Takeaways from Baylor's Clutch Victory Against Nebraska

The NCAA tournament kicked off on the women’s side today with the Baylor Bears taking center stage against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Durham, North Carolina.

Baylor came into the tournament as a sixth seed, and was favored to win against a Nebraska team that was part of their first four games to kick off the tournament earlier in the week.

The Bears got off to a fast start in the first quarter, stretching their lead to eight at the end of the first quarter.

That was the good news.

The bad news? They were only able to muster eight points in the second quarter as Nebraska climbed back into the game to take a 28-27 lead at halftime.

None of Baylor’s scorers were able to tally more than six points in a first half that was much more of a defensive struggle.

The second half saw both teams open up the scoring a little bit, but missed free throws and other opportunities led Baylor to a five minute scoring drought, and a deficit as bit as seven points. Add it all together and Baylor was facing a six point fourth quarter deficit they had to overcome if they wanted to move to the second round.

As it turns out, the game came down to the wire, but some clutch shooting gave the Bears a victory and movement into the second round.

Here are our takeaways from Baylor’s clutch first round victory.

Lid on the Rim

The first half of Friday’s game saw the Bears throwing up 13 shots from beyond the arc. The problem? They were only able to knock down two shots from three-point land, so they were not getting the bang for their buck.

In the tournament and really basketball in general, the three point shot is a critical part to any team’s offense. If you’re unable to shoot at least an average percentage from beyond the arc, it’s hard to get any sort of rhythm going offensively.

By contrast, Logan Nissley sank three 3-pointers in the first half for a game high 11 points. That was a big reason that Nebraska was able to erase their deficit in the first half.

2. The Shift

One of the biggest shifts during the game came when Nebraska was able to start finding their way into the paint. Baylor was expected to have an advantage in points in the paint due to their powerful frontcourt, and most of the first half, that held true.

As the half wore on, however, Nebraska started to find some cracks in the armor, and work their way inside.

Nebraska’s second basket of the half came in the paint, and they made a concerted effort to attack the interior of Baylor’s defense. They were able to force some foul trouble as a result.

Baylor, to their credit found their way offensively as well. They continued to work inside and try and find their way to score, or get to the free throw line.

3. Survive and Advance

The Baylor women entered the fourth quarter looking at the fight for their lives. They trailed by six, and needed to make that deficit up to set up a second round matchup with Duke.

In March, they don’t ask how you won, they ask if you were able to survive and advance.

It looked like Baylor was set to fade into the sunset after a big three from Nebraska’s Britt Prince put the Cornhuskers up by nine to start the fourth quarter.

Instead, Baylor fought back with a 7-0 run to pull them within two.

With four minutes to play, that deficit was eliminated. Baylor tied the game on the strength of a free throw from Kiersten Johnson to knot the game at 53.

From there, Baylor’s defense, clutch free throw shooting, and a basket from their star decided the game for them.

Taliah Scott took the ball to her left with the Bears leading 62-59, and made a tough, contested layup to give the Bears a five point lead with just 21.9 seconds to play.

That was enough to give the Bears a win, and as a result, they’ve survived and advanced to play on Sunday against Duke.

Because of that, they were able to overcome the brilliance of Britt Prince on the other