Baylor edges Oregon to reach NCAA Championship Game

UPDATED: April 6, 2019 -- 10:01 a.m. CDT

POSTED: April 6, 2019 -- 8:41 a.m. CDT

TAMPA BAY, FL (Amalie Arena) -- Baylor's dynamic frontcourt duo of Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox combined for 43 points and 18 rebounds to help guide the Baylor Lady Bears to a 72-67 win over the Oregon Ducks in a NCAA semifinal basketball game Friday night.

Baylor (36-1) won despite being outscored 36-0 on three-point shots. Baylor was 0 for 3 from three while Oregon (33-5) made 12 of 32 three-pointers.

"Thirty-two three-pointers is too many for us," Kelly Graves Oregon Head Coach commented. "We're more comfortable in the 25 to 28 range. I just thought we shot a few too many, a couple not so good ones. But that's what they were giving us tonight. If we have a normal shooting night, those threes for twos are more successful."

"I think that style that they play is very good for their personnel," Kim Mulkey, Baylor Head Coach said of Oregon's style of play. "They don't have 6'7" (Brown) and 6'5" (Cox) in the paint. I cannot imagine if they did that they would be shooting that many threes.

"You change and you run offenses based on what your kids are capable of doing. I've been very blessed at Baylor to have the grinders and the Destiny Williams, the list goes on. I think that's why we get post players, is because people whose daughters are big, they don't want to sit there and rebound and kick a ball out to three-point shooters all night, set screens for three-point shooters all night. I think with the post players, they involve our perimeter players. We don't have to shoot a lot of threes."

Oregon used a 9-0 run to lead Baylor 11-4; however, the Lady Bears answered with a 6-0 run to slice Oregon's lead to 11-10. Baylor made 6 of its last 8 field goals while Oregon missed 6 of 8 field goals. Baylor finished the quarter leading 19-15.

Baylor led 29-24 in the fourth quarter before Oregon went on a 10-4 run to finish the second quarter. Sabrina Ionescu's 4 point play with 8 seconds left put Oregon on top of Baylor 34-33 at the half. Ionescu and Baylor's Lauren Cox and Chloe Jackson played the all 20 minutes in the first half. Oregon's Maite Cazorla, Baylor's Juicy Landrum and Didi Richards each played 19 minutes.

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The third quarter featured five ties and five lead changes. Lauren Cox scored on an offensive rebound to give Baylor a 56-55 lead after three quarters. Cox has 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in 30 minutes.

Maite Cazorla hit a three-point shot to break a 61 all tie and put Oregon on top 64-61 with 6:12 remaining in the game. Cazorla's basket capped a 7-0 run by the Ducks over a two minutes span.

Then, Baylor's Twin Towers went to work: Cox scored a layup to end Baylor's scoreless drought that lasted more than two minutes.

Kalani Brown scored in the paint for a 65-64 Baylor lead; then, Cox followed up with another basket in the paint for a 67-64 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the game.

Oregon's Satou Sabally sank a three-point shot which tied the game at 67. Sabally's basket was Oregon's only basket during the last 6:10 of the game. Oregon shot 1 for 12 during that stretch.

With 41 seconds left in the ball game, Chloe Jackson scored layup to put Baylor up 69-67. Oregon had some confusion on the play defensively: Erin Boley and Cazorla bumped into each other on the Lauren Cox pick which allowed Jackson an open drive to the hoop.

"I'm trying to think what we did call because I think we did," Mulkey said to describe the go-ahead basket. "Oh, yes, it was. It's what we call five game. We hadn't run it the whole game. You guys that have followed us all year, you've seen it.

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"Bring Cox up for the single screen, put the shooter in the corner. If they switched, Chloe take her. If they help, then kick it back to Cox at the top. They kind of got confused, she just went in there and got a layup."

Oregon was forced to foul in the final seconds and Baylor iced the game at the foul line.

"I thought we had a couple of defensive breakdowns late," Graves remarked after the game.

Baylor advances to play for its third NCAA championship Sunday night.

"To play for championships. Well, you're getting to play for a championship. We've won 20 Big 12 championships in my tenure there, two national championships. Those kids in that locker room get to play for a championship.

"It's not just those kids in the locker room, really it's all those other kids that are sitting in the stands that played for this program, that are playing for that championship, as well. 'Perseverance' was a big word. We persevered. We're playing Sunday. Y'all be here. I know you will."

NEXT:

National Championship game: Baylor versus Notre Dame Sunday, April 7, at 5 p.m. Central Time, on ESPN.

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