By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit, No. 2 Baylor women’s basketball had a 3-point look with three seconds left to force overtime in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship finals Sunday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
But the number three wasn’t lucky for the Bears (27-7), as senior center Aaronette Vonleh’s triple bounced off the front iron, allowing TCU to sink a pair of free throws and run out the clock on their third win over Baylor this season, 64-59.
“I don’t think we were effective at either end of the floor, and I thought we just clipped along,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “Turned into a really good basketball game. I really thought Netty (Aaronette Vonleh) was going to make that three, and we would be playing overtime.”
The green and gold forced 20 turnovers — the most the Horned Frogs (31-3) committed in a Big 12 game this year — but converted them into just 11 points. Vonleh again led the way with 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting with six rebounds. Graduate guard Sarah Andrews (13) and senior guard Yaya Felder (12) also finished with double figures.
“The biggest takeaway is we have what it takes to play against really good teams and beat them,” Vonleh said. “I think there is this little switch that has to go off in our heads, and we’re going to work toward that. We have what it takes in our locker room to win against anybody, and we just have to believe that.”
Picking up where she left off after a career-high 37-point game in the semifinals, Vonleh scored Baylor’s first points. But the hot start wasn’t indicative of what was in store for her first half, as she shot 1-for-6 in the quarter. The Horned Frogs traded baskets early and doubled up first quarter rebounds to take a 15-11 lead after 10 minutes.
After a TCU 3-pointer opened the second quarter, the Bears forced six straight turnovers but only scored two points off of them. Baylor forced 14 turnovers in the first half — more than the Horned Frogs gave away in the quarterfinals and semifinals. However, due to a lack of scoring and two Madison Connor 3-pointers, Collen called a timeout with the deficit at 26-15 with 3:34 on the clock.
Baylor made just three baskets in the second quarter, allowing the top-seeded Horned Frogs to take a 30-19 lead into halftime. Vonleh and junior forward Bella Fontleroy picked up two fouls early, playing just 10 and eight minutes in the first half, respectively.
Fontleroy played only two minutes in the third quarter before picking up two more fouls and returning to the bench. Vonleh, on the other hand, found her groove. The center pinned Sedona Prince in the paint and made her first three second-half buckets, pulling Baylor within seven midway through the third.
Felder scored 10 of her 12 points to close the quarter, but the Bears still trailed 51-43 heading into the fourth. Baylor scored five more points in the third quarter (24) than in the first half (19).
“This team was great,” Andrews said. “We battled back from down at halftime. I’m going to give us a day to hang our head on it. But at 11:59, 12:00 tonight, it’s time to move on and get ready for the NCAA Tournament.”
In her final Big 12 tournament game, Andrews wasn’t ready to give up without a fight. The graduate guard scored six quick points, and with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game, Vonleh tossed up a layup to tie the game at 57-all. But TCU’s all-conference stars punched back.
Prince, who finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, converted a layup, and graduate guard Hailey Van Lith extended the lead to four with a blow-by layup with 48 seconds left. Hounded by a double team all night, Van Lith made all 10 of her free throws and finished with 20 points.
After a Baylor miss, TCU needed to hold onto the ball to clinch a win, but tight defense forced Van Lith out of bounds, allowing one more opportunity. Back against the wall, Vonleh made a layup with 11 seconds left, and both teams used timeouts. Now forced to foul, Baylor sent Connor to the line, where she made 1-of-2 from the stripe, setting up a three-point game.
Drawing up a play similar to Vonleh’s layup, the post took a pass behind the arc and didn’t hesitate on a straightaway triple. Right on line, her shot grazed off the front of the rim — just a fraction short of sending the game to overtime. After two more TCU free throws, it was over; the Horned Frogs won their second Big 12 title deciding game over the Bears in one week, 64-59.
“I know analytically, maybe, it looks like I wouldn’t do that, but I think it was the easiest way to get a clean look for three,” Collen said. “And I’ve seen Netty make a lot of those. We made her shoot ’em in preseason a lot, and I’ve seen her knock down a lot of them.”
The Bears will eagerly await their March Madness seeding and determine whether they will host the first two rounds in Waco during the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament selection show at 7 p.m. on March 16 on ESPN.
