Women’s Final Four: Baylor Survives a Battle with Oregon to Reach the Title Game

“You change and you run offenses based on what your kids are capable of doing,” Mulkey said as her young grandson, Kannon, sat on her lap during a news conference after the game. “I think that’s why we get post players, because people whose daughters are big, they don’t want to sit there and rebound and kick a ball out to 3-point shooters all night, set screens for 3-point shooters all night. I think with the post players, they involve our perimeter players. We don’t have to shoot a lot of 3s.”

After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Ionescu, the most dynamic player in the game, took over. With seconds remaining in the first half, she dribbled behind the 3-point arc and let loose a shot with Baylor’s best defender, DiDi Richards, as close as the number on her Ducks jersey.

As her right arm lingered in the air, Richards smacked it hard, sending Ionescu to the floor. Still on the ground, Ionescu turned and stared down Richards with a look that could launch a thousand memes. Enough was enough.

By the end of the half, Ionescu had a dozen points and Oregon had a 34-33 lead.

But Brown and the Lady Bears would not be denied. This was the moment Brown had dreamed about.

“The feeling is unreal,” she said. “I’m still in shock. I’m overwhelmed.”

Mulkey has talked repeatedly about wanting to see Brown rewarded with a championship in her senior year.

The coach has known Brown since she was considerably smaller. Brown’s mother, Dee, played at Louisiana Tech when Mulkey was an assistant there. Mulkey took over as the coach of Baylor in 2000.

Brown’s other parent is P. J. Brown, whose 15-year N.B.A. career ended with his first title in 2008, when he was with the Boston Celtics. Brown was in the arena the night her father hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Now she hopes to hoist her own.