NaLyssa Smith sighed, stared down at the court and shook her head as she headed to the bench after Baylor called a timeout as a means to correct itself following a South Dakota 3-pointer that shockingly put the Bears at an 11-0 disadvantage.
It was hard for anyone to fathom No. 2 seed Baylor sputtering instead of steamrolling in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.
In its previous 12 tournament appearances, the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 or beyond — the fourth longest streak in tournament history. In those endeavors, they moved on by throttling their second-round opponents by an average margin of victory of 26 points — including five second-round wins in that span that came by more than 30 points.
So yes, to see Baylor stumbling at all was disconcerting but to see them out of the bracket in the first weekend? Unimaginable most years.
Yet the Bears never found their footing against No. 10 seed South Dakota and marched off the court in a daze on March 20, 2022, with a 61-47 loss that snapped their Sweet 16 streak.
To be fair, South Dakota was no typical No. 10 seed. The Coyotes’ top three players — Chloe Lamb, Hannah Sjerven and Liv Korngable — were fifth-year seniors with loads of playing experience. They had just knocked off a talented No. 7 seed in Ole Miss.
The loss…
