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Better with time No. 9 Arkansas holds off No. 8 Baylor 68-59
Updated: Saturday March 17, 2001 2:48 PM
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- In the opening minutes of Saturday's West regional against Baylor, Arkansas coach Gary Blair didn't like what he saw. Twice the ball was loose on the floor, but Blair's players were standing around as Baylor's players dove on the floor. Blair chewed his players out and Arkansas responded with a 68-59 victory to ruin Baylor's first appearance in the NCAA tournament. "The first two plays of the game, we were standing around reaching for the ball while they were on the floor after the ball," Blair said. "We had a little revival meeting and they started to get after it." Arkansas will face the winner between Duke and Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Monday. Arkansas (20-12), which is in tournament for first time since 1998, made just 10 of 35 shots in the first half, including 10 straight misses before the break. But the Lady Razorbacks stayed close by aggressively playing the passing lanes. They had 10 steals in the first half and forced 15 turnovers to stay within 33-28 at halftime. "Arkansas played great defense -- they were quick and anticipated well," said Danielle Crockram, who led Baylor with 19 points and 11 rebounds. "We had way too many turnovers and you can't do that in this tournament and against a team like Arkansas." Lonniya Bragg led Arkansas with 16 points and 14 rebounds. She had five points during a 15-4 run that put Arkansas up 58-47 with 8:26 left. Amy Wright capped the run with a three-point play on a layup. Wright finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Baylor made just 10 of 36 shots in the second half and was 3-for-16 from 3-point range overall. Sheila Lambert had 16 points, but was 4-for-17 from the field. "I'm as proud and happy about this basketball team as I had been winning national championships," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who won titles as a played with Louisiana Tech in 1981 and 1982. "To watch these kids bond and grow and take this program to new
heights was as enjoyable experience I've had in basketball."
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