Notre Dame advances to Final Four with win over Baylor
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Lindsay Allen posted 23 points and seven assists and No. 1 seeded Notre Dame eliminated Baylor with a 77-68 decision on Sunday, winning the Oklahoma City Region and advancing to its fifth straight Final Four.
Michaela Mabrey was perfect from 3-point range in four tries, finishing with 14 points while Brianna Turner had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame (33-4), which trailed by as many as nine in the first half.
The Irish will meet the No. 1 seed out of the Greensboro Region, South Carolina, on April 5 in Tampa Bay.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nina Davis did all she could to keep Baylor (35-2) in the game, tallying 26 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. Sune Agbuke had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Niya Johnson handed out 10 assists.
The Lady Bears opened the game shooting 12-for-18, earning an early 26-17 lead. Their fortunes changed after that, with a 14-5 run the other way leading to a tie game with 6:08 left in the first half.
Allen's jumper late in the period gave Notre Dame a 39-37 halftime lead, which hovered between one and seven for most of the second.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baylor trailed by four late when Alexis Prince missed from deep and Agbuke failed to convert a putback after grabbing the offensive rebound. Madison Cable hit a jumper at the other end, and Allen finished the game with three free throws.
Allen was named the most outstanding player of the regional.