#4/5 WBB Debuts 2018-19 Season vs. Nicholls at Home Tuesday

Tuesday, November 6

Waco, Texas

6 p.m.

Baylor

Nicholls State

Photo by: Baylor Photography

#4/5 WBB Debuts 2018-19 Season vs. Nicholls at Home Tuesday

11/5/2018 9:29:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Defending Big 12 & Southland Conference champs battle on opening night



	#4/5 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (0-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	#4/5 BAYLOR (0-0) VS.NICHOLLS (0-0) November 6, 2018 • 6 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • The Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: Facebook Live/BaylorBears.com Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) LISTEN: /1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:

	NICHOLLS COLONELS (0-0) Location: Thibodaux, La. Conference: LSC/NCAA DII Head Coach: DoBee Plaisance (Southern Miss, 1986) Roster \| Stats

WACO, Texas – Baylor's long-awaited start to the 2018-19 regular season ends Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Ferrell Center as the No. 4/5-ranked Lady Bears play host to last year's Southland Conference Tournament champions, Nicholls.

The Lady Bears are coming off a 33-2 season from 2017-18, that included a regular season and Big 12 Tournament championship along with the program's 10^th-straight appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16. Last season, the Colonels won their final four regular season contests, swept through the Southland Conference Tournament and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament where they met No. 1 seed Mississippi State. The Rebels ended Nicholls' season and the Colonels finished 19-14 on the year.

The Colonels return seven players and three starters, including Cassidy Barrios who averaged a team-leading 17.3 points per contest last year. Nicholls played one exhibition leading to the season opener, beating Division II Spring Hill College 85-71, Thursday.

Baylor swept through its exhibition contests beating NAIA Langston 110-45 Oct. 26 and Division II Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday, 127-61.

The Lady Bears return All-American bigs Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox along with three other lettermen and a redshirt freshman. The No. 1 recruiting class in the nation from 2018 will make their debuts Tuesday with the "Fierce Five" freshmen taking the floor for the first time along with graduate transfer Chloe Jackson from LSU.

Tuesday, Baylor celebrates Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day at the Ferrell Center. Cox, a junior forward, was diagnosed with T1D at the age of seven. She, along with the local chapter of JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), will be involved with pregame and postgame festivities for the contest.

Fans can watch a free video/audio broadcast on Facebook Live by visiting Facebook.com/BaylorWBB or by paid subscription on BaylorBears.com/Watch. The game will also be carried on the radio at ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM and 92.3 FM

Single-game, Bear-Claw Mini-Plans and season ticket packages are still available by visiting BaylorBears.com/Tickets or calling (254) 710-6446.

Follow Baylor Lady Bears basketball on social media all season long by following the handle @BaylorWBB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

STORY LINES
LADY BEARS TOUGH IN SEASON OPENERS
Baylor is 36-8 all-time in season openers (.818), 16-2 (.888) in the Kim Mulkey era, 26-2 (.929) in home openers at the Ferrell Center, and 13-0 at home with Mulkey at the helm.

MULKEY'S MIDAS TOUCH: 1,100 WINS
Everything head coach Kim Mulkey touches doesn't necessarily turn to gold, but if it has to do with college basketball, nearly everything she touches results in a win. A win vs. Nicholls would give head coach Kim Mulkey 1,100 wins combined as a collegiate player (130, La. Tech), assistant coach (430, La. Tech) & head coach (539, Baylor). In those capacities, Mulkey's teams are a combined 1,099-192 for an astounding .851 winning percentage.

BAYLOR COASTS THROUGH EXHIBITION CONTESTS
Baylor defeated Langston and Texas A&M-Commerce by an average of 65.5 points in the Lady Bears' two exhibition wins. Minutes were spread around among newcomers and veterans and NaLyssa Smith averaged 19 points to lead all players. Kalani Brown in limited playing time averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Baylor shot 54.5 percent from the field, out-rebounded opponents by an average margin of 38.5, and the Lady Bears had 66 assists compared to just 30 turnovers. The sample size is small, but the Baylor defense in the second half combined to allow just 19 points over two games.

NICHOLLS IN SHORT
The Colonels won their last four regular season game in 2017-18 before taking the Southland Conference Tournament by storm and winning the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament by beating SFA in the title game. The Colonels drew Mississippi State, the No. 1 seed and fell 95-50. Seven letter winners and three starters return from Nicholls' 19-14 team from last year including Cassidy Barrios who averaged a team-leading 17.3 points per contest.

SIX NATIONAL TOP-FIVE NODS & BIG 12 REPEAT PREDICTED
After a 33-2 season, a 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, a Big 12 regular season and championship title, the return of an All-American duo in Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox has the national media and Big 12 head coaches expecting another successful season for the Lady Bears.

The Associated Press released Baylor as the No. 4 team in the nation in Oct. 31's preseason poll release followed by USA Today/WBCA checking in the Lady Bears at No. 5. SlamOnline.com, Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview, Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook and Lindy's College Basketball have the Lady Bears selected as a preseason No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 pick,
respectively.

18-time Big 12-champion Baylor earned eight of 10 first-place votes in the 2018-19 Preseason Big 12 Women's Basketball Poll to take the top spot.

TWIN TOWERS ACCOLADES POUR IN
Senior Kalani Brown and junior Lauren Cox have been tabbed by many as the best post combo in the nation, and the pair has combined for six preseason All-America honors with Brown taking home four and Cox a pair. Brown was a first-team selection by the Associated Press, Athlon, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports while Cox earned second-team nods from Athlon and Street & Smith's.

Both players were selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and Brown was selected to repeat as Big 12 Player of the Year.

BACK FOR MORE: FOUR VETERANS BACK IN SUPPORT OF BROWN & COX
Junior Juicy Landrum, sophomores DiDi Richards, Moon Ursin and redshirt freshman Trinity Oliver all bring back experience as well for the Lady Bears in 2018-19. Landrum, Richards and Ursin could see time early in the starting lineup, but other than Brown and Cox, just 16 starts are shared among the four returning players with Landrum taking 14.

Landrum could see time at the point guard position and the shooting guard spot; she shot .415 beyond the arc last season on 44 made 3-point field goals and is second among returners with 77 assists last season. Richards played in 33 of 35 games last season averaging 18 minutes per contest and 5.1 points per game; she's expected to be a go-to lockdown defender for the Lady Bears. Ursin averaged 10.5 minutes per contest last season in 28 games and will look to increase productivity her second season. Oliver missed all but seven games due to an ACL tear and was awarded a medical redshirt after a brief rookie campaign.

POINT GUARD BY COMMITTEE: COMBO GUARDS WILL HAVE TO STEP UP IN 2018-19
Head Coach Kim Mulkey said at the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tipoff Oct. 16 that she had never entered a season without knowing who her point guard would be. Well, in season No. 19, Mulkey and the Lady Bears will shuffle four players at the position after the dismissal of Alexis Morris in early September.

Morris averaged just under double figures at 9.4 points per contest as Kristy Wallace's spell last season and was expected to take over the reins before a violation of team rules ended her tenure.

LSU transfer Chloe Jackson, Richards, Landrum and freshman Honesty Scott-Grayson have all worked out at the point guard position in the preseason. Jackson transferred with the intent of getting more experience at the point guard position, but hasn't played the 1 in college to this point.

Scott-Grayson is a true two but did play some point guard in high school, while Richards and Landrum offer experience and leadership that has Mulkey considering the pair for playing time at the point.

NEWCOMER, JACKSON PICKED TO DRYSDALE AWARD WATCH LIST
Chloe Jackson was a Second-Team All-SEC selection for the LSU Tigers last season after averaging 18.1 points per contest, she's just 49 points shy of 1,000 career points as a collegian, but she transferred to Baylor with the intention of learning the point guard position from Mulkey, one of the best point guards to ever play the college game.

Jackson's reputation at shooting guard, however, had the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the WBCA tab Jackson as one of 20 players to the watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which recognizes the top shooting guard in women's college basketball.

FIERCE FIVE: FISH EAGER TO MAKE MARK AFTER SELECTION AS NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS
For the second time in program history, the Baylor women's basketball team signed the nation's top recruiting class and the "Fierce Five" freshmen are ready to lace them up for 2018-19. Caitlin Bickle, Aquira DeCosta, Queen Egbo, Honesty Scott-Grayson and NaLyssa Smith all signed with the Lady Bears and all were ranked in the Top 30 overall by ESPN Hoopgurlz and boasted a five-star rating.

NEW WAVE: Gietzen, Stinnett take over Baylor Lady Bears Radio Crew
After 22 years of the same play-by-play voice and 20 years of the same color analyst, the Baylor Lady Bears radio waves will bring two new voices to the air after Rick May (PBP) and Lori Fogleman (Color) retired following the 2017-18 season.

Former Houston Astros radio color analyst Bruce Gietzen and Baylor Athletics Hall of Famer Maggie Davis-Stinnett join the program as play-by-play and analyst, respectively beginning with the 2018-19 season.
In addition to his three seasons with the Astros, Gietzen has been a contributing reporter to Fox, ESPN, CNN, ABC, MLB and the NBA.

Davis-Stinnett amassed 2,027 points and 1,011 rebounds from 1986-1991 and was a three-time All-SWC performer in addition to the only player in league history with 2,000+ points and 1,000+ rebounds. She is both a Baylor Athletics and SWC Hall of Famer.