Sunday, January 6
Lubbock, Texas
Noon
Baylor
at
Texas Tech
No. 8/7 WBB Opens Big 12 Play on the Road at TTU
1/5/2019 10:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Lady Bears and Red Raiders faceoff in Lubbock Sunday at Noon on FSSW
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#8/7 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (10-1, 0-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
#8/7 BAYLOR (10-1, 0-0) at Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1) Jan. 6, 2019 • Noon Lubbock, Texas • United Supermarkets Arena (15,000)  LIVE STATS: StatBroadcastWATCH: Fox Sports Southwest / Fox Sports Go App Talent: Dave Raymond (PBP), Dan Hughes (Color) LISTEN: BaylorBears.com/1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:    Channel Lineup: DISH: 416 DIRECTV: 676 UVERSE: 753/1753 GRANDE: 27 |
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TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (9-3, 0-1) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Marlene Stollings (Ohio, 1998) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
After knocking off the game's biggest giant, ending top-ranked UConn's 126-game regular-season winning streak with Thursday's 68-57 win at the Ferrell Center, the No. 8/7 Baylor Lady Bears have to make a quick switch from being the hunter to the hunted.
The Lady Bears (10-1), who have dropped just seven conference games in winning eight consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships, open defense of their league title with a matchup against Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1) at noon Sunday at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
"For (UConn coach Geno Auriemma) to keep doing that, and his program to keep doing that, it's difficult," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "You have a target on you every time you play. I know what he feels. We're fixing to go into our league where we've won it how many years in a row? I don't know. But, I do know we're the hunted.
"We're fixing to see that for 18 basketball games. And it's hard to get up and stay up and take everybody's best shot. It's difficult, it wears on you. So, you have to be smart as a coach on how much you do, how much you're in the film room, how hard you are on them, how hard you push them. Geno's the best at it. He's done it all."
Because of Thursday's marquee matchup out of conference, Baylor is the last team in the Big 12 to start league play. Kansas lost to 25th-ranked Iowa State, 82-73, on Saturday after getting the other opening-night bye.
Texas Tech, under first-year head coach Marlene Stollings, opened with a 66-61 loss on the road at Oklahoma.
"When you're a big program, everyone is going to give you their best shot," said senior All-American center Kalani Brown, who had a monster game with 22 points and 17 rebounds in the win over UConn. "So, we have to focus on Lubbock, because Texas Tech isn't afraid and they're not going to back down just because we beat UConn. And we can't get complacent because we beat UConn. We still have a lot more games to go. Yes, it was a great win, but on to the next one."
The Lady Raiders are third in the league in scoring offense at 77.8 points per game and are led by 5-5 freshman guard Chrislyn Carr (20.0) and 6-5 junior forward Brittany Brewer (18.8 ppg, 11.3 rebounds). Zuri Sanders, a 6-0 junior forward, checks in at 8.3 points per game and ranks sixth nationally, bringing down 12.7 boards.
With Brewer and 6-6 junior Erin DeGrate coming off the bench, Tech is one of the few teams that can come close to matching Baylor's size inside. The 6-7 Brown is averaging 15.5 and a team-high 7.8 rebounds, while 6-4 junior Lauren Cox averages 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
After scoring just seven points combined in a 68-63 loss to Stanford, Brown and Cox came back in a big way in the win over UConn and got a 12-point night from 6-2 freshman forward NaLyssa Smith.
"She does things that you don't coach. It's instinct," Mulkey said of Smith, who is averaging 12.1 points and 6.9 rebounds. "She got two big offensive boards on Kalani's misses. That's just going up there, catching it in the air and finishing. She's very confident in herself."
DeGrate played with Baylor junior guard Juicy Landrum on a state championship team at La Vega High School. Landrum hit three 3-pointers in the win over UConn and is averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
"Juicy hit some big threes. She was looking to shoot it," Mulkey said. "What a difference it's made in her life to be a junior now versus a freshman. She wouldn't look to take those shots her freshman year. And has to now, especially with (Alexis) Morris not being on the perimeter with her. Juicy's got to take it upon herself that I've got to score the basketball out there."
After opening conference on the road, Baylor will return home to host Kansas State (9-4, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
ABOUT BAYLOR'S HISTORIC WIN OVER NO. 1 UCONN
Two elite programs met in Waco Thursday, 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.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 OPENERS
The Baylor Lady Bears have nine regular season championships since Kim Mulkey took over in 2000 including eight consecutive regular-season championships. All-time in Big 12 openers since the Lady Bears began with the league in 1996-97, Baylor is 14-8 and 13-5 in the Mulkey era. When the conference season begins on the road, Baylor is 5-5 all-time.
Five times, Baylor's opened its Big 12 slate with Texas Tech, and the Lady Bears are 2-3 in those games, including 1-2 in games in Lubbock. Baylor has won its last two Big 12 openers and seven of its last eight.
TEXAS TECH IN SHORT
The Red Raiders made a coaching change in the offseason brining in Marlene Stollings who was fresh off a 24-win season at the University of Minnesota capping four years with that program. Texas Tech is off to a 9-3 overall start, but lost its Big 12 opener on the road Wednesday to Oklahoma, 66-61. TTU ranks third in the league in scoring offense at 78.4 points per game led by freshman Chrislyn Carr and junior Brittany Brewer who are averaging 20.0 and 18.8 points per game, respectively. Tech is second only to Baylor in rebounds per game at 49.5.
POUND THE PAINT, CLEAN THE GLASS: LADY BEARS AMONG NATION'S BEST IN REBOUNDING, SCORING EFFICIENCY
In 11 statistical categories, the Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally. But, the Lady Bears (thru games Jan. 4) rank tops in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (36.0), rebound margin (+21.1) and field goal percentage defense (.295) while ranking third in field goal percentage (.516). The Lady Bears boast two players in the nation's Top 25 in field goal percentage with Kalani Brown ranking 12th (.619) and NaLyssa Smith checking in at 18th (.596). Baylor's rebounding is a staple of the program, and the Lady Bears have out-rebounded all 11 opponents this season, Baylor won the rebounding battle in 34 of 35 contests last year, and in 80 of the last 83 contests, BU has had the upper hand on the boards.
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
Baylor had four separate runs of at least 10 unanswered points Monday vs. UTRGV giving the Lady Bears 12 runs this season of at least 10 unanswered. The Lady Bears have also put together three runs of 20 or more points, and the only games in which BU hasn't had a run of 10 or more came in a 21-point win over Georgetown (11/24), a 38-point win over Morehead State (12/12) and a five-point loss at Stanford (12/15). In addition, Baylor is out-scoring opponents 135-34 on the fast break this season.
SHARING IS CARING: BAYLOR LEADS NATION IN ASSISTS PER GAME
Baylor's 23.5 assists per contest ranks best in the nation led by Chloe Jackson's 6.4 assists per contest (ranks 11th nationally) and DiDi Richards' 2.63:1 assists-to-turnover ratio ranks 22nd in the nation. In fact, out of Baylor's 371 made field goals this season, the Lady Bears have assisted on 259 marking 69.8 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 206-1, 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 nine games this season. Through Jan. 4, Baylor ranked tops in the nation in assists per game (23.5) and No. 4 in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.63).
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 11th in nation in assists per game (6.4) while Landrum ranks 29th in the country in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.53:1. Landrum is third on the team with 43 assists (3.9 p/g), and DiDi Richards is averaging 4.4 assists per contest through 11 games.
I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE, SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME: BROWN & COX EARN ANOTHER SPOT ON PROMINENT WATCH LIST
Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox garnered recognition from several voting entities for the upcoming season. The latest came Nov. 20 when the WBCA put both players on the Wade Trophy Watch List – Brown's second time to be a selection. The John Wooden Award selected both players to the Top 30 Watch List for its annual All-American team and Most Outstanding Player award.
The senior, Brown, and junior 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. Brown is also on the WBCA's Lisa Leslie Award Watch List for the nation's top center while Cox is on the Katrina McCalin Award Watch List for top power forward.
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 11 games averaging 12.1 points and a 6.9 rebounds per contest, which ranks second 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
As Baylor turns its attention to gunning for its ninth consecutive regular season title with the final 18 games of the season all conference games, 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.
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