Kim Mulkey, coach for the Baylor women’s basketball team, was in utter disbelief after the clock ran out on Sunday.
Her team was riding on a 58-game Big 12 regular season win streak, ranked No. 2 in the country, and was just one second away from overtime to help get that streak extended to 59.
But Iowa State had different plans. With one second remaining on the clock, Didi Richards was called for a foul that sent Cyclones star, Ashley Joens, to the free throw line. Jones went on to hit the first of the two shots, securing a one-point victory for her team.
“You would have liked to see that go overtime,” said Mulkey, whose team lost its first conference game since Feb. 6, 2017.”… Doesn’t matter if she fouled or didn’t foul. It was called, you live with it, you move on.”
With 37 seconds left in the game, Iowa State went up 56-53 after a layup by Joens, and Baylor tied it up the next possession off a 3-pointer by Juicy Landrum. After a timeout was taken by both teams, Joens drove to the basket and drew the foul that sent her to the line.
The only other loss that Baylor has suffered this season came in November in a game against No. 1 South Carolina. But Mulkey has made it clear that her team is not focused on streaks, and they will just try to start another one.
Joens had a rough night, only shooting 3-of-18 from the field, but still came up clutch when she needed to, draining 3-of-4 free throws, including the one to earn the win.
It was a rough end for the regular season for Baylor, but they still have a promising show ahead of them in the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. They are sure to be one of the No. 1 seeds for the national tournament, earning them some benefits in terms of location and quality of opponents.
The win certainly gives a lot of momentum to Iowa State who are now taking that into the tournaments as well. We will see if they can take that and convert it into wins and successes.
The Big 12 tournament begins this week.
