No. 2/1 WBB heads to TCU as Lady Bears Look to Stay Undefeated in Conference

Wednesday, January 22

Fort Worth, Texas

6:30 PM

Baylor

TCU

Photo by: Chris Jones Photography

No. 2/1 WBB heads to TCU as Lady Bears Look to Stay Undefeated in Conference

1/21/2020 4:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lady Bears have won 27-straight vs. the Horned Frogs



	#2/1 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (15-1, 4-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	#2/1 BAYLOR (15-1, 4-0) at TCU (13-3, 4-1) January, 21, 2020 \| 6:30 PM Fort Worth, Texas \| Schollmaier Arena (6,800) LIVE STATS: GoFrogs.com RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: GoFrogs.com Talent: n/a LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:

	TCU (13-3, 4-1) Location: Morgantown, W. Va. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Mike Carey Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            While senior guard Juicy Landrum has been around for all 45 games in the Baylor Lady Bears' Big 12 winning streak, this is all new for grad transfer Te'a Cooper.
            "I find out a new streak every day," said Cooper, who is averaging 14.6 points and 5.1 assists going into Wednesday's matchup between No 2/1 Baylor (15-1, 4-0) and TCU (13-3, 4-1), which tips off at 6:30 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. "I feel like there's a new update every game we play. It's exciting to know they have done that, it's fun to be a part of."
            TCU has been on the other end of five of those 45 games. On last year's trip to Fort Worth, Landrum drained three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points in the Lady Bears' 79-55 win.
            "Once you shoot around, you know if it's a good shooting rim or not a good shooting rim," said Landrum, who's averaging 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. "But pretty much, they have a good shooting rim, a great court."
            As a point guard at Louisiana Tech, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said she was more of a distributor than shooter, but "I think shooters would tell you that there are gyms that probably have good shooter rims."
            "I don't know what the difference is, but I have heard that said a lot," she said. "When we are practicing, they will say, 'Oh man, this is a good place.'''
            Cooper said you can't really control the goals, "we've just got to get it in there somehow."
            "I don't check it out, but there are some rims that are stiff, so they don't get that good bounce that you want," she said.
            On top of the school- and Big 12-record 45-game winning streak, the Lady Bears have won 27 in a row against TCU and 37-straight conference road games, the second-longest active streak (behind UConn) and the third-best all-time.
            "We just don't discuss that," Mulkey said of their winning streaks. "Unless they see it on social media or y'all say something to them, really the only thing that we discussed before the season was this is your next goal: to win a Big 12 championship."
            Baylor's next challenge on the path to its 10^th-straight Big 12 regular-season championship is TCU, which is coming off back-to-back road wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma. One of the most experienced teams in the league, the Horned Frogs start four seniors and junior Lauren Heard, who is averaging 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
            "They want to get to the NCAA Tournament, and I think they're playing like it," Mulkey said. "You don't go to Texas and you don't beat Oklahoma and those guys without being a very good team. We know that it's going to be tough, and we're going to prepare just like we do every game."
            Seniors Kianna Ray and Jayde Woods average 12.4 and 10.1 points, respectively, for the Frogs, who also have wins over Auburn, SMU and then-No. 25 Texas.
            "They're going to mix up their defense," Mulkey said. "They've predominantly played a lot of zone, yet I've watched some game film and they're mixing it up and playing more man. They're just very aggressive. They will block you out, even if they're undersized, maybe. They just play well together. There's not one super-star player. They all score the ball well, they shoot 3's, so we're preparing for all of it."
            Baylor counters with 6-2 sophomore forward NaLyssa Smith (16.3 ppg, 8.1 rebounds), 6-4 senior All-American Lauren Cox (12.1 ppg, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 blocks) and the backcourt combo of Cooper and Landrum.
            "That's my partner," Cooper said of Landrum, who had 14 points in Saturday's 91-51 rout of then-No. 17 West Virginia. "Me and Juicy, she's been my partner since I've been here in all the drills. We hang out a lot off the court, so we spend a lot of time together."
            After winning their last three games by an average margin of 43 points, Mulkey said the Lady Bears have to keep up the intensity on the defensive end.
            "You aren't going to shoot the ball well every night," she said, "but your defense, why can't it be the same every night? That's how you get through games that you're not shooting it well and not playing good. You've got to guard people."
            Baylor returns home for its next two games, hosting Texas Tech (12-4, 1-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday and Iowa State (10-6, 2-3) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

BAYLOR LOOKS TO EXTEND STREAK OVER EXPERIENCED TCU SQUAD IN FORT WORTH
   It's been nearly 30 years since TCU last beat Baylor in women's basketball. The Lady Bears hold a 27-game win streak over the Horned Frogs with TCU last beating Baylor Feb. 2, 1990 in Fort Worth. Since Kim Mulkey took over, Baylor is 15-0 vs. TCU.
   The Horned Frogs are off to a good start, however, in 2019-20 bringing a 13-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in Big 12 play. TCU starts five seniors under head coach Raegan Pebley and aside from a loss to Texas Tech, Jan. 8, the Horned Frogs have big road wins over No. 25 Texas (1/3), Iowa State (1/15) and Oklahoma (1/19).

STREAKS CONTINUE TO BE ON THE LINE FOR BAYLOR
   Baylor set new school and Big 12 records with its 45-straight Big 12 win in the regular season Saturday vs. No. 17 West Virginia. Forty-five-straight conference wins in the regular season is the 12th best conference win streak in NCAA history. A win over TCU Wednesday would extend the streak to 46 games and tie for the 11^th-best streak of all-time.
   In addition, Baylor has a 37-game road win streak in conference play, which is the second-longest active streak in the NCAA (UConn) and the third-best all-time.

LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Through 16 games the Lady Bears have 28 double-digit runs this season, including a season-high 37-0 run to begin the game vs. New Hampshire Nov. 5 and a Big-12 best 29-0 run at Oklahoma Jan. 4. In addition to the transition game on offense, Baylor's defense has allowed just 73 fast-break points on the season. Baylor is outscoring teams on the break by an average of 18.5-4.6.

LADY BEARS PIQUING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL THROUGH FIRST 16 GAMES
   The 15-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 14 categories through games played through Jan 19. Baylor ranks No. 1 in the nation in assists per game (23.2), field goal percentage (.515), field goal percentage defense (.297), rebound margin (15.8), scoring defense (48.8), scoring margin (39.0), scoring offense (87.8) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.231). Baylor also ranks in the top 5 in total assists (4^th, 371), blocked shots per game (4^th, 6.4), rebounds per game (5^th, 45.13), and 3-point field goal percentage (3^rd, .406).
   DiDi Richards ranks fourth nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.25:1) while Juicy Landrum ranks 14th (2.73:1) and Jordyn Oliver checks in at 17th (2.53:1) and Te'a Cooper ranks 22^nd (2.45:1); the four players rank in the top five in that category in the Big 12 rankings. NaLyssa Smith ranks 14th in the nation and leads the Big 12 at 59.6 shooting from the floor while Queen Egbo is 16th and second, respectively with a .593 mark. Juicy Landrum is shooting .466 from beyond the 3-point arc, which ranks her sixth in the nation and second in the Big 12.

WRAPPING UP A NINE-YEAR RUN OF DOMINANCE FOR BAYLOR'S LADY BEARS
     Baylor closed 2019 with a 335-23 record between Jan. 2, 2010 and Dec. 30, 2019 for a .936 winning percentage. Last decade produced two national championships (2012, 2019), three Final Fours (2010, 2012, 2019), 10 Sweet 16s, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, nine Big 12 regular season championships, and eight Big 12 Tournament titles. It also saw 11 players receive WBCA First-Team All-America honors, seven earned Associated Press All-Americans, eight were named USBWA First-Team All-Americans, Kim Mulkey earned seven different National Coach of the Year honors and six Big 12 Coach of the Year awards. Six players were named Big 12 Player of the Year and 22 players earned First-Team All-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.

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). But perhaps the most consistent category the Lady Bears led the nation in, was field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .318 clip. That marked the third-straight year to lead the nation in that category while also ranking in the top five in eight of the last nine years.