Against all odds, Arizona came back from a 17-point deficit to force overtime, but couldn’t put a bow on it as Baylor edged the Wildcats, 81-76 Wednesday at McKale Center.
Forward Isis Beh had a season-high 18 points (on an efficient 8 of 10 from the field), scoring the last four points of regulation — both on inbounds passes from freshman Mailien Rolf — to send the game into overtime at 71-71. Baylor went on to outscore UA 10-5 in the extra period.
Arizona forward Isis Beh (33) hoists a up the game tying shot at the buzzer over Baylor guard Bella Fontleroy (22), forcing overtime in their Big 12 game in Tucson, Jan. 8, 2025.
On the first inbounds play, Jada Williams set a screen that gave Beh a clear path under the basket. The second one was an inbounds lob to Beh, who finished.
Beh said her aggressive shooting was as simple as “I shot it when I was open because my coaches have been on me to shoot it when I’m open.”
She added six rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Arizona drops to 11-6, 2-2 Big 12, while Baylor improves to 13-3, 3-1.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes said after the game that she was proud of how her team “did a really good job together, staying cohesive together, and they believed, and they did a great job of fighting, scratching, doing whatever they needed, even with foul trouble, and finding a way to come back in the game.
“... (We) gave ourselves a chance to win,” she said.
Baylor led 39-26 at halftime. In the second half, the Wildcats outscored the Bears 45-32. Over the last 4½ minutes of the third quarter, Arizona closed the gap from being down 16 points to only seven at 56-49, and kept chipping away in the 10 minutes.
Paulina Paris, who came off the bench, was aggressive on both ends of the court. She scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. Early on, she drove to the hoop for a score, then tipped the ball off a Baylor player, which led to Beh passing to Breya Cunningham for another basket to cut the lead to 58-53.
Arizona guard Paulina Paris (23) levers up a shot over Baylor guard Jada Walker (11), Jan. 8, 2025.
Williams, who was having a rough day, sat for the last five minutes of the third quarter. Then, in eight minutes of action in the fourth, she reeled off seven points (3 for 3 from the field), with the last one coming on an off-balance shot as the Wildcats pulled within 69-67, with a little more than two minutes left in regulation. She finished with 16 points.
Lauryn Swann, who along with Rolf, started for the second straight game, also scored 16 points, with most of them coming at the line, where she went 9 for 11. She made two free throws to tie the game at 73 with just under three minutes left in overtime.
Cunningham hit her second double-double of the season, with 10 points and 12 rebounds (5 of 7 from the field). She added four steals, two blocks and an assist.
The Wildcats were shorthanded as Montaya Dew and Katarina Knezevic both had the flu and were at home resting.
While it was only a five-point loss for Arizona, the big difference was the missed rebounds (outrebounded 46-30) that turned into 15 second-chance points for Baylor.
Arizona guard Lauryn Swann (1) finds the seam between Baylor guard Sarah Andrews (24), left, and Baylor guard Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (5) in the third quarter of their Big 12 game at McKale Center, Jan. 8, 2025.
“I think down the stretch, what really hurt us was offensive rebounds,” Barnes said. “If you take away the offensive rebounds, we win the game. (Darianna Littlepage) Buggs came in and did a really good job in the second half (11 total rebounds – 8 in second half). There was one possession, I think they had three or four (rebounds) at one time. Those are the little things as a young team that can’t happen to win a game down the stretch, even in a possession ball game.”
