By Shehan Jeyarajah
Sports Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY — Baylor women’s basketball fell for the second straight year to No. 1 seed Notre Dame 77-68 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Sophomore forward Nina Davis led the way with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Junior point guard Niya Johnson added 10 assists.
Senior post Sune Agbuke finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but missed two point-blank layups down the stretch that killed momentum for Baylor.
The Lady Bears shot only 12-for-34 in the second half, including 1-for-4 from three-point range.
Size ended up being the difference down the stretch. The Lady Bears only have one rotation player over 6-foot-2, while Notre Dame starts two 6-foot-3 players. The Lady Bears struggled on the boards, falling 43-38. Notre Dame beat Baylor on the offensive boards 10-6 in the second half.
Notre Dame’s Lindsay Allen posted 23 points for the Fighting Irish. Star guard Jewell Loyd added 13 points on 18 shots. Allen was named Most Outstanding Player of the Oklahoma City Regional after combined for 51 points on 19-for-33 shooting over the two games.
Johnson and Davis were both also named to the All-Regional Team. They were joined by Loyd and Iowa guard Samantha Logic.
