep. The Bears closed out the quarter and advanced to the Championship game.

For the Bears, Kalani Brown shined with 22 points and seven rebounds, with Lauren Cox adding a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Didi Richards also contributed 15 points, with Landrum adding six points and nine rebounds. Ionescu led the way for the Ducks, finishing with 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Sabally added 16 points with three rebounds and Erin Boley notched 14 points.

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