Sarah Andrews had 21 points and four assists, including a key 6-0 individual run in the fourth quarter, and teammate Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (13 points, 12 rebounds) put in the little bit of extra effort the Baylor Bears (receiving votes, one point) needed to pull out a 76-70 win over the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones Saturday night at James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
The fourth was tight until Andrews followed her own trey with a floater from the right baseline-turned 3-point play for a 6-0 individual run that gave Baylor the largest lead of the frame to that point at 62-57.
Littlepage-Buggs made it a six-point lead with a layup at 5:35 remaining and poked the ball away from Iowa State on the ensuing possession, leading to a jump ball. The Cyclones received possession on that one, but the next jump ball, which involved Littlepage-Buggs and Nyamer Diew, came at a crucial moment when the Cyclones had the ball down just two with 2:02 to go. So Littlepage-Buggs’ defense earlier proved critical, as did her block of an Ashley Joens jumper at 2:16.
Ja’Mee Asberry followed the key jump ball call with four straight points that built a 70-64 lead and the Bears led by at least five over the remaining 1:13.
In winning, Baylor overcame phenomenal performances by Diew (25 points,…
