WBB Seeks Eighth Big 12 Postseason Title
3/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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| Baylor vs. Texas Tech March 5 | 1:30 p.m. CT Oklahoma City, Okla. | Chesapeake Energy Arena (8,919 ) TV: FOX Sports Network |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Following back-to-back Elite Eights, the fourth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears' theme all season has been "Eight is not enough."
Apparently, one's not enough, either.
The Lady Bears (30-1, 17-1) wrapped up their sixth consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship with Monday's 74-48 dismantling of eighth-ranked Texas before a sellout crowd of 10,284 at the Ferrell Center.
But they would like nothing better than to add to that hardware collection by winning their sixth straight Big 12 Tournament title.
"When you lace those tennis shoes up, you certainly don't go out there to lose," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose top-seeded Lady Bears will face No. 9 seed Texas Tech (13-17) in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. "The motivation is you're a competitor. The motivation is we've won a lot of these Big 12 tournaments. And you don't want to be part of a team that doesn't win one."
To put it into perspective, Baylor hasn't lost a game at the Big 12 Tournament since falling to 12th-ranked Oklahoma, 59-54, on March 12, 2010, when freshman post Brittney Griner returned from a two-game suspension.
"You're going to get everybody's best shot," said senior point guard Niya Johnson, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick who is averaging 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and a national-best 9.2 assists per game. "You just can't get complacent with those other teams, because they're going to give you their best shot, they're going to hit crazy shots in games. And you've just got to stay in attack mode, because everybody's out here trying to get Baylor."
Tech advanced in the tournament with an 89-84 win over eighth-seeded Iowa State Friday night, with freshman guard Japreece Dean pouring in a career-high 28 points and 6-2 sophomore forward Dayo Olabode adding six 3-pointers and 20 points off the bench. It was the Red Raiders' first tournament victory in four years.
"Baylor is extremely talented," Tech coach Candi Whitaker said. "They're going to get a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They're very, very deep inside, they just keep coming at you. If you're going to upset Baylor, you're going to have to shoot the ball extremely well, be hot from the perimeter and make a lot of first attempts, because you're not going to get second and third opportunities."
More of a perimeter-oriented team, Tech is led by its backcourt tandem of junior Ivonne CookTaylor (14.2 ppg, 5.1 rebounds) and Dean (12.4 ppg, 3.3 assists). But the Red Raiders do have some size inside with Olabode and 6-2 junior center Leashja Grant (7.9 ppg, 6.9 rebounds).
Baylor has won 12 in a row against Tech and swept the regular-season series this year, winning by an average margin of 28 points. Junior All-American forward Nina Davis (15.7 ppg, 6.3 rebounds) posted half of her four double-doubles this season against the Red Raiders, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-43 home win and tallying 21 points and 11 boards in the 66-36 road victory.
"With Tech, you're going to see quickness on the perimeter, you're going to see a little inside, but more of a traditional offense than you would have to defend as opposed to Iowa State," Mulkey said.
Friday's first-round tournament action also saw 10th-seeded Kansas (6-24) upset TCU, 81-64, after going winless during the conference regular season.
The Baylor-Tech winner advances to Sunday's 1:30 p.m. semifinal to face either 24th-ranked Oklahoma (20-9) or Oklahoma State (21-8), who play Saturday's early game at 11 a.m. Baylor has won 17 in a row since opening league play with a 52-45 loss at Oklahoma State on Dec. 30.
"It's funny, because sometimes a loss can be good," Davis said. "It can be a wake-up call, lets you know that you're not as good as you think you are, that you still have a lot of stuff to improve on. I think that just showed us that. In a way, I'm glad we had that loss early rather than late, and I think it was a good wake-up call for us."
Baylor Seeks Eighth Big 12 Postseason Title...
The fourth-ranked and top-seeded Baylor Lady Bears enter the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Championship with a 30-1 overall record and a 17-1 mark in league play and have set their sights on an eighth Big 12 Tournament crown since 2005. Baylor claimed its seventh Big 12 regular season championship and sixth straight crown in 2016, as BU's first title came in 2005 with a 14-2 league record, followed by first-place finishes of 15-1 in 2011, 18-0 in both 2012 and 2013, a 2014 co-championship with West Virginia at 16-2 and another 16-2 finish in 2015. The Lady Bears are the first Big 12 program to win six straight regular season crowns. Baylor won the postseason championship and the Big 12's automatic NCAA Tournament bid in 2005, `09, `11, `12, `13, `14 and `15 and swept the regular season and tourney titles in each of those seasons except 2009
Baylor in the Championship....
Led by head coach Kim Mulkey and winners of 17 straight, Baylor will enter the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as the tournament's top seed. Tournament play begins on Friday, March 4, at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Lady Bears have earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Iowa State and No. 9 Texas Tech on Saturday, March 5, at 1:30 p.m. Baylor is 32-12 overall in Big 12 Championship play, including 15 straight victories. BU's last loss in the Big 12 Championship came in 2010 when it lost to Oklahoma in the semifinals, 59-54.
No. 4/4 Baylor Travels to Big 12 Championship...
- The fourth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears look to extend their 17-game win streak. As the Big 12 Championship's top seed, BU will take on the winner of Friday's Iowa State/Texas Tech contest at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. Baylor enters the contest with an overall record of 30-1 and a 17-1 in league mark. With Monday's, 74-48, win over No. 6 Texas, BU claimed sole possession of its sixth straight and seventh overall Big 12 Conference regular season crown. Since its Dec. 30, league season-opening loss at Oklahoma State, BU has reeled off 17 straight victories.
- Sixteenth-year head coach Kim Mulkey's Lady Bear squad is led on the season by a pair of All-American candidates in forward Nina Davis and guard Alexis Jones with 15.7 and 14.5 points per game, respectively. Senior point guard Niya Johnson, also an All-American candidate, averages 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and a nation-leading 9.2 assists a contest. Johnson's 942 career assists are a Big 12 record and rank eighth on the NCAA career assist list. Freshman post Beatrice Mompremier leads the Lady Bears on the boards with 6.6 an outing while Davis follows with 6.3 a game and Johnson manages 5.3 a contest.
Quick Hits...
- Since its Big 12 Conference season-opening loss at Oklahoma State, Baylor has reeled off 17 straight wins. BU owns the nation's fifth-longest active win streak.
- Through 31 games, Baylor is maintaining a league-leading .484 (928-1,918) field goal percentage which ranks No. 6 nationally.
- Since allowing 37 points in the fourth quarter at TCU on Feb. 10, Baylor, over its last six games, has limited its opponents to 48.0 points a contest while scoring 70.8 points an outing.
- The contest vs. Texas marked BU's 10th ranked opponent of the season; with its 74-48 win over No. 6 Texas on Feb. 29, Baylor is 10-0 vs. ranked opponents on the year.
- At 30-1, Baylor owns its sixth straight 30-win season, seventh under Kim Mulkey and 10th in program history.
- BU ranks No. 9 nationally in season attendance average with 6,445 fans per game.
- BU ranks No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense at .328.
- Baylor averages 46.3 rebounds per game which ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 3 nationally. All told, BU has hauled down 50 or more rebounds 10 times. The Lady Bears recorded a season-best 64 rebounds vs. Iowa State (Feb. 20).
- BU ranks No. 2 nationally in rebound margin at 15.3; Baylor hauls down 46.3 per game to its opponent's 31.0. The Lady Bears are out-scoring their opponents by 24.6 ppg (77.4-52.7) which ranks No. 2 nationally.
- Baylor's current rebounding average (46.3) ranks second to the 2013-14 team that finished the season at 47.3 rebounds per game.
- Baylor is out-scoring its opponents in the paint, 1,334-626. BU is averaging 43.0 ppg in the paint while limiting its opponent to 20.2 ppg.
- Baylor's bench is outscoring its opponents by 11.8 ppg, 803-436 (25.9-14.1).
- Niya Johnson ranks No. 1 nationally in assists per game (9.2) and total assists (275) while standing No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio (3.5). She is one of 10 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award which recognizes the nation's top point guard.
- Johnson needs 58 assists to become the fifth NCAA-era player to drop 1,000 dimes; she currently ranks eighth (942) on the NCAA's career list and needs just four assists to move to No. 6. In fact, Johnson is just the 10th player to record 900 career assists (see complete list on page 8).
- Johnson is one of only five NCAA Division I women's basketball players to record 900 assists and 500 rebounds, as she has 942 assists and 526 rebounds in her career.
- Johnson is the Big 12's all-time assist leader with 942 career dimes.
- Among active NCAA Division I players, Johnson ranks No. 1 in assists per game (6.78), assists (942) and games played (139).
- Nina Davis ranks No. 7 on BU's all-time scoring list with 1,821 points.
- In 13 of 31 games this season, the Lady Bears have shot .500 or better including three contests over .600 -- No. 19 DePaul (.632), Northwestern State (.625) and McNeese State (.606). Games over .500 include: Southern Miss (.535), Cincinnati (.544), No. 20 Michigan State (.551), Grambling (.591), Oral Roberts (.518), TCU (.533), at Iowa State (.500), K-State (.540), Kansas (.554) and Texas (.528).
Big 12 Conference Awards As Selected by Coaches...
- Big 12 Newcomer of the Year - Alexis Jones
- All-Big 12 first-team - Nina Davis (3-time honoree), Niya Johnson (2-time honoree), Alexis Jones; honorable mention, Kristy Wallace.
- All-Defensive team - Niya Johnson
- All-Freshman team - Kalani Brown, Beatrice Mompremier
Vs. Ranked Opponents...
- Baylor is averaging 77.1 points per game vs. its 10 ranked opponents this season.
- Against ranked opponents, two players, Alexis Jones and Nina Davis, are averaging above their season scoring average. Jones scores 19.5 against ranked teams and 14.5 a game overall while Davis averages 19.1 points vs. ranked foes and 15.7 ppg on the season. In addition, sophomore guard Kristy Wallace manages 9.7 an outing vs. ranked opponents and 8.3 a game on the season.
30-Win Seasons...
- Monday's win vs. No. 6 Texas gave Baylor its sixth straight 30-win season, seventh under Kim Mulkey and 10th in program history.
- BU posted 30-win seasons in: 1974-75 (30-11), 1975-76 (31-6), 1976-77 (32-12), 1977-78 (33-8), 2004-05 (33-3), 2010-11 (34-3), 2011-12 (40-0), 2012-13 (34-2), 2013-14 (32-5) and 2014-15 (33-4).
Big 12 Crowns...
- With Monday's (Feb. 29) 74-48 win over No. 6 Texas, Baylor claimed sole possession of its sixth straight and seventh overall Big 12 Conference regular season crown; previously no program had claimed more than three straight regular season titles (Texas Tech (1998-2000) and Oklahoma (2000-02).
- Baylor has won the most regular season Big 12 games and owns the league's best regular season winning percentage:
Baylor - 234-96, .709 winning percentage
Oklahoma - 212-118, .642 winning percentage
- Baylor was 27-48 (360) in its first four years in the league and 207-48 (.811) since.
- Baylor is 99-6 in regular season Big 12 games over the past six seasons with a league-record 44-straight wins included in that run. That record win string was halted at Kansas (76-60), Jan. 19, 2014.
- Baylor's 14 Big 12 titles are the most in league history, ahead of Oklahoma's 10.
- Baylor has won the most Big 12 Tournament games and owns the league's best winning percentage in the event:
Baylor - 32-12 (.727); Oklahoma - 24-16 (.615)
