WBB's Top-20 Comeback vs. Maryland Falls Short, 73-68 - BaylorBears.com

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Even when Sarah Andrews missed all seven shots from 3-point range and went 1-for-11 overall in the first half of Sunday's top-20 matchup at the Ferrell Center, Baylor's junior guard wasn't about to stop shooting.
            Catching fire in the second half, Andrews drained four 3-pointers and scored 21 of her career-high-tying 25 points. But it wasn't enough as Diamond Miller scored a career-high 32 points and the 19^th-ranked Maryland Terrapins handed the No. 17 Bears (3-1) their first loss of the young season, 73-68.
            "I felt like she missed a couple shots early and was frustrated," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said, "but when she saw the first one go through the basket and then got a steal . . . that's the most aggressive I've seen her on defense. She has to make plays for us. She's the best combination of size, strength, shooting ability, can make a midrange shot, make the pass."
            But, what she couldn't do is stop the 6-3 Miller, who was 11-of-21 from the field, 2-for-4 from outside the arc and 8-of-10 from the line for the Terrapins (4-1).
            "She plays downhill all the time," Collen said of Miller, who added 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal. "She has a step-through – I thought she got away with a couple of travels today on the spins – but she's long and plays under your armpits. And she's got the angle on you, if you overextend to cut her off, she steps through, she spins off, and she draws fouls."
            Playing their first game without Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell, who suffered an injury in Tuesday's 58-55 win over SMU, the Bears had a dismal first-half shooting (9-of-40) and trailed by double digits at the break, 36-26.
            With Maryland turning it over seven times in the first quarter, including four-straight to start the game, Baylor actually had a 13-12 lead. But, the Bears was 0-for-10 from 3-point range and 4-of-21 overall in the second quarter, getting outscored 24-13.
            Freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who recorded her first double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, kept the Bears in it by scoring 10 points in the first half.
            "I know I have to grow in some areas," Littlepage-Buggs said, "but I think just continuing to grow and bring that energy, because that's what we need. I'm going to try to bring it every game, because that's something we thrive off is energy."
            Starting the third quarter with Jaden Owens' second 3-pointer, Baylor reeled off nine unanswered points and pulled within one, 36-35, on a rebound and putback by Littlepage-Buggs.
            "We could have folded, we could have laid down," said Andrews, who hit a jumper just inside the 3-point line and then got a fast-break layup off a steal in the 9-0 run. "I think I showed that we can battle. They're a great team, they can shoot the ball, but I liked the way we battle. We never laid down."
            Baylor tied it up three times, the last one coming on a Littlepage-Buggs bucket off a steal by Owens and assist from Andrews to make it 46-46 with 1:47 left in the third quarter. But, Miller hit the go-ahead basket on one of her patented scoop layups, then hit a step-back 3-pointer to push Maryland's lead back to 53-47.
            That was part of an extended 15-1 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers by Abby Meyers and Eliza Pinzan at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Terrapins took their biggest lead of the game, 61-47.
            "I thought Baylor did a great job coming out and punching at halftime and really taking away that lead," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "But just seeing the resiliency from our team, the confidence. . . . We're really excited to be taking a road win home."
            Down, but not out, Baylor responded with a 7-0 run that cut the deficit in half. Andrews hit a 3-pointer sandwiched between a pair of Caitlin Bickle buckets. After missing the first three games with a hand injury, Bickle had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting before fouling out with 2:55 left.
            "We were plus-14 with Caitlin Bickle on the floor. Those were 20 good minutes," Collen said. "She makes simple plays, she doesn't rush. The layups that Buggs missed early in the game, Caitlin makes those. She just takes her time, she's not worried about getting blocked, and it's not because she jumps higher. She's played longer, she's played in these games."
            Trailing by just four when Bickle fouled out, Baylor got its only basket in the last three minutes on an Andrews layup with 7.2 seconds left. Miller scored Maryland's last five points from the free throw line, where the Terrapins were 13-of-16 compared to just 12-of-22 for the Bears.
            "We've got to get in the gym a little more and knock down open 3's and free throws," said Andrews, who was 8-of-11 in the second half, adding six assists, four steals and three rebounds. "That's where we're struggling, honestly, is open 3's. I think if we knock down shots, everything else becomes easier."
            Princeton transfer Abby Meyers had a double-double for the Terrapins and was their only other double-figure scorer with 13 points, 10 boards and four assists.
            The Big 12 leader in assists, Owens added nine points, six assists and four steals for the Bears. Baylor forced 19 turnovers and doubled up the Terrapins in points off turnovers, 22-11, while losing a tight rebounding battle, 43-37.
            Next up for the Bears is a trip to Estero, Fla., for the Gulf Coast Showcase, where they will face Saint Louis (1-5) at 10 a.m. CT Friday. The other first-round pairings in the bracketed tournament are Belmont (1-3) vs. 24^th-ranked Villanova (4-0), No. 23 Michigan (4-0) vs. Air Force (3-1) and Georgia Tech (3-1) vs. South Florida (5-0).

NOTABLES

Baylor moved to 3-1 on the year after falling to Maryland, 73-68, on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears' 68 points were the third-most scored in a game this year by Baylor and the second-most allowed by the Terrapins.
BU's meeting with Maryland was the first top-20 regular-season non-conference game inside the Ferrell Center since No. 1 UConn traveled to Waco during the 2018-19 slate, as the then-No. 8 Bears secured a 68-57 victory.
The loss by Baylor marks the first regular-season non-conference setback at home since falling to UConn, 66-55, during the 2013-14 campaign.
The Bears forced 19 turnovers, marking the third time in four games this year that BU has forced its opponents to turn the ball over 19-plus times.
Fifth-year senior Caitlin Bickle made her first appearance of the season and earned the start after being sidelined for injury to start the year. The start was just the third of her career, as she finished with 10 points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
Offensively, junior Sarah Andrews led the way for the Bears, matching a career-high 25 points. Additionally, the guard dished out six assists and fell a steal shy of matching a career high in the category, finishing with four.
Andrews logged a team-high 37 minutes and reached double-figure scoring for the 22nd time in her career and fourth-straight game.
Rookie Darianna Littlepage-Buggs picked up where she left off on the boards, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds while adding a career-high 16 points for her first career double-double.
Senior Jaden Owens matched a team-best six assists, leading the Bears in the category in every game this season.