#7/5 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (8-1) Location: Waco, Texas   Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	#7/6 BAYLOR (8-1) VS. ARKANSAS STATE (3-6) December 18, 2019 • Noon Waco, Texas • Ferrell Center (10.284) LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast/1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (PBP), Jim Haller (Analyst) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:
	ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES (3-6) Location: Jonesboro, Ark. Conference: Sun Belt Head Coach: Matt Daniel Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            After squeezing in eight games in November, including three in three days in the Virgin Islands, the No. 5/7 Baylor Lady Bears (8-1) will play the second of just three December games when they host Arkansas State (3-6) at 12 p.m. Wednesday. 
            Semester final exams and a Christmas break leave them with fewer windows to play, 20^th-year head coach Kim Mulkey said. 
            "I don't personally like it," Mulkey said. "I'd like to have more games in December, but it's also a positive that we get to practice on things, to get ready for conference and also this year UConn on the road (Jan. 9). The negative for us right now is not having (All-American forward Lauren) Cox."
            The 6-4 Cox has missed the last seven games with a stress reaction in her right foot, but has been cleared to play and will likely return for the Dec. 30 game at home against Morehead State. Additionally, sophomore forward Caitlin Bickle suffered a knee injury in the last game against Georgia that required surgery, but her return hasn't been ruled out. 
            "I'm not going to play (Cox) until we get back from the holidays. What good would that do?" Mulkey said. "We're leaving after (Wednesday's game) and they'll be off for a little while and come back and play Morehead State. Hopefully, she'll be ready to go and in enough shape to where she feels like she can contribute. But, she's been cleared to play."
            Without Cox, the Lady Bears have struggled at times. South Carolina shot 53 percent and dominated the boards, 43-29, in beating Baylor, 74-59, in the last game in the Virgin Islands, where Indiana and Washington State also shot better than 40 percent. 
            "Some of that is youth, some of that is not having Cox on the floor," Mulkey said. "(Defense and rebounding) are a concern of mine because we've been so dominant in those areas for years because of our size in rebounding. Field goal percentage defense is the first stat I look at after every game, and we've allowed a couple teams to shoot better than 40 percent."
            Junior wing DiDi Richards, who's averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds, said rebounding is as simple as "watching the ball come off the rim and get it, just being able to secure it."
            "We're kind of used to Lani (Kalani Brown) and LC (Cox) just inhaling every ball that's in the air," Richards said. "So, that's something that me as a guard is learning to actually go down there and help our posts, because last year I wasn't used to helping our posts."
            On the defensive end, she said, "it's just knowing when to help each other and when not to help. I think we tend to over-help, and we shouldn't."
            In theory, Mulkey said Cox being out will help other players improve by getting more minutes. The problem is when she does return, "you have to go back to a different rotation and get back in sync and you've got to get used to playing with each other again. And we'll do that as quickly as possible when we come back from the holidays."
            Matt Daniel, a Jonesboro, Ark., native, is back in his hometown in his first year as Arkansas State's head coach after stops at Central Arkansas and Marshall. The Red Wolves, who are playing 10 of their 13 non-conference games on the road, have won two of their last three. 
            Junior forward Peyton Martin leads the team with 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while 5-9 sophomore Jireh Washington is a "very physical point guard" that is averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. 
            "They've got an excitement around their program that they've got somebody that everybody knows," Mulkey said of Daniel. "Their record is not indicative of how hard he has them playing and how good they're going to be at some point."
            Wednesday's noon game is the Lady Bears' annual "I'm going to College Day," with an estimated 6,500 students from the Central Texas being bused in from more than 30 schools in the area. 
            The game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball head coach Jim Haller calling the action.
 

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'I'M GOING TO COLLEGE DAY' RETURNS TO FERRELL CENTER FOR ARKANSAS ST. GAME
     You may notice a higher pitch in the audience Wednesday when Baylor takes on Arkansas State as the annual "I'm Going to College Day" is taking place. An expected 6,500 students from the Central Texas area will be in attendance, and they will receive Baylor goodie bags as well as experience several educational messages throughout the contest. Students will range from Kindergarten to 8^th grade and will include more than 30 schools.

HOME WIN STREAKS ON THE LINE ON THE LINE VS. ARKANSAS STATE
     Two weeks have passed since Baylor's last contest vs. Georgia at home Dec. 4. The Lady Bears put a 72-38 thumping on the Lady Bulldogs helping the Big 12 go 8-2 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Baylor's 34-point victory was the second-largest margin of victory in the challenge since its inception in 2014 behind Texas Tech's 36-point win over Ole Miss, also accomplished Dec. 4.
   With Arkansas State coming to town for "I'm Going to College Day" at the Ferrell Center, Baylor will gun for its 46^th-straight win at the Ferrell Center and 56^th-straight home win over a non-conference opponent. A win over the Red Wolves would tie for the 20^th best home win streak in NCAA history with Iowa (46, 1985-1990). Baylor's last loss at home came Feb. 6, 2017 to Texas. The Lady Bears' last non-conference home loss came Jan. 13, 2014 to UConn.
 
CENTURY MARK FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 10 LOOMS AS STREAK REACHES 99
   Idle Baylor dropped one spot from No. 7 to No. 6 in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 poll. Earlier this season, the Lady Bears reached 300 consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 (Now at 306), and Monday marked the 99^th straight week Baylor has been ranked in the Top 10. Dec. 8, 2014 Baylor moved from No. 11 to No. 9 in the AP poll setting up Baylor for an amazing run that continued through Monday with its 99^th-straight selection in the Top 10. If Baylor can beat ASU Wednesday, it would likely guarantee 100-straight weeks in the Top 10 when the poll comes out Dec. 23.
 
SENIOR COX OUT, BICKLE JOINS INJURED LIST
     Baylor All-American senior forward Lauren Cox sustained a stress reaction to the second metatarsal on her right foot early in the season and began missing games Nov. 14 vs. 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.
     Sophomore Caitlin Bickle sustained a knee injury during the Georgia contest Dec. 4 and underwent successful surgery shortly after. Bickle is not ruled out for a return for the 2019-20 season, but no timetable for recovery has been established.
 
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Through nine games the Lady Bears have 16 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 29 fast-break points on the season. Baylor is outscoring teams on the break by an average of 17.8-3.2.
 
DISTRIBUTION, SCORING EFFICIENCY & MARGIN OF VICTORY HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL RANKINGS
   The 8-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 11 categories through games played through Dec. 15. Baylor ranks tops in scoring margin (38.1) while ranking in the top five in the nation in assists per game (4^th, 21.6), field goal percentage (2^nd, .517) field goal percentage defense (4^th, .299) and scoring defense (4^th, 47.9).
   Individually, Queen Egbo's .633 field goal percentage ranks 15th in the nation and second in the Big 12.
 
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.
 
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.