By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big12Sports.com Correspondent

WACO, Texas - Actress turned aerobics maven Jane Fonda was fond of using the phrase "No pain, no gain" as she inspired Spandex/Lycra-clad ladies in 1980s sweat sessions.  The idea was that all improvement comes with sacrifice.

There was a game played here in the Ferrell Center Sunday night, meaning there would be a winner and a loser. The lessons and experience gained far outweighed the result.

"We're a grown team but we've still got a lot of things to do," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said.

"The outcome wasn't important," said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, he of the seven national championships. "Not many teams are gonna come in here and be up by 11 in the second half. The only thing we're leaving here without is a win. Both teams should come out of this game feeling pretty good."

Top-ranked Baylor stood toe-to-toe with a second-ranked Connecticut and the foes slugged it out for 15 rounds/40 minutes. The Lady Bears, who twice let the Huskies take control with impressive runs, turned the final 13 minutes into winning time.

Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims combined to score 25 of Baylor's final 30 points as the Lady Bears (11-0) pulled away for a 66-61 victory, their second triumph in four weeks over the nation's second-ranked team.

Griner, who had never forgotten last year's loss to Connecticut whe Baylor couldn't hold a late lead, had 25 points, nine rebounds and a season-high nine blocked shots. Her 451 career blocks is a Big 12 Conference record.

"I was trying to be everywhere on the floor," Griner said. "When we got down 11 we kept our composure. Odyssey was a big part of it. Her pressure on the ball, getting after it and getting us into our offense were big factors."

While Griner and Sims (23 points, four steals) were dominant, the game's turning point came with just under five minutes remaining. The Huskies (who only attempted three free throws) made two from the line to take a 56-55 lead.

Senior Terran Condrey responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing to give Baylor the lead for good.

"I thought it was short, I didn't think I jumped very high," said Condrey, who was crashing toward the basket as the ball rippled the net for a 58-56 lead with 4:30 remaining.

"What Terran is doing for our team, she's playing both ends of the floor with such intensity," Mulkey said. "She wanted to get it inside to Britney and she saw an opportunity to shoot. When it goes in, it's 'Good shot.' If she misses it's 'Why the heck didn't you get it to Griner?'"

The Huskies (9-1) closed the first half with a 13-2 run fueled by 3-pointers and sophomore point guard Bria Hartley (25 points). Connecticut's 34-28 halftime lead was Baylor's biggest deficit of the season.

UConn's 3-point shooting heat continued into the second half. The Huskies hit five triples in the first seven minutes. Freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut's leading scorer, nailed a 3-pointer with 13:17 to play, capping a 13-2 run and giving her team a 50-39 lead.

The Huskies missed their next 10 3-point attempts.

"I'd like to credit our defense, but I don't know if our defense was any better or worse," Mulkey said. "As the game wore on, fatigue could have been a factor. What we did for the game was limit their layups. Against Connecticut, you can't give up 3-pointers and layups."

Griner's defense of the basket was all the more remarkable considering that the Huskies brought their bigs to the free throw line and ran their offense through the high post. They spread the floor, which resulted in 29 3-point attempts (out of 57 shots).

But Griner was still able to cover the 15 feet from the foul line to the basket to record her first eight blocks.

"The (Big 12 blocked shots record) is my most favorite accomplishment," Griner said. "Shot blocking is what I love the most, better than a dunk."

Her attention was not drawn to the blocked shot column, though. In last year's one-point loss at Connecticut, Griner missed 8 of 13 free throws. Sunday night, she made all seven attempts including six in the last 10 minutes as the Lady Bears were wrenching control of the outcome.

"The first thing I looked at was my free throws," Griner said. "I knew I had to knock 'em down. Now, I can forget last year's game."

Griner's ninth block shot came with the Bears leading 66-58. Hartley attempted a 3-pointer but Griner appeared to reject the shot into the scorer's table.

"How many players can cover that much space and block shot like that," Mulkey asked, knowing the answer.

Both teams wore Nike-supplied warm up t-shirts that read, respectively, "Baylor basketball never stops" and "UConn basketball never stops." It was a marketing slogan that was illustrated for 40 minutes. A sellout crowd of 10,627 witnessed a game worthy of any Final Four.

"For 35 minutes, we were good enough to win the game," Auriemma said. "Their aggression took over the game in the last five minutes or so. When you're on the road and you allow that to happen, your chances of winning aren't great. We're not where we need to be against this game in this building against this team."

It was Baylor's first victory over Connecticut in three tries and Sunday's game ended a home-and-home contract. Auriemma is all for the series continuing if scheduling can be worked out.

"I'd like to play a game like this 15 times," he said.

Mulkey also wants to keep the series going but she doesn't see it as unique.

"I feel like we do play 15 games like this in the Big 12," she said.