No call: Baylor women call foul after NCAA loss to UConn

SAN ANTONIO — DiJonai Carrington first got hit on her elbow, then smacked in the face before falling hard to the floor with Baylor down by one with one second to go in the River Walk final against top-seeded UConn.

Carrington’s shot came up well short after the contact with two defenders. But she didn’t get the opportunity to go the free throw line since no foul was called against the Huskies, who advanced to their 13th consecutive women’s NCAA Final Four with a 69-67 win.

“I personally don’t see it as a controversial call,” Carrington said, when asked about the non-call. “I’ve seen the replay, and one girl fouled me in my face and one girl fouled me in my arm. So, at that point you can’t do anything else.”

UConn (28-1) added a free throw in the final second after No. 2 seed Baylor (28-3), the champion in the last NCAA Tournament played two years ago, committed a foul.

Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said afterward that she had still shots and video from two different angles showing the multiple fouls against Carrington, who was defended by Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

Even NBA superstar LeBron James agreed with Carrington and Mulkey.

“Cmon man!!! That was a FOUL!!,” James tweeted, following that up with another post about what a great game it was.

Carrington also went on Twitter to more express her frustration, with a post that read, “You can’t swallow your whistle when the game is on the line.” She added the emoji of a shrugging woman.

After Carrington made two free throws with 19 seconds left to get Baylor within 68-67, Christyn Williams missed two free throws for UConn before the Lady Bears called timeout. They set up a final play with two options, the first being All-American forward NaLyssa Smith and then Carrington, who finished with 22 points.

“(NaLyssa) got fouled posting up and I got fouled driving,” Carrington said. “Nothing we could really do about that situation in particular. But, ya know, turn the page.”

When Mulkey was asked about the non-call, and the reporter then said she was surprised there was no foul, the coach responded, “Then write it like that. You don’t need a quote from me.”

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said everyone has to live with the call — or non-call — by the officials.

“The bottom line is the officials did what they’re going to do. And if they would have said it was a foul, I would be on the other end going, you can’t make that call and make that call a foul,” Auriemma said. “So it is what it is. I’m not going to sit here and apologize for it. And if people are going to want to talk about that the rest of the week; you’re welcome to do that. It’s not going to change the outcome.”


More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25