Notre Dame Defeats Baylor 77-68, Earns Fifth Consecutive Trip to Final Four
Notre Dame fans didn’t need another heartbreak after yesterday’s men’s game saw them come up short. Kim Mulkey and her Baylor Bears had fans squirming a bit–until Lindsay Allen came up big for the second game in a row. With Jewell Loyd struggling, Allen took the reigns to help lead the Irish to the 77-68 victory, and a fifth-straight trip to the Final Four.
In a game that most expected to feature the Bears’ Nina Davis and Loyd of the Irish, it was Davis who took center stage. Davis scored 26 points, while grabbing 13 rebounds as she seemed to be willing the Bears to the upset. Her and Sune Agbuke had their run in the paint early on, mirroring the men’s contest against Kentucky last night.
The Irish (35-2) are still waiting for Loyd to have that breakout game in the tournament. If she’s saving it, that’s great–but it may be time to pull it out soon. She scored 13 points for the Irish, but shot a woeful 5-of-18 from the field, and only 3-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Michaela Mabrey was the hot hand early for Notre Dame, hitting on 4-of-4 from three, scoring 14 points for Muffet McGraw’s team. But she was little action in the second half as she experienced some dizziness at the end of the half, as McGraw went with Madison Cable and Hannah Huffman instead.
The Bears (33-4) took the early lead, jumping out to a 26-17 lead while hitting 10 of its first 18 shots. But momentum seemed to shift when Baylor’s Agbuke was called for a flagrant foul for an elbow to the side of Brianna Turner’s head. Baylor, up 27-21 at the time of the foul, would trail 39-37 going in at the break.
Turner would post a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, as her and Taya Reimer did enough to slow the Bears inside game in the second half. Baylor held a +5 rebounding advantage in the first half, but the Irish battled on the glass in the second, winning the battle on the glass for the game with a 43-38 advantage.
Notre Dame will now head to Tampa to face South Carolina in the Final Four on Sunday.