No. 2/2 Baylor Kicks off Paradise Jam Thursday vs. Washington State



	#2/2 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (5-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	#2/2 BAYLOR (5-0) VS. WASHINGTON STATE (4-0) November 28, 2019 • 4:45 p.m. CT St. Thomas, USVI • Sports & Fitness Center (4,000) LIVE STATS: SIDEARM Stats/1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: FloSports.com Talent: Brenda VanLenghen (PBP), Kevin Lehman (Analyst) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:

	WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (4-0) Location: Pullman, Wash. Conference: Pac-12 Head Coach: Kamie Ethridge Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            As a student-athlete at Louisiana Tech, Kim Mulkey remembers going on trips that "our parents couldn't afford to send us to those places."
            In 20 years as Baylor's head coach, she's paid it forward by taking the Lady Bears to Honolulu, Hawaii, Riviera Maya, Mexico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
            Second-ranked Baylor (5-0) returns to the Virgin Islands for a loaded Paradise Jam that begins Thursday with a Final Four-worthy field that includes No. 1 Oregon (4-0) and No. 8 Louisville (5-0) on one side of the bracket and the Lady Bears and No. 5 South Carolina (6-0) on the other side.
            The Lady Bears open with Washington State (4-0) at 4:45 p.m. CST Thursday, followed by 17^th-ranked Indiana (4-0) at 4:45 p.m. Friday and South Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday. Including UT-Arlington (4-0) and Oklahoma State (5-0), the eight teams in the tournament have a combined record of 37-0.
            "To be able to use basketball to basically educate yourself to things you couldn't afford to go do, it's important," Mulkey said. "It's important for me as a coach to make sure we do other things. It's not as fun when you don't win a game, but we're still going to do them. . . . We're still going to do sightseeing, we're still going to experience things. You can't just make it all about basketball."
            After getting her nails and eyelashes done before the trip, junior wing DiDi Richards said she "can't wait to take pictures . . . and also win."
            While they will certainly mix in some sun and fun, there is the business of playing three games in three days, including two against ranked opponents.
            "This is our first road trip this year, so it will be interesting to see how we respond," said Mulkey, whose team leads the nation with a 57.2-point scoring margin that includes last Thursday's 90-28 win over Lamar. "When you look at the caliber of talent that we're playing, we're going to find out quickly . . . I won't say we're going to find out how good we are, but it's early in the year, and it'll be good for us."
            Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game is a coaching matchup of former Olympic gold medalist point guards and NCAA national champions. Mulkey won a pair of national titles at Louisiana Tech and was part of the gold medal-winning USA team at the 1984 Olympics, while second-year Washington State coach Kamie Ethridge won the national title at Texas in 1986 and earned a gold medal at the Olympics in 1988.
            After going 9-21 in Ethridge's debut season, the Cougars are off to a 4-0 start that includes wins over BYU and Boise State. Redshirt senior forward Borislava Hristova is leading the Pac-12 and ranks eighth nationally with 23.0 points per game, while senior point guard Chanelle Molina is averaging 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
            Baylor has played its last three games without senior All-American forward Lauren Cox, who's been out with a stress reaction in her right foot.
            "She wants to play, obviously," Mulkey said of the 6-foot-4 Cox, who averaged 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two games before her injury. "I will play her when they tap me on the shoulder and say she can get minutes and play. But, I can't sit there and prepare as if I have her. I have to prepare as if I don't have her. She will be with us, and if she can give us some minutes in any of those games, I know we certainly welcome it."
            Richards, who's averaging 8.0 points and a team-best 6.2 assists per game, said the Lady Bears miss her vocal leadership and her "presence on the court."
            "You just go out and play your game," she said. "You are kind of hoping that eventually someone will make up for the lost points or lost rebounds out there."
            Sophomores NaLyssa Smith (17.6 ppg, 8.8 rebounds) and Queen Egbo (15.4 ppg, 7.4 rebounds) have provided the Lady Bears a strong post presence, while grad transfer point guard Te'a Cooper is averaging 12.6 points and 5.2 assists.
            Saturday's game against South Carolina will be an interesting matchup for Cooper, who led the Gamecocks in scoring last season at 11.9 points per game in helping them reach the Sweet 16 before a loss to Baylor. She transferred to Baylor this summer to replace Final Four MVP Chloe Jackson.
            "We want her to do really well," Mulkey said of Cooper "but she can't all of a sudden think that game is the most important game of the year, because it's not. No matter what happens, no matter if she plays good or bad, it's really irrelevant. Go and get better, help your team get better, help us try to win, don't try to take over the game, do what you've been doing. You can't let a kid get caught up in the personal level of it."
            Because of the personality and closeness of this team, Mulkey said, "we could go down the street and this team would have a memory just because they interact so much and they're fun and they laugh and they cut up. Going to the Virgin Islands is a little farther, but they'll have fun."
            "It's memories, it's things they can carry with them the rest of their lives."
            All the Paradise Jam games, including the other half of the bracket, will be streamed online by FloHoops.com, with Brenda VanLengen and former Nebraska-Omaha men's basketball coach Kevin Lehman calling the action.

PARADISE JAM BRINGING LOADS OF TALENT THIS THANKSGIVING.
   The 2019 Women's Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, USVI will feature five top 25 teams including four from Monday's top eight spots in the Associated Press poll. Oregon (No. 1), Louisville (No. 8), UT-Arlington and Oklahoma State will play in a round-robin in one side of the bracket while the Lady Bears (No. 2), South Carolina (No. 5), Indiana (No. 17) and Washington State will battle it out on the other side. Baylor holds 2-0 series records vs. South Carolina and Indiana while its split with WSU at one game apiece.
   Baylor last played in the Paradise Jam in 2008, going 2-1 with wins over Central Florida, Villanova and a loss to Wisconsin.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
     Baylor's win over Lamar Nov. 21 was the program's 34^th-straight win dating back to last season, which makes it the 13^th-best overall win streak in NCAA history. If Baylor were to win all three games at the Paradise Jam, it would tie Notre Dame (37, 2013-14) for the ninth best streak. Indiana (#17/25) and South Carolina (#5/#6) enter the tournament ranked in the Top 25, in games away from Waco that include true-road contests, Big 12 Tournament games and NCAA Tournament contests, Baylor is 90-53 in the Kim Mulkey era against ranked opponents, including a 58-14 mark since 2010-11. Baylor is also 50-36 in the Mulkey era vs. top 10 opponents.

LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Through five games the Lady Bears have 13 double-digit runs this season, including a season-high 37-0 run to begin the game vs. New Hampshire Nov. 5. In addition to the transition game on offense, Baylor's defense has allowed just eight fast-break points on the season. Baylor is outscoring teams on the break by an average of 23-1.6.

BAYLOR PICKS UP TWO HOME WINS TO EXTEND HOME-WINNING STREAK TO 44 GAMES
   The Lady Bears, still without Lauren Cox since she last played Nov. 8, took a win over No. 21/22 South Florida Nov. 19 and Lamar Nov. 21 to keep its home winning streak at the Ferrell Center alive at 44 games. Those 44 wins tie for 24^th all-time on the NCAA's list for consecutive home victories and is the second-longest in Baylor history (69, 2011-14).
   Baylor grinded out a 12-point win over South Florida, 58-46, holding the Bulls to a 28.8 percent effort from the floor (17-59). Queen Egbo collected a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards to lead Baylor. In the 90-28 victory over Lamar, Egbo again tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Erin DeGrate led all scorers with 19 points. The Lady bears held Lamar to just 17.5 percent shooting from the floor and the Cardinals were unable to score double-digits in any quarter.

RICHARDS GETS CHANCE TO SHADOW ESPN'S MARIA TAYLOR FOR COLLEGE GAME DAY MATCHUP
   ESPN's College Gameday came to Waco this past weekend to feature the Baylor football vs. Oklahoma matchup. ESPN sideline reporter Maria Taylor graciously allowed the Lady Bears' DiDi Richards to shadow her for the game coverage portion of the game. Richards observed while Taylor gathered intel pre-game and talked with Richards about game preparation.
   ""It was hands down one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Maria Taylor is someone I would definitely try to model a sports broadcasting career after," said Richards. "She's so poised and confident when it comes to being in front of the camera, and I got to experience that first hand Saturday night. This unique opportunity meant the world to me, I enjoyed every second of it. I am forever grateful for having someone like Maria Taylor as a mentor. Thank you to everyone who contributed to me getting this once in a lifetime opportunity."

SENIOR FORWARD LAUREN COX TO MISS TIME WITH RIGHT-FOOT INJURY
     Baylor All-American senior forward Lauren Cox sustained a stress
reaction to the second metatarsal on her right foot and is expected to miss time beginning with Thursday night's contest with Houston Baptist.
     Cox will rest and rehab with the Baylor Athletics medicine staff, and will treat the injury aggressively to ensure further progression. Her return will be determined based on her symptoms.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2...
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: LADY BEARS INK TWO TOP-10 RECRUITS FOR 2020
     Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey announced the signing of two of the top 10 players in the country Wednesday, with Irving MacArthur standouts Sarah Andrews and Hannah Gusters signing national letters of intent to join the Lady Bears in 2020.
     Gusters was the first to verbally commit to Baylor in May. The 6-4 post player is the No. 9 overall ranked player in the 2020 class and the No. 2 center by espnW's Hoopgurlz. The Dan Olson Collegiate Basketball Report ranks her ninth and second, respectively as well. After helping Duncanville High School win a state championship as a freshman, Gusters averaged 14.5 points per game as a sophomore in leading the Pantherettes to a 39-2 record and the Class 6A region finals. Gusters played AAU ball for Nike ProSkills, and her maternal grandfather, Dewey Turner, played football for the University of Texas.
     Andrews verbally committed to Baylor on social media Nov. 2 during an official visit. The 5-7 point guard is ranked No. 7 overall and the No. 2 point guard by espnW's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings and carries the same ranking from the Dan Olson Collegiate Basketball Report. Among Andrews' honors as a point guard for Irving MacArthur High School, she was a two-time TGCA 6A All-State selection in 2018 and 2019. USA Today named Andrews to the second-team All-Texas team in 2019 as well. The Dallas Morning-News named Andrews the top recruit in Texas. As a junior, she was the District 6-6A MVP after averaging 15.1 points, 7.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 steals for a MacArthur team that went 29-9. Andrews played AAU ball for Nike ProSkills.

BROCK GETS SURPRISED AT GRAYSON COLLEGE ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
Friday, associate head coach Bill Brock had to miss Baylor's contest with Grambling State because he was among the first two inductees to the Grayson College Athletics Hall of Fame. He was inducted in a ceremony over the weekend, and during halftime of a basketball game Saturday night, the school surprised Brock in a ceremony by naming the school's basketball floor "Bill Brock Court."

I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE, SOMEBODY'S WATCHIN' ME
     Winning a national title puts a lot of extra eyes on a program, and the Baylor Lady Bears have been honored entering the 2019-20 season with several acknowledgments from national entities for individual awards. The WBCA/Naismith Hall of Fame has an annual Starting Five, which honors the best player at each position. Te'a Cooper (Nancy Liberman Award), Juicy Landrum (Ann Meyers Drysdale Award), DiDi Richards (Cheryl Miller Award), Lauren Cox (Katrina McLain Award) and Queen Egbo (Lisa Leslie Award) were all honored as a part of the preseason watch lists.
     Cox earned a trifecta when she was named to the John Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy watch lists for collegiate player of the year. Landrum and Richards were each named to the Wooden Award watch list as well and Cooper earned a look from the Naismith Trophy.

MULKEY PASSES HER COLLEGE HEAD COACH, FORMER BOSS AND FORMER BU ASSISTANT COACH IN ALL-TIME WINS
     Leon Barmore coached Kim Mulkey in college at Louisiana Tech, hired her to be an assistant coach when she was done playing, and later rejoined his pupil as an assistant coach at Baylor. In 19 seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech, Barmore won 576 games and the 1988 NCAA national title with Mulkey as an assistant. Baylor's 97-29 win over New Hampshire Tuesday at the Ferrell Center gave Mulkey 577 career wins.

SCORING IS TOUGH VS. THE LADY BEARS
   Baylor ranked tops in the nation in 2018-19 in the following categories: Assists (850), Assists Per Game (22.4), Blocked Shots (274), Blocked Shots Per Game (7.2), Defensive Rebounds Per Game (32.0), Rebound Margin (+17.0), Rebounds (1,790), and won-lost percentage (97.4). However, the Lady Bears ranked first in field goal percentage defense (.318) marking the third-straight year to lead the nation. Baylor has also ranked in the top five in eight of the last nine years. Baylor's streak of holding opponents to below 50 percent shooting reached 47 games Thursday vs. Lamar.

No. 2/2 Baylor Kicks off Paradise Jam Thursday vs. Washington State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Te'a Cooper

Lauren Cox

Erin DeGrate

Queen Egbo

Chloe Jackson

Juicy Landrum

DiDi Richards

NaLyssa Smith

Footer

No. 2/2 Baylor Kicks off Paradise Jam Thursday vs. Washington State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Te'a Cooper

Lauren Cox

Erin DeGrate

Queen Egbo

Chloe Jackson

Juicy Landrum

DiDi Richards

NaLyssa Smith

Related Videos

Promotional Background Photo

Footer