Baylor
Texas Tech
WBB Hosts Texas Tech for Big 12 Home Opener on ESPNU
12/14/2020 1:47:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Series lead up for grabs in battle between Lady Bears and Lady Raiders
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#7/7 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (3-1, 1-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
#7/7 BAYLOR (3-1, 1-0) vs TEXAS TECH (3-1, 0-0) December 14, 2020 | 6 PM (CT) Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284)  WATCH: ESPNUTalent: Eric Frede (PBP), Carolyn Peck (Analyst) RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM DIGITAL RADIO LINK: ESPN Central Texas Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Analyst) LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast Baylor Social Media:    ** Due to COVID-19, there will be no physical copies of stats, media almanacs, rosters, please use the following link for MEDIA RESOURCES ** |
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TEXAS TECH LADY RAIDER (4-0) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Krista Gerlich Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Since being challenged by Baylor coach Kim Mulkey after scoring just four points in a 67-62 win over South Florida two weeks ago, grad transfer DiJonai Carrington has averaged 21.5 points the last two games and hit 5-of-14 from the 3-point arc.
But, don't look for the 5-11 guard to be in the starting lineup when the seventh-ranked Lady Bears (3-1, 1-0) host Texas Tech (3-1, 0-0) at 6 p.m. Monday at the Ferrell Center.
"I like where she is right now," Mulkey said of bringing the senior guard off the bench. "She brings spark to our offense, she brings spark to our team. I've never been a coach that's gotten caught up in starting. That's so overrated. You want to be in the top eight, nine players. You just want to be on the floor when the game is on the line."
Carrington certainly took the challenge to heart, pouring in a game-high 24 points in an 83-78 loss on the road at Arkansas and then draining three 3-pointers and scoring 19 points in Thursday's 65-45 blowout of West Virginia in the Big 12 opener.
"I kind of laid two eggs in the first two games, and I had to respond," said Carrington, an All-Pac-12 pick at Stanford two years ago. "I kind of knew it would take me a little second for me to get back into the groove of playing games. You can practice all you want, but being away from basketball for a while, it just takes time to get that feel back and get everything back to normal."
At least as normal as you can get in 2020. The Lady Bears are scheduled to play four games in the next six days in the facility they share with the men's team that paused team activities on Saturday as a result of COVID-19 protocols.
"You keep your fingers crossed and hope and pray that you can get those four games in," Mulkey said. "Then, you worry about the next part when they go home for Christmas after the last game this week. . . . You just try to do the best you can and follow the protocols and wash your hands, (stay) six feet apart and keep your mask on."
Bouncing back from the loss at Arkansas, when the Lady Razorbacks shot 39 free throws, Baylor held West Virginia (4-1) to 28 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Mountaineers, 48-37.
"Those two staples in our program (defense and rebounding) have been there for many years," Mulkey said. "I was impressed that our kids, when they would not be confident or they would miss shots, that they would go back to the other end of the floor and just play solid defense."
Baylor's defense will have to be on its toes against a Texas Tech team that's averaging 76.5 points and features four double-figure scorers in Alexis Tucker (12.3 ppg, 7.3 rebounds), Lexi Gordon (15.5 ppg), Chrislyn Carr (10.3 ppg) and Vivian Gray (17.0 ppg, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists), a two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick who transferred from Oklahoma State.
"They have three of the best scoring players in our conference," Mulkey said. "Vivian Gray transferred there, an all-conference play from Oklahoma State. And then you add Carr and Gordon in the mix. Those are three kids that can flat-out score the basketball. We've got our hands full."
With 6-3 junior center Queen Egbo (12.0 ppg, 7.3 rebounds) and 6-2 junior forward NaLyssa Smith (14.3 ppg, 9.5 rebounds) at the two inside spots and 6-5 freshman Hannah Gusters on the bench, the Lady Bears will have a distinct size advantage on Tech. The 6-1 Gray is the Lady Raiders' tallest starter and leading rebounder.
"They're obviously running an offense that there's really no what I call 'big' inside," Mulkey said. "They kind of move everybody around. It's good to be home, but that doesn't guarantee us any wins. But, we know what they can do, they can flat-out score the basketball, those three kids."
Before a 13-day break for Christmas, Baylor will face Southern (0-3) on Wednesday, Northwestern State (0-1) in a makeup game on Friday and McNeese State (0-5) on Saturday, with all three games tipping at 2 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
Monday's game will be televised by ESPNU, with Eric Frede and former Florida head coach Carolyn Peck calling the action.
THIRD QUARTER POWERS LADY BEARS TO A 20-POINT WIN AT WEST VIRGINIA TO OPEN BIG 12 PLAY
After a highly-competitive first half in Morgantown, W. Va., the Baylor Lady Bears outscored the Mountaineers 24-11 in the third quarter. DiJonai Carrington set the tone with a steal and score on the opening play for Baylor, and she went on to score 14 of her 19 points in the frame. Carrington has combined for 43 points in the last two contests and now leads Baylor by averaging 14.5 points per game. Defensively, after WVU's Kysre Gonrezick scored nine points in the first half, the Lady Bears' defense shut the senior guard down. She had averaged 23.0 points per contest entering into the night, but the combination of DiDi Richards and Moon Ursin held her to 0-for-7 from the field in the second half. Ursin had one of the best all-around games of her career; the senior guard scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished five assists, blocked two shots and grabbed two steals. Richards finished with 10 points and NaLyssa Smith scored 10 points to go with six boards. Baylor moved to 16-5 all-time in Big 12 openers under Mulkey, and the Lady Bears improved to 9-0 vs. the Mountaineers in Morgantown, W. Va.
DEEP THREAT RETURNS IN WIN OVER WEST VIRGINIA
After just six 3-point field goals in the first three games for the Lady Bears, Baylor hit 6-of-15 attempts from deep Thursday in Morgantown, W. Va. The Lady Bears began the year at 6-for-37 (.162) from deep before DiJonai Carrington (3), Moon Ursin (2), and Caitlin Bickle (1) all connected from beyond the arc vs. the Mountaineers. Carrington hit 3-of-4 attempts in the third quarter and has six of Baylor's dozen treys this season.
SERIES LEAD UP FOR GRABS WITH TEXAS TECH AND BAYLOR MONDAY
Tied at 47 games apiece, Baylor and Texas Tech have been battling on the hardwood since 1976. With Marsha Sharp at the helm, Texas Tech dominated the series, and since Kim Mulkey's arrival in 2000, the Lady Bears have flipped the script. Baylor is on a 22-game win streak and is 39-8 since Mulkey's arrival. With Sharp at the helm, at one point, the Lady Raiders had won 39-straight contests vs. Baylor, including the first three contests in the Mulkey era. TTU is playing under first-year head coach Krista Gerlich; Mulkey & Gerlich have faced each other as head coaches only one time when BU beat UT-Arlington, 62-20, Nov. 13, 2015.
RICHARDS RETURNS TO FLOOR AFTER SPINAL INJURY, FEATURED ON ESPN'S SPORTSCENTER
Oct. 24, Moon Ursin and DiDi Richards collided in mid-air during a practice scrimmage, leaving Ursin with a concussion and Richards with a Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality (SCIOWRA). Ursin returned to practice after clearing concussion protocol in mid-November while Richards' rehab began immediately after she briefly lost feeling below her knees. Richards was first confined to a walker to assist her in walking, but by mid-November she was completing individual drills and workouts with medical and strength & conditioning staff. Richards shocked doctors, team medical staff and coaches with the rate of her rehab. Thirty-eight days after the injury, she played 30 minutes off the bench at South Florida Dec. 1. She scored a bucket 13 seconds into her entry, and picked up where she left off last season by leading Baylor with seven assists. Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark. she resumed her starting role, getting her first start at point guard and finished the contest with a game-high eight assists. She led the Big 12 in assists per game in 2019-20, ranked 13th in the nation and had the NCAA's sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.9:1.
Her return to the floor sparked interest from ESPN with Mechelle Voepel writing a feature on her recovery, and Scott Van Pelt led off his Tuesday edition of SportsCenter, covering Richards' return with the "Best Thing I Saw Today" segment.
BAYLOR WINS 1,000TH WIN AS A PROGRAM; LADY BEARS BECOME 15TH PROGRAM IN D1 HISTORY TO REACH 1,000 VICTORIES
Baylor's win at South Florida Dec. 1 marked the program's 1,000th victory. Baylor became the 15th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 1,000 victories joining Tennessee, UConn, James Madison, Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Texas, SFA, Old Dominion, Ohio State, Maryland, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin-Green Bay, South Dakota State, and Notre Dame. Kim Mulkey has 606 of those wins as head coach for Baylor. At Louisiana Tech, she was either a player, assistant or associate head coach for 560 victories, which makes her a direct contributor to 1,106 wins between the two programs on the prestigious list.
LONE LADY BEARS SIGNEE, DAUDA, COMMITS FOR 2021-22
Baylor signed just one player for the 2021 recruiting class, but it was a big fish. Bentonville, Ark. native Maryam Dauda was ESPN Hoopgurlz's No. 1-ranked post recruit out of the 2021 class, was given five stars and ranked the No. 13 overall recruit in the class. Dauda began playing basketball in sixth grade after moving to the U.S. from Nigeria. The 6-4 post was a AAA All-State selection in Arkansas as a junior after averaging 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per contest. She was named to the Naismith High School Player of the Year watch list in November ahead of her senior season.
BAYLOR FINISHED 2019-20 RANKED FIRST IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE FOR FOURTH-STRAIGHT YEAR
For the fourth-straight year and the fifth in Kim Mulkey's history as head coach at Baylor, the Lady Bears ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in defensive field goal percentage in 2019-20. Mulkey's Lady Bears are known for their tough-nosed defense, and last year's team was led by Richards who earned the national defensive player of the year award from both Naismith and the WBCA. The team held opponents to a .310 shooting mark, which tied with the 2011-12 squad for lowest opponent field goal percentage. Baylor has ranked in the top five in that category in each of the last six seasons and in 9 of the last 10. Baylor also won the category in 2010-11.
MULKEY JOINS STAR-STUDDED 2020 CLASS WITH NAISMITH HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
The Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled, but Kim Mulkey did get some good news in April when she was announced as a member of the 2020 induction class to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She and her class' peers are virtually peerless as she joined a star-studded class, including Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, Rudy Tomjanovich, Eddie Sutton, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann.
Her induction ceremony was delayed due to COVID-19 and the 2020 class has yet to be enshrined. Her induction will be as a coach, although she has been nominated as a player on numerous occasions. She was also a finalist in 2018. Mulkey's many accomplishments earned her the honor, but among them are three NCAA titles, 21 Big 12 championships, and she was the fastest NCAA Division I head coach, man or woman, to reach 600 career victories (700 games).
50/50 – BAYLOR'S MAGIC NUMBER OFFENSIVELY & DEFENSIVELY
Kim Mulkey-coached teams at Baylor are 236-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, while just 16 times in 20-plus seasons has an opponent shot 50 percent or better against the Lady Bears defense. Baylor's only loss when shooting 50 percent or better came vs.
Mississippi State in the 2017 Elite 8.
