March 20, 2003
Stats
WACO, Texas - Baylor survived a scare Thursday night, slipping past Northern Iowa 58-56 in opening round action of the Women's National Invitational Tournament, held at the Ferrell Center.
After leading the entire second half, the Lady Bears (21-10) needed a lay-up by Ebony Jackson with 2.5 seconds remaining to break a 56-56 tie and fend off the Panthers (18-12).
Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young carried the Lady Bears on what was otherwise a poor-shooting night for Baylor. Blackmon scored 22 points on 6-of-17 shooting to lead Baylor in scoring for the 17th time this season. The sophomore added eight rebounds while recording her 14th 20-point game of the season.
Young, meanwhile, was 8-of-15 from the floor for 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to notch her 15th double-double. The rest of the team shot just 6-for-36 (17 percent) on the evening; as a team, the Lady Bears shot 29.6 percent on the night, their fourth-lowest percentage this year.
Leading 55-54 with 1:51 remaining in the second half, Young missed a jumper and fouled NIU guard Sarah Larsen, whose two free throws gave the Panthers their first lead since the first half at 56-55. Thirty seconds later, Young hit 1-of-2 free throws to again tie the game.
The Lady Bears got the offensive rebound on Young's miss, but after a time out, Blackmon failed to hit on a jumper and Northern Iowa gained possession with 45 seconds left. The Panthers took their time getting off a shot, but when Amy Swisher missed a shot with 24 seconds remaining, the Lady Bears again had a chance to take the lead.
At the point, Jackson ran the clock down, charging down the lane to hit the game-winning lay-up with 2.5 seconds on the clock. NIU called a time out, but Swisher's last-ditch effort fell short as Baylor escaped with the win.
Swisher led the Panthers with 21 points and added 10 rebounds; Larsen paced the visitors with 11 boards.
Baylor advances to the second round of the WNIT and will host second-round action at the Ferrell Center Sunday at 5 p.m., following the conclusion of the Baylor-Oklahoma baseball series at Baylor Ballpark. The Lady Bears will face the winner of Thursday's Arizona State-Hawaii game.
