INDIANAPOLIS -Baylor's motto was Finish the job. Emily Niemann couldn't wait to get started.
Niemann, the unlikeliest hero on an unlikely champion, played like an All-American against Michigan State -hitting big 3-pointers early, playing tight defense in the paint and staking the Lady Bears to a huge lead that Michigan State would never overcome.
I think she was the whole key to this game
Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. If you take 51 off the floor it was a different game. She was definitely the X-factor.
While Baylor's All-Americans Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon did the bulk of the scoring and rebounding, as usual, it was Niemann, a self-described gym rat, who proved the catalyst in leading the Bears to an 84-62 victory for their first national championship.
Young and Blackmon combined for 48 points and 16 rebounds, but Niemann arguably had the bigger role.
The bulky 6-foot-1 forward, who looks more like a post player than a 3-point specialist, finished with 19 points -one short of her career-high -and nearly tied the championship game record of six 3-pointers. She hit all five of her 3s in the first half and got the Bears (33-3) into their regular offense by shredding Michigan State's vaunted zone defense.
If you look at the film the kid is three feet off the line McCallie said. We definitely had her scouted ... but she hit a couple of threes that were unbelievable.
It was just what Baylor needed after throwing the ball away three times in the first three minutes, and coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson didn't wait long to insert her secret weapon.
Once Emily starts hitting
that's pretty much all she wrote
Bears guard Chelsea Whitaker said. She's pretty much automatic.
Niemann wasted no time. Her first two 3s were Baylor's first points. After that, Michigan State scrambled defensively and never really found an answer.
While the looks and screens kept coming, Niemann didn't stop shooting. And when Michigan State extended its zone defense to take away Niemann's open looks, Young and Blackmon broke free on the inside.
It felt good tonight
she said. It feels good every night
but it felt really good tonight.
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