No. 2/3 WBB to Face KU on the Road Wednesday

Wednesday, January 16

Lawrence, Kan.

7 p.m.

Baylor

Kansas

No. 2/3 WBB to Face KU on the Road Wednesday

1/15/2019 9:59:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Lady Bears looking for 27th consecutive win vs. a Big 12 opponent



	^#t2/4 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (13-1, 3-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	^#t2/4 BAYLOR (13-1, 3-0) at KANSAS (11-3, 1-2) Jan. 16, 2019 • 7 p.m. Lawrence, Kan. • Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) LIVE STATS: SIDEARM Stats WATCH: Jayhawk Network/ESPN+ Talent: Josh Klingler (PBP), Brenda VanLengen (Color) LISTEN: BaylorBears.com/1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media: Channel Lineup: DISH: n/a DIRECTV: n/a UVERSE: n/a GRANDE: n/a

	KANSAS JAYHAWKS (11-3, 1-2) Location: Lawrence, Kan. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist, 1995) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Out of all the players who will suit up for the Baylor and Kansas women in Wednesday's 7 p.m. matchup at Allen Fieldhouse, KU guard Jessica Washington is the only one who was even playing collegiate basketball the last time the Jayhawks beat the Lady Bears.

And she was a freshman that year at North Carolina.

Baylor's "Fierce Five" freshman class was still in middle school and barely blips on the recruiting radar.

Two weeks after blowing out Kansas at the Ferrell Center, an Odyssey Sims-led team lost 76-60 at Kansas on Jan. 19, 2014, snapping Baylor's 44-game winning streak in Big 12 regular-season games.

This time, the second-ranked Lady Bears (13-1, 3-0) go into Allen Fieldhouse riding a 25-game conference winning streak and looking for their 29^th straight road win in league play after beating TCU, TCU, 79-55, on Saturday. Baylor leads Kansas (11-3, 1-2) in the all-time series, 29-8, including an 11-5 record in Lawrence.

"What do you say?" coach Kim Mulkey said of Baylor moving up to a tie for second with UConn in the latest Associated Press national rankings. "It brings great recognition to our university and our program. At the end of the day, that's about all it means. It doesn't get us a 1 seed (for the NCAA Tournament) at the end of the year. There's so much basketball left to be played."

In 2014, the Jayhawks were led by 6-3 junior forward Chelsea Gardner, a Texas native who torched the Lady Bears with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

This year's team is more guard-oriented with seniors Washington (15.3). Kylee Kopatich (11.5) and Christalah Lyons (11.3) all averaging double-digit points. Lyons went off for 20 points in the Jayhawks' 61-54 win over in-state rival Kansas State on Sunday in Manhattan.

"Their guards are really good. They may be the quickest guards in the league," Mulkey said. "We're going to guard you tough, keep you out of the paint, get back in transition defense, don't give them open looks. We have to stop dribble penetration. (Washington is) not the only great perimeter player they have. They have other guards who can do what she can do."

That will put the onus on Baylor guards Chloe Jackson, Juicy Landrum and DiDi Richards, who has become the Lady Bears' defensive stopper on the perimeter. A 6-1 sophomore, Richards could start out on the 5-10 Kopatich, with Jackson and Landrum tasked with sticking to Washington and Lyons.

"In the offense they run, all of our perimeter players will at some point guard everybody on their perimeter," Mulkey said.

Landrum, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week after a career-high 23-point outburst against TCU, said the coaches "always put me on the 3-point shooter, so I guess that kind of motivates me to not let that person shoot it in the game."

After going 0-for-3 from 3-point range in the two previous games, Landrum drained three 3-pointers against TCU and was 9-of-16 overall, adding eight rebounds and five assists.

"Juicy can do that every night. She's one of the best 3-point shooters in the league," Mulkey said of Landrum, who ranks third in the Big 12 with a 44.4 percentage from outside the arc. "It's just that we're not a team that relies on the 3-point shot as much as other teams do. She can effortlessly hit it out there, and her range is tremendous."

Baylor is last in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made (49), but first in the conference and eighth nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (39.5). Kopatich (29) and Washington (28) have made more 3-pointers than all the Lady Bears combined.

Conversely, the Jayhawks lead the Big 12 and rank 13^th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 24.9.

Even with 6-5 sophomore center Bailey Helgren defending inside, Baylor should have the advantage with 6-7 senior All-American Kalani Brown (15.2 ppg, 7.3 rebounds) and 6-4 junior forward Lauren Cox (11.5 ppg, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks).

Mulkey said fourth-year Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider will "have his kids ready to go."

"People think you should get it done quickly. In this day and age, head coaches get fired and they haven't been there for two or three years. It takes time," she said. "He's a good coach. His dad's a legendary coach."

After Wednesday's game, Baylor returns home to face West Virginia (11-4, 2-2) at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center. The Mountaineers host 18^th-ranked Iowa State Wednesday night in Morgantown.

BAYLOR OPENS BIG 12 PLAY 3-0, NOTCHING 25TH-STRAIGHT BIG 12 REGULAR-SEASON WIN AT TCU
   Jan. 6 Baylor delivered head coach Kim Mulkey with her 550th career win at Texas Tech, Wednesday the Lady Bears opened their Big 12 home slate with a 15-point win over K-State and Saturday BU defeated TCU by 24 points to begin league play 3-0. The win over the Horned Frogs was Baylor's 25^th consecutive Big 12 win overall and its 28^th-straight road win in league play.
   With a short bench last season, All-Americans Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox's 2017-18 season statistics were inflated as the post duo carried the load. This season, as has been the case all year long, balance has been the story line. Through three Big 12 games, four Lady Bears are averaging double figures in conference play with Brown's 14.0 points leading the charge. Juicy Landrum, who's scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games, ranks second in the team in league play with 12.3 points per game. Lauren Cox and freshman Queen Egbo follow respectively with 11.7 and 10.0 per contest.

KU IN SHORT
   The Jayhawks were off to a hot start entering conference play with a 10-1 record before dropping their Big 12 opener to Iowa State (82-73, Jan. 5) and a road contest at Texas Tech (69-66, Jan. 9). KU rebounded with a win at in-state rival K-State, taking a 61-54 win Sunday. Kansas is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brandon Schneider and Jessica Washington, a senior guard, leads the team with 15.3 points per game.

LANDRUM EARNS BIG 12 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR FIRST TIME IN HER CAREER
     Junior guard Juicy Landrum averaged 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Baylor Lady Bears, garnering her co-Big 12 Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday.
     Landrum, the Waco native, shared the honor with West Virginia's Tynice Martin. Landrum scored 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists Wednesday vs. K-State before pouring in a career-high 23 points on the road at TCU. Against the Horned Frogs, Landrum shot 9-of-16 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long range. She grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists as well to help Baylor beat TCU for the 26^th consecutive time. For the week, she averaged 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds and has scored in double figures in seven of the last nine games.

POUND THE PAINT, CLEAN THE GLASS: LADY BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST IN REBOUNDING, SCORING EFFICIENCY
   In 12 statistical categories, the Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally. But, the Lady Bears (thru games Jan. 13) rank tops in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (35.0), rebound margin (+18.5) and field goal percentage defense (.300) while ranking second in field goal percentage (.509). Kalani Brown ranks 18^th in the nation in field goal percentage at a .609 clip. Baylor's rebounding is a staple of the program, and the Lady Bears have out-rebounded all 14 opponents this season, Baylor won the rebounding battle in 34 of 35 contests last year, and in 83 of the last 86 contests, BU has had the upper hand on the boards.

LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Baylor has 15 runs this season of at least 10 unanswered points including one in each of the first three Big 12 contests. In 10 of 14 games this season, the Lady Bears have had at least one such run, and Baylor has also put together four runs of 20 or more points. Against TCU, Saturday, Baylor held TCU without a field goal for 14:53 from near the end of the first quarter to early in the third quarter, outscoring the Horned Frogs 27-3 in that span, including a 21-0 run. In addition, Baylor is out-scoring opponents 155-38 on the fast break this season.

SHARING IS CARING: BAYLOR LEADS NATION IN ASSISTS PER GAME
   Baylor's 22.8 assists per contest ranks best in the nation led by Chloe Jackson's 6.1 assists per contest (ranks 14th nationally) while Lauren Cox's assists-to-turnover ratio of 2.65:1 ranks 24th nationally and DiDi Richards'
2.64:1 mark ranks 25th in the nation. In fact, out of Baylor's 465 made field goals this season, the Lady Bears have assisted on 319 marking 68.6 percent of the team's buckets coming on an assist from a teammate.

50 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: BAYLOR NEARLY UNBEATABLE WHEN HITTING HALF ITS SHOTS
   In just one occurrence since Kim Mulkey's arrival at Baylor in the 2000-01 season have the Lady Bears lost a game when shooting 50 percent or better. Baylor's record under Mulkey when shooting 50 percent or better is 207-1, and the Lady Bears are 33-0 when shooting 60 percent or better. The lone loss came in the 2017 NCAA Tournament when Baylor fell to Mississippi State in the Elite 8, 94-85 on March 26 despite shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.

JACKSON, LANDRUM THRIVING AT POINT GUARD OUT OF POSITION
   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. Despite that fact, Baylor has had no trouble distributing or sharing the ball through 14 games this season. Through Jan. 13, Baylor ranked tops in the nation in assists per game (22.8) and No. 3 in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.65).
   Chloe Jackson and Juicy Landrum, true-two guards, are the Lady Bears' primary point guards this season and both have met the challenge thus far with success. Jackson ranks 14th in nation in assists per game (6.1) while Landrum ranks 40th in the country in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.33:1. Landrum is third on the team with 56 assists (4.0 p/g), and DiDi Richards is averaging 4.1 assists per contest through 14 games and ranks 25rd in the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.64:1.

BROWN AND COX NAMED TO WOODEN TROPHY AWARD MIDSEASON TOP 25 WATCH LIST
   Both Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox collected numerous postseason accolades after the 2017-18 season, which resulted in a multitude of 2018-19 preseason honors. Jan. 9, the post duo earned spots on the John Wooden Trophy Award Midseason Top 25 watch list. Last season, Brown was recognized as a top-five finalist for the award.

BAYLOR PLAYERS PAY FOR MULKEY'S 550-WINS TRIBUTE
   The Baylor players took it upon themselves to congratulate Kim Mulkey in a pre-game presentation Wednesday for her 550th career victory achieved Sunday at Texas Tech. Senior Kalani Brown took the PA microphone and addressed the crowd an Mulkey prior to the K-State game Jan. 9, and the Lady Bears chipped in their own money for three easels of roses shaped in the numbers 5-5-0. Mulkey was told postgame that the players paid for the flowers and later in the postgame press conference said "My players bought those 550-numbered roses. [Out of their pocket] Wow. That's the kind of kids I get to coach. I didn't know that until the game was over, and I thought wow, my players are buying that."

ABOUT BAYLOR'S HISTORIC WIN OVER NO. 1 UCONN
   Two elite programs met in Waco Jan. 3, and for the first time in school history (previously 0-14) the Baylor Lady Bears knocked off a No. 1-ranked team with UConn falling 68-57 at a sold-out Ferrell Center on ESPN. Not only did Baylor win the game, the Lady Bears put an end to a long line of streaks set by the Huskies, who are the standard for women's basketball with 11 NCAA Championships. Baylor's victory ended a streak of 126 consecutive regular season games for the Huskies and a streak of 55 consecutive regular season road wins. UConn had won 209 straight games in regulation; it's last loss in regulation also came to No. 1 Baylor Dec. 18, 2011.
   The Lady Bears' 11-point win was the largest margin of victory for a team vs. UConn since Feb. 27, 2012 when UConn fell to Notre Dame 72-59. In addition, Baylor's defense held UConn to just a 29.4 shooting percentage, its lowest in any game the past 20 seasons.
   Baylor became the third Big 12 school to ever defeat a No. 1 team joining Texas Tech who accomplished the feat twice and Texas, and just the second time that a Big 12 team has beaten a No. 1 in a non-conference matchup.
   BU's big win kept an overall home win streak at the Ferrell Center alive at 28 games while extending its non-conference home win streak to 47 games.

BROWN PICKS UP ESPNW NATIONAL HONOR AFTER LEADING BAYLOR TO WIN OVER NO. 1 UCONN
   Kalani Brown didn't shy away from the spotlight when the lights came on Jan. 3 vs. No. 1 UConn. In front of a sold-out crowd at the Ferrell Center and nationally televised on ESPN, the senior post put up 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. She was 11-for-17 from the floor in 36 minutes of play. Her games that week also included performances vs. UTRGV and at Texas Tech, but ESPNW.com singled out her performance against the No. 1 Huskies and tabbed her National Player of the Week on Jan. 7.

BAYLOR SIGNS TOP-10 PROSPECT OLIVER AS LONE ADDITION TO 2019 SIGNING CLASS
   A year after signing five players and accepting a graduate transfer, Jordyn Oliver gets all the Lady Bears' attention this season as the No. 10-ranked national prospect (Collegiate Girls Basketball Report) signed with Baylor. Oliver, a Prosper, Texas native is a 3-time TABC All-State selection, and was also ranked No. 11 by ESPN Hoopgurlz.

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. Baylor's win vs. Nicholls (Nov. 6) gave Mulkey 1,100 wins combined as a collegiate player (130, La. Tech), assistant coach (430, La. Tech) & head coach (540, Baylor). In those capacities, Mulkey's teams are a combined 1,100-192 for an astounding .851 winning percentage.

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 three games deep into 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. Smith is shining brightest through the first 14 games averaging 11.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks third and second, respectively on the team in both categories while picking up the Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Week award Nov 12.

CAPPING ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
   The Lady Bears completed another successful, tough, non-conference schedule. Baylor went 10-1 with a 3-1 record vs. Top 25 teams, including the program's first-ever win over a No. 1 team when the Lady Bears beat UConn Jan. 3. Baylor is 147-3 all-time vs.non-conference opponents at the Ferrell Center, including 47-straight wins at home.