Final Four Ladies – A takeaway from Baylor's win over Oregon

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Cox, not Ionescu, was the double triple threat

Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon's junior guard, is the NCAA's best leader in triple-doubles, but Baylor's Lauren Cox was the best all-around player on the field Friday. The 6 foot 4 inch Cox did the big job with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and she did the little things like setting the perfect screen to free Chloe Jackson for the starting layup with 41 seconds to play. This allowed Baylor to score 69-67 in a game that included 12 draws and 12 goal changes.

On his next trip to Oregon, Cox, on defense, forced Satou Sabally of Oregon to make a long jump in two points rather than a 3-pointer that could potentially give the Advantage to the Ducks. Sabally, who put a 3-pointer with 1:40 to play, missed this time. Baylor secured the rebound and Cox made two free throws at the end of the match to make it a two-handed possession with 18 seconds to play.

Ionescu struggled

Ionescu only made 6 field attempts out of 24, and the 25% penalty shootout was his third worst performance in a game of the season. Cox and 6-7 Kalani Brown are a lot like Baylor, but the length of the Lady Bears on the perimeter – DiDi Richards and Juicy Landrum have spent most of the game watching her – bothered Ionescu. She scored 15 of her 18 points when Richards defended her, but in just 5 out of 14 shots. After a scoreless first quarter, Ionescu scored 12 in the second, giving Oregon a lead. 39, one point at half-time. But the junior guard did not score in the fourth quarter (she was 0-on-7 on the field), with the Ducks shooting only 26.3% in the last 10 minutes.

Battle of styles played as expected

The story was simple: Baylor's prowess on the inside compared to the versatility of shooting at the perimeter of Oregon. And that went exactly as planned. The Ducks could not contain Cox or Brown. The powerful players at Baylor's posts allied to score 43 points on 18 shots out of 26. The Lady Bears finished with a huge advantage of 48-20 on points in the paint. Richards was also a factor inside with 15 points, mostly on short riders in the lane.

At the same time, Oregon beat Baylor 36-0 from the 3-point line. The Lady Bears, who entered the game with less points on 3 points than any team in the country, only tried three. Oregon coach Kelly Graves said his team would need at least 12-3 points to get a realistic chance. That's exactly what the Ducks have achieved – scoring 12 of 32 – with Erin Boley (14 points) and 4 out of 12 attempts and Ionescu hitting 4 out of 11. But they still failed.

Oregon struggled to score in the interior