Baylor knocks out Stanford to advance to NCAA final

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said all year that she needed more than All-Americans Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims to win a national title. In the biggest game of the season, her supporting cast proved her right.

Reserve Terran Condrey scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half to make up for Griner's sub-par night to lead the top-ranked, undefeated Bears to a 59-47 win in the Final Four semifinals Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.

Baylor (39-0) meets Notre Dame (35-3) for the national title Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Baylor beat Notre Dame at home on Nov. 20, 94-81.

Griner, the 6-foot-8 national player of the year, scored only 13 points, 10 under her average, and didn't block a shot until eight minutes remained. Sims, the

All-America point guard, scored only 11 points but her 3-pointer and fastbreak layin in the final 2:30 all but iced it.

The catalyst was Condrey, a senior who hadn't started game since her sophomore year. With Stanford's defense collapsing on Griner, Condrey hit three wide-open jumpers early in the second half. Her two foul shots and back-door layin gave Baylor a comfortable 46-34 lead, forcing a Stanford timeout.

Stanford (34-2) took the usual strategy oft used against Baylor. The difference was Stanford's strategy worked in the first half. The Cardinal slowed the game down to a crawl and lured Griner outside with post players hovering around the foul line.

It opened up the middle and the Cardinal shredded Baylor's defense, with teammates hitting Nneka Ogwumike three times on back-door plays and Toni Kokenis another for a 20-17 lead.

Meanwhile, Stanford's defense kept Griner under wraps. Putting Chiney Ogwumike in back of her and another post in front, Griner was held to only two field goals and seven points in the first half. Sims had only two measly points in the half.

What saved Baylor was perimeter defense. Sims had two steals, leading to one fast-break basket, and Baylor held Stanford to 2-for-12 for 3-point range, helping Baylor to a precarious 25-23 lead.

John Henderson: 303-954-1299, twitter.com/johnhendersonDP or jhenderson@denverpost.com

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