Missouri women’s basketball traveled to Waco, Texas, for a Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup against No. 5 Baylor Saturday night. The Tigers fell inches short of forcing overtime after junior guard Lauren Hansen’s last-second shot clanked off of the rim in the 70-68 defeat. 

Missouri’s foul trouble limited its attack on both sides of the ball and gifted the Bears 32 attempts from the free throw line. Baylor connected on 18 of those attempts to propel its offense over a gritty Tigers lineup.

“That foul trouble really hurt us,” Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said. “You cannot send a team to the free throw line 32 times. You’re going to make it a long, long night on yourself.”

The Bears jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter against Missouri’s starting five and looked as if they might run away with the game. However, junior guard Aijha Blackwell sparked the Tiger offense with seven points to cut Baylor’s advantage to five late in the first quarter.

After a Hansen layup and junior forward Haley Frank’s 3-point basket, the Tigers tied the Bears at 12 points apiece. Baylor finished the quarter with a successful free throw by senior forward Caitlin Bickle, which gave the Bears a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Missouri’s seven first-quarter turnovers only resulted in two points for Baylor, but the mistakes highlighted one of the Tigers’ sloppiest quarters of the season. The Bears consistently used their defensive pressure to force bad decisions and limit Missouri’s efficient offense. 

Both teams continued to trade baskets throughout the second quarter, which led to a 20-20 tie with 6:34 remaining. Baylor then used a 5-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to take the lead going into the final minutes of the first half.

The Bears’ momentum helped them close out the half on an 11-7 run, which gave them a 36-27 lead at halftime. Senior forward NaLyssa Smith finished the half with 15 points, including eight points during the late second-quarter surge. 

The Tigers entered halftime shooting below their season average, with a 40% clip from the field and 25% mark from beyond the arc. However, Blackwell accumulated 11 points and 9 rebounds in the half to keep Missouri within striking distance.

“You know that first half for us was probably one of the rougher halves of basketball we’ve had so far this season,” Pingeton said. “[Aijha] kept us in it in that first half, and I thought she competed at a really high level for us tonight.”

Baylor began the third quarter with a quick two points, which gave the Bears an 11-point advantage, the largest lead either team had all night. The Tigers responded with several drives to the basket, resulting in easier opportunities and cutting their deficit to 48-43 with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter. Missouri and Baylor traded baskets for the rest of the third quarter, which ended with a 56-52 Bears lead. 

Blackwell scored 9 of her 20 points in the third quarter alone, while Bickle provided 6 points for Baylor. Missouri outscored the Bears 25-20 in the quarter and regained its offensive efficiency with a 53.3% field goal percentage.

“I think we were able to regroup, recalibrate and really came out battling in that second half,” Pingeton said. 

The Tigers’ momentum carried over into the fourth quarter, where Missouri captured its first lead of the game. After an unsuccessful 3-pointer from Baylor sophomore guard Sarah Andrews, Missouri redshirt senior guard Haley Troup drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Tigers a 60-57 lead and force a Bears timeout.

Baylor then held Missouri scoreless for over four minutes, to restore a nine-point lead. During the Tigers’ scoreless stretch, Blackwell fouled out, which meant that another Missouri player had to lead any comeback. 

On the Tigers’ first possession after the Bears’ hot streak, Hansen delivered a step-back 3-pointer from the wing to cut Baylor’s lead to six. A series of misses followed, and Pingeton called a Missouri timeout with 1:10 remaining. 

The Tigers capitalized quickly out of the timeout with an offensive rebound by Frank and a short jumper by redshirt senior LaDazhia Williams. Missouri’s defensive intensity paid off with a steal by Hansen, who then drained another 3-pointer to bring the Tigers within one point at 69-68. 

After a foul by Missouri, Andrews stepped to the line with an opportunity to extend Baylor’s lead, but she missed both free throws and gave the Tigers a chance to take the lead. Hansen grabbed the rebound, hustled down the court and airballed a contested 3-pointer with 0:16 remaining to give the ball right back.

Once again, Missouri fouled on the inbound and sent Bears graduate guard Jordan Lewis to the free throw line for two shots. After missing her first shot, Lewis made the second and extended the Baylor lead to 70-68.

The final Tigers’ possession began with a drive by Troup who found Hansen in the corner. Hansen jump-faked a 3-pointer, drove towards the basket and pulled up for a jumper. The ball met the rim mid-flight and clanked off, handing Missouri its first loss of the season.

“I’m really proud of them,” Pingeton said. “We all wanted this. But again, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we are going to have more opportunities as we go through the course of the season.”

The Tigers couldn’t overcome its foul trouble and shaky start to upset the country’s No. 5 team. Instead, Missouri dropped to 8-1 and fell inches short of forcing an extra period against Baylor. The Tigers venture back to Missouri for a game against in-state rival Missouri State Friday night at 7 p.m.

Key Stats:

• Blackwell earned her sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 16 rebounds. 
• Smith earned her eigth double-double of the season for the Bears with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
• Troup added 16 points for the Tigers, while Bickle finished with 11 points for Baylor.
• Baylor extended its winning streak at home against non-conference opponents to 64 games. 
• Missouri fell to 5-17 against the Bears all-time. 

Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com