By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baylor’s 30th trip to the Big 12 tournament ended early, as the No. 3-seeded Bears fell to Colorado in an upset 53–62 first round exit Friday in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The numbers painted the picture as the Bears (24–8, 13–5 Big 12) struggled to buy a bucket, shooting 19-for-62 from the floor, 3-for-21 from deep and 57% from the line, while Colorado (22–10, 11–7 Big 12) found its offensive groove early and often behind Desiree Wooten’s 21 points off the bench and Zyanna Walker’s 19.
Holding the lead for all but two minutes of the night, the Buffaloes took control from the opening tip and never loosened its grip, leaving Baylor chasing the board all night.
“Super disappointed. I don’t think we brought our A game or even our B game tonight,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “If I had to grade us, I’d give us a D. But I also think Colorado is really good at what they do. They know who they are, and I think the toughest teams win in March.”
Baylor’s starters anchored the team all season, but the group never found its rhythm Friday night, misfiring on open looks and coughing up possessions under pressure.
The starting five opened the game 2-for-19 from the floor with seven first-half turnovers, sending Collen searching down the bench early for a lineup that could shift the momentum.
“Today they didn’t have it. I don’t think we were locked in. I think we missed defensive assignments early — that was the most frustrating thing,” Collen said. “Our ball-screen coverage, our rotations — it wasn’t good enough. I thought our breakdown with that starting group was defensively, and then they didn’t make up for it on the offensive end.”
With the starters spending extended minutes on the bench, Collen turned to her reserves in search of a spark. Redshirt junior point guard Ella Brow answered the call, logging a season-high 18 minutes and dishing out three assists while going 2-for-2 from the floor.
“My mentality is [to] always to be ready. Being able to go into the game, I knew that our team needed something, and that was energy, changing the momentum of the game,” Brow said. “That’s what I tried to do, and it wasn’t enough.”
Despite mounting a late push in the fourth quarter — out-rebounding the Buffaloes and trimming the deficit to seven with just over three minutes remaining — Baylor couldn’t seize the momentum, as missed free throws halted the rally and the early damage proved too much to overcome.
“I’m not really focused on the positives right now, but by 10 a.m. tomorrow I’ll have moved on, because my team needs me to move on,” Collen said. “If this doesn’t wake them up, it’s going to be a real short trip in the NCAA Tournament for us. We have to be tougher, we have to be more connected, execute better — we need each other. We have to stop talking and start doing.”
With the Big 12 Tournament behind them, the Bears now await their fate on Selection Sunday. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be unveiled at 7 p.m. on March 15 on ESPN.
