The offensive well finally went dry.
For the Oregon women’s basketball team, the tormenting turnovers and
missed free throws were disabling once again – for the last time this
season.
The No. 10 seed Ducks and their size had no chance against the
overwhelming speed that was on display during second-seeded Baylor’s
69-46 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Bank of
America Arena on Monday.
“It was a very disappointing loss for us,” Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. “I think the reason why it hurts is because of the year
that we have had and the commitment that our players have put into
this season.”
Baylor (29-3 overall) managed to extend its current win streak to 16
games and hold Oregon (21-10) to its second lowest scoring output of
the season.
In the beginning, Oregon used its defense to control the game’s tempo
and stay competitive with Baylor. Freshman Kristen Forristall sank a
three-pointer 12 minutes into the contest to give the Ducks their
second and final lead of the game at 16-15.
The gears eventually synced for Baylor at the 7:48 mark, when junior
Sophia Young ignited a lethal 19-2 scoring run that included a streak
of 18-straight points from the Lady Bears while the Ducks committed
six turnovers and made 0-of-4 shots from the field.
Oregon went into the locker room at a 33-18 disadvantage and the
Ducks never got to within 14 points of the Baylor in their final 20
minutes of the season.
Center Steffanie Blackmon scored nine points during Baylor’s 18-0
spree and finished with 17 points in the game. However, the big story
was Young’s game-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting that
complimented a team-best eight rebounds.
Young and teammate Chelsea Whitaker shared the game-high for steals
with five apiece. As a whole, Baylor recorded 18 steals.
“Defensively, they were a very tough team to crack tonight,” said
Smith, whose team committed 23 turnovers in the game. “We put
ourselves into a hole with our 16 turnovers in the first half, which
they forced us into.”
Those robberies and miscues limited Oregon to 44 shots attempts, with
one-forth of them taken by Cathrine Kraayeveld, while Baylor had 61
tries and drained 28 to shoot 46 percent for the game.
The Ducks, who are now 0-5 all-time in second-round action, shot 34
percent from the field.
“Baylor’s a good team,” said Oregon’s Brandi Davis, who finished
with
seven points. “We came in here ready to go and ready to bring it to
them, but they weathered the storm and unfortunately we couldn’t.”
Despite connecting on only 3-of-11 field goal attempts, Kraayeveld
still finished with 15 points to lead Oregon in scoring, as she had
all season and did last Saturday with 23 against Texas Christian in
the first round.
Kraayeveld grabbed eight rebounds in 38 minutes and capitalized on 8-
of-9 free throw attempts. The senior forward was held to only three
points in the first half.
Out of 23 free throw attempts, all of which came in the second half,
the Ducks converted only 13.
Oregon point guard Corrie Mizusawa had eight assists and finished her
career with more assists (622) than points scored (612). Fellow
senior Andrea Bills was limited to eight points in 18 minutes due to
foul trouble.
Baylor advances to the Sweet 16 for the second-straight season and
faces third-seeded Minnesota.
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