No. 9 Baylor 62, Oklahoma State 61

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ If Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson has anything to say about it, Oklahoma State will make it into the NCAA Tournament. <br><br>The Cowgirls (14-14, 6-9 Big 12) nearly knocked

Monday, February 25th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ If Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson has anything to say about it, Oklahoma State will make it into the NCAA Tournament.

The Cowgirls (14-14, 6-9 Big 12) nearly knocked off its third ranked opponent in 11 days, but Baylor's Danielle Crockrom banked in a jump shot at the buzzer to lift the ninth-ranked Bears (23-4, 11-4) to a 62-61 win.

``That's a good basketball team out there,'' Mulkey-Robertson said of the Cowgirls. ``They're playing well and they're confident. They'll get a postseason bid.

``You just hope it's an NCAA bid.''

The Cowgirls rallied from a 12-point deficit and took a 61-60 lead on Chantoya Hawkins' driving layup with 4.2 seconds to play.

After a timeout, Crockrom caught a long inbound pass from Stasha Richards near halfcourt, dribbled to the foul line and made the winning shot.

``Sheila (Lambert) was supposed to get the shot off a screen,'' Crockrom said. ``But it took us a while to get the ball in and Stasha saw me. I didn't know I was going to get that deep.

``But I knew where I was, I knew the time was running down, and I knew I was lined up with the goal, because I was dribbling down the center.''

Lambert scored 18 points and helped Baylor overcame a sluggish first half. The Bears missed 15 of their first 19 shots in falling behind 21-8, but surged back behind Lambert, who scored 10 points in the final 9:36 of the opening half.

Baylor pulled within 29-28 at halftime, then went ahead 47-35 early in the second half.

But the Cowgirls rallied and scored eight consecutive points late, capped by Hawkins' go-ahead layup.

``I think the last five minutes of the game, we executed our plays, got the shot we wanted and made the shot most of the time,'' OSU coach Dick Halterman said. ``Crockrom makes one that is just a prayer. But it went in. It's a tough way to lose.''

Lambert added 10 rebounds and seven assists for Baylor. Brooke McCormack added 14 points and Nicole Collins 11.

Oklahoma State was led by Trisha Skibbe's 15 points and 12 rebounds.