No. 7 WBB Closes 2020 With 117-24 Win Over McNeese State

Saturday, December 19

Waco, Texas

2 p.m.

Baylor

7-1,2-0Big 12

117

McNeese State

0-7,0-0Southland

McNeese

Baylor

117

No. 7 WBB Closes 2020 With 117-24 Win Over McNeese State

12/19/2020 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score WBB_08_McNeese

Lady Bears break school record for most points in back-to-back games with 253

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Kim Mulkey is always going to choose defense over offense, but she got to have her cake and eat it, too, as the seventh-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (7-1) rolled to a 117-24 win over the McNeese State Cowgirls Saturday afternoon at the Ferrell Center.
            Following a 136-43 blowout of Northwestern State a day earlier, Baylor set a school record for most points in back-to-back games (253), the fourth-most in NCAA history.
            Freshman center Hannah Gusters led six players in double figures with 17 points, while sophomore guard Jordyn Oliver recorded her second-straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Along with freshman Sarah Andrews' 10 points and DiJonai Carrington's stat sheet-stuffing nine points, seven rebounds and six steals, Baylor's bench scored 61 points.
            "It gives me confidence, but I'm also a realist," Mulkey said. "I understand the level of competition these last few games. But what I did, the three games we were on the road, I got a little bit better picture of what some kids can do to help us, what kids need to play together when we're facing a man or a zone. The more I can see them in game action, the more I learn."
            As impressive as the offensive numbers were, Baylor's defense might have been even better. The Lady Bears held McNeese State (0-7) to just 13.5 percent shooting overall and 1-of-18 from 3-point range, came up with the third-most steals in school history (25) and allowed their fewest points in four years.
            "They know they have to buy in (on the defensive end), they don't have a choice," Mulkey said. "The last three games, we're playing more zone for a lot of reasons. Some of the newcomers seemed a lot more comfortable in a zone. I like to tell them they're a little lazy, it's a lot easier to play zone. But whatever is effective, until we can grow up, it's all about winning basketball games and developing players."
            One of those "developing players" is Andrews. After going 0-for-9 from 3-point range and averaging 1.5 points through the first four games, she was a sizzling 9-of-20 from outside arc in the four games this week and averaged 9.3 points.
            "I would say the first few games, it was more of nerves," Andrews said. "But with Coach Mulkey always believing in me – she kept telling me to shoot the ball – I knew over time, I would start knocking down shots. And now, I'm getting more comfortable and able to hit shots."
            On the opposite end of that spectrum is Carrington, a grad transfer from Stanford who scored her 1,000^th career point in Saturday's game.
            "I've been through a few injuries throughout my time in college," she said. "I think just to know that I was able to persevere and never give up, even after having to miss a whole season, a few surgeries, it means a lot. It just reminds me of my purpose to never give up on anything, no matter what life throws at me. But, I'm glad to have done it in the green and gold."
            Senior guard DiDi Richards scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half and "basically had a perfect game," Mulkey said. Playing just 14 minutes, including the first four minutes of the third quarter, Richards was 6-of-6 from the line and 2-of-2 from the foul line, adding six assists and two steals with no turnovers.
            "I didn't feel like there was any need to play her in the second half. Everybody wants to play, but it allowed Jaden Owens and some more to get more minutes," Mulkey said. "DiDi Richards knows her spot on this team and where she stands, but it's a leadership thing. Just by her understanding, she didn't have a problem not playing in the second half."
            Owens, a sophomore transfer from UCLA who became immediately eligible when the NCAA issued a blanket waiver on Wednesday, made the most of her 13 minutes. Playing in just her second game with the Lady Bears, she had a team-high eight assists and added four points, three steals and two rebounds.
            "Jaden is more of a facilitator (at point guard)," Mulkey said. "She wants to give you the shot before she takes her shot. Not that the other ones don't either, but the other ones also know they can score the ball as well and you're going to have to move them around. With DiDi playing the point now, that was to allow Sarah and Jordyn Oliver and Jaden to just become more comfortable. . . . It's allowed me to see some things that they can do at multiple positions."
            NaLyssa Smith also added a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards for Baylor, which is off until resuming Big 12 play on Jan. 2 with a short road trip to Fort Worth to play TCU (4-2, 0-2) before returning home to host third-ranked UConn (4-0) on Jan. 7.
            "We're going to flush these last three games, because we're going to play more talented teams," Mulkey said. "And that's not a knock on those teams, it's just we know how difficult it is when you get to conference. And then, when you take the elite program that Connecticut is, we know what we face with those guys.
            "Our prayer now is to go home and see families and everybody report back on (Dec. 28) COVID-free and stay COVID-free and we play as many conference games as we can get in."

-BaylorBears.com-