#6/6 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (11-1) Location: Waco, Texas   Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	#6/6 BAYLOR (11-1) AT #1/1 UCONN (12-0) January, 9, 2020 | 6 PM Hartford, Conn. | XL Center (16,294) LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast  RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: ESPN Talent: Adam Amin (PBP), Rebecca Lobo (Analyst), Holly Rowe (Sideline) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:
	#1/1 CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (12-0) Location: Storrs, Conn. Conference: American Athletic Head Coach: Geno Auriema Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            After combining to win seven national championships in the past decade, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey and UConn's Geno Auriemma will start the new decade with another chapter in a rivalry that didn't start until their first meeting at the 2010 Final Four. 
            On a collision path for a potential second meeting later this year in New Orleans, the top-ranked Huskies (12-0) will host the No. 6 Lady Bears (11-1) at 6 p.m. CST Thursday at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN. 
            "Just having been a program that's played big games, that's been in Final fours, that's won national championships," Mulkey said, "those players that have experienced that know what the environment will be like, they'll know how tough the opponent will be. And the young ones won't. . . . I don't think the atmosphere or anything like that is going to be eye-popping for anybody but (freshman guard Jordyn Oliver."
            While Baylor returns eight players from last year's national championship team, including the starting trio of 6-4 All-American Lauren Cox, shooting guard Juicy Landrum and 6-1 defensive specialist DiDi Richards, none of the players are still around from UConn's last of 11 title teams in 2016. 
            Despite losing All-Americans Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier off last year's 35-3 team that lost to Notre Dame in the national semifinals, the Huskies are back on top at No. 1 in the Associated Press and coaches' polls. 
            "It's the same look offensively and defensively, it's just new personnel," Mulkey said of the Huskies, who beat 16^th-ranked DePaul, 84-74, in their only previous top-25 matchup this season. "That's what great programs do. They graduate players, and the next one steps in. . . . They have just inserted the next great player that waited her turn to go into the lineup."
            Four of the six that played in last year's semifinal game against Notre Dame return, led by the starting trio of 6-1 junior forward Megan Walker (21.0 ppg, 9.4 rebounds), senior guard Crystal Daingerfield (15.0 ppg, 4.4 assists) and 5-11 sophomore guard Christyn Williams (16.3 ppg, 5.2 assists). 
            The impact newcomer in the lineup is 6-5 sophomore Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who is averaging 13.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. 
            "They do a lot of stuff where they're moving and setting on-balls and handoffs and screens and shoot a lot of 3's," Mulkey said. "Nothing any different than what you've seen them do. They're just hard to defend, they have a lot of weapons. . . . Both teams are different than last year. Both teams are very good. I don't know that this game will signify anything other than a good women's basketball game."
            In four of the previous seven matchups – UConn leads the all-time series, 4-3 – the winner has gone on to win the national championship. That included Baylor beating the then-No. 1 Huskies, 67-58, last year in Waco on the way to claiming the 2019 national championship. 
            "Maybe it gave us a good gauge, maybe it gave us a good game," Mulkey said of last year's win over UConn. "But, it didn't give us a No. 1 seed, it didn't lose us a No. 1 seed (had we lost). Connecticut was still in the Final Four, we were in the Final Four. At the end of the day, it prepares you hopefully for the playoffs, that you've been in an atmosphere that made you really have to play 40 minutes of great basketball."
            Particularly with Cox coming off a stress reaction in her right foot that caused her to miss eight games, Baylor's not where it was at the end of last season and hopes to be in March and April this year. But, Cox at least has a couple of games under her belt, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds in Saturday's 77-56 road win at Oklahoma in the Big 12 opener. 
            "I think I'm getting closer," said Cox, who is averaging 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. "It's just about getting back in shape, getting my touch back. It's going to come, I've just got to keep working."
            Mulkey, who is trying to win her 10^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season title, said she will never over-emphasize a non-conference game in January over the 18-game league schedule. 
            "If you do, you're going to come back and lose games in conference that maybe you shouldn't lose because you get too high or you get too low," she said. "We just can't allow that to happen. We're going and we're going to give it our best shot. We're not polished yet, obviously, with Cox just getting back in the lineup. She's not polished yet, but I can tell you, she's going to battle till the end."
            Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN, with Adam Amin, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe calling the action. That same trio, along with Kara Lawson, were on the call when Baylor defeated Notre Dame, 82-81, in last year's championship game in Tampa, Fla. 
 

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BAYLOR VS. NO. 1-RANKED OPPONENTS
   For a program that had two NCAA titles and three Final Four appearances heading into last year's Jan. 3 matchup vs. No. 1 UConn, many were surprised to find out that Baylor had never beat a No. 1-ranked program. That changed that night when the Lady Bears took a 68-57 win over the top-ranked Huskies, which snapped an 11-game skid vs. No. 1-ranked opponents (AP and/or WBCA Top 25 polls). The 0-11 mark vs. No. 1s came in the NCAA era, and prior to that Baylor also lost three times to AIAW No. 1s.
   The monkey is off the back of the Lady Bears, and they are set up to possibly take their second-straight win off a No. 1-ranked opponent, which happens to be UConn again, but this time on the road in Hartford, Conn.
 
BAYLOR VS. UCONN
   If you're judging by NCAA titles alone, UConn (11), Tennessee (8) and Baylor (3) are the top three women's basketball programs in NCAA history. Tennessee and UConn have had 22 meetings in their storied history, but Baylor and UConn will meet for just the eighth time Thursday night. All previous seven meetings have aired on an ESPN network and Thursday's ball game will be carried on the flagship network.
   The two programs met for the first time in the 2010 NCAA Final Four semifinals round where UConn took a 20-point win in San Antonio. Later that calendar year, but in the next season, Baylor traveled to Connecticut for the first time in program history, and again the Huskies prevailed with a 65-64 win in Hartford, Nov. 16, 2010.
   The Lady Bears tipped the scale back in their favor with two-straight wins: one in Waco Dec. 18, 2011 (66-61) and the other in a return to Hartford, Feb. 18, 2013 (76-70). UConn proceeded to return the favor with two-straight wins in Waco (Nov. 11, 2016, 72-61) and then in the series' only meeting in Storrs, Conn., 72-61 Nov. 17, 2016.
   Kalani Brown scored 22 points in front of 10,284 fans at the Ferrell Center Jan. 3, 2019 to give Baylor its third win of the series in Waco on ESPN (67-58), which gives Baylor an opportunity to even the series if the Lady Bears can take their second road win of the series, Thursday.
   The game will feature the NCAA's two top active head coaches as it pertains to winning percentage. UConn's Geno Auriema is No. 1 in that category in his 35^th season at an .886 clip (1,074-139) while Mulkey is No. 2 at .854 (587-100).
   Auriema and Mulkey were somewhat familiar with one another prior to her arrival at Baylor. As an assistant at Louisiana Tech, the Lady Techsters were 2-2 in four meetings during her tenure, including a win over the Huskies when they were ranked No. 1, Nov. 19, 1995 (83-81, OT).
 
COOPER NETS CAREER HIGH IN BAYLOR'S BIG 12 OPENER
   The Lady Bears moved to 14-6 under head coach Kim Mulkey in Big 12 openers behind graduate transfer guard Te'a Cooper's 32 points at Oklahoma Saturday. In addition, it was Baylor's 9^th win in the last 10 Big 12 opening contests, it extended BU's Big 12 win streak to 43 games and its road-conference win streak to 36 games. Thirty-six straight wins on the road for Baylor in Big 12 play is the third longest conference-road win streak in NCAA history and the second-longest active streak next to UConn.
 
WRAPPING UP A NINE-YEAR RUN OF DOMINANCE FOR BAYLOR'S LADY BEARS
     Baylor closed the decade 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.
 
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Through 12 games the Lady Bears have 24 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 38 fast-break points on the season. Baylor is outscoring teams on the break by an average of 19.4-3.2.
 
LADY BEARS PIQUING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL THROUGH FIRST 12 GAMES       
   The 11-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 12 categories through games played through Jan 5. Baylor ranks tops in the nation in assists per game (23.1), field goal percentage (.519), scoring margin (39.9) and field goal percentage defense (.301). Baylor also ranks in the top five in the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 1.69:1), blocked shots per game (5th, 6.3) scoring offense (2nd, 88.0), rebound margin (5th, 13.6), and 3-point field goal percentage defense (5th, .235).
   Three players rank in the Top 25 nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio, led by DiDi Richards (8th, 2.95:1), Te'a Cooper (10th, 2.86:1), and Juicy Landrum (17th, 2.59:1). Queen Egbo ranks 18th in the nation and 2nd in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at 61.0 percent while NaLyssa Smith ranks 19th in the nation and third in the Big 12 at 59.7 percent. Juicy Landrum is shooting .491 from beyond the 3-point arc, which ranks her fourth in the nation and first 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.
 
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.