For 33 minutes last night's Big XII final looked very much like K-State's semifinal. Faced with a bigger and far more athletic team, the Wildcats missed early shots, fell into a deep hole, and staged a heroic comeback. Wecker, Koehn, MacIntyre and company cut Baylor's lead from 17 to 4.

Then Megan Mahoney missed a rebound, landed wrong, collapsed, lay there while Baylor scored in the resulting 5-on-4, had to be helped off the floor, and later left on crutches.(She scored 17.) Though K-State cut the lead again with a three-pointer, their playmaking mostly collapsed after Mahoney did, and the Bears put the game away with free throws, making 9 of their last 10, even though Baylor started 2-9 from the line.

Sophia Young (18 points) looked great on both ends-- Baylor guard Chelsea Whittaker calls her "the answer to everything." Coach Mulkey-Robertson praises Whittaker; notes Abiola Wabara's strong defense on Wecker (who shot only 5-15); and remembers when Baylor crowds only came for the pizza.

Speaking of crowds, last night's sellout could not have been more partisan if the game had simply taken place in Bramlage, and the pro-'Cat roar had to affect the officiating; Young and Blackmon both picked up four fouls.

Baylor will hope for a number-one seed; K-State, a lock for the tournament, will hope (and fear) for Mahoney.