Baylor Upsets No. 1 LSU

There was no bad karma this time. No unexplained fumbles, no gift baskets with less than a second to play.

But for the second consecutive year, Louisiana State wasn’t good enough to reach the women’s national championship basketball game.

That honor went to Baylor, a No. 2-seeded team that trailed No. 1-seeded LSU by 15 points in the first half but eventually overcame the Tigers, 68-57, Sunday in the opening Final Four semifinal.

“We just beat, in my opinion, the most talented team in the country this year, and the best player in the country,” said Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson. “We’re down 15, and I’m looking at my coaches and thinking we’re getting embarrassed on national television. I challenged my players, and again what warriors they are.”

Thanks in part to 21 points and 10 rebounds by All-American forward Sophia Young, Baylor (32-3) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 19 games. Abiola Wabara and Emily Niemann also contributed 12 points each.

LSU All-American forward Seimone Augustus, the player Mulkey-Robertson referred to, had 22 points. But she struggled through a 10-for-26 shooting night, and she didn’t get a lot of help. Only three other LSU players scored.

“We have a quote in our locker room,” LSU Coach Pokey Chatman said. “It says ‘You don’t always get what you want, you get what you earn.’ I’m sure our team wanted to win, but we didn’t go out and do a whole lot to earn it.”

It appeared early the Tigers might run the Bears all the way back to Waco, Texas, when LSU ripped off a 17-2 run midway through the first half to establish a 24-9 lead.

But Baylor regrouped during a timeout, slowed down the game and made LSU (33-3) operate in the halfcourt instead of the open court. The Tiger offense stagnated, Young started warming up and by halftime Baylor had tied the score, 28-28.

“It’s always good to have the momentum going into the locker room,” Niemann said. “That was big for us.”

The score remained close for most of the second half, but the biggest lead LSU could manage was 47-41. The Tigers had trouble solving the ever-changing defensive schemes of the Bears and struggled primarily against the 2-2-1 and 1-3-1 zones, making 23 of 56 shots (41.1%).

Baylor was slightly better (24 of 56, 42.9%) but got more on the inside because of Young’s determination against 6-foot-5 LSU freshman Sylvia Fowles, and the successful slashing to the basket in the second half by Niemann and Wabara.

The Bears took the lead for good, 52-51, and outscored LSU, 14-6, in the final six minutes.