Stage Set in Lubbock for Historic Mulkey Milestone



	#2/1 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (23-1, 12-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	#2/2 BAYLOR (23-1, 12-0) at TEXAS TECH (15-8, 4-8) February 18, 2020 \| 7 PM Lubbock, Texas \| United Supermarkets Arena (15,000) LIVE STATS: SIDEARM Stats RADIO: 92.9 FM WATCH: Fox Sports App Talent: Ron Thulin (PBP), Brenda VanLengen (Color) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:

	TEXAS TECH LADY RAIDERS (15-8, 4-8) Location: Lubbock, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Marlene Stollings Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Kim Mulkey, who can't even remember her other milestone victories, says winning 600 games "just means I'm getting older."
            Not true.
            In fact, if No. 2 Baylor (23-1, 12-0) beats Texas Tech (15-8, 4-8) in Tuesday's 7 p.m. game at Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, the 20^th-year head coach will become the fastest Division I basketball coach – men's or women's – to reach 600 career victories.
            That's a list that includes Adolph Rupp, Roy Williams, John Wooden and Dean Smith from the men's side and Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt and Tara VanDerveer from the women's game.
            "I attribute that to great scheduling," said Mulkey, who is 599-100. "Get some games on there we can win early in my career so I don't get fired. Listen, it's hard to win, and I don't take winning for granted. But really, I can draw up plays, I can have great practices, I can teach them fundamentals. But, at the end of the day, those kids have got to win ballgames. And golly, look at all the great ones I've coached in 20 years at Baylor."
            Going back to future Hall of Famers Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom in her first two seasons, Mulkey's had an impressive run of All-American players that includes Sophia Young, Brittney Griner, Odyssey Sims, Nina Davis and Kalani Brown.
            The Lady Bears have produced 20-consecutive 20-win seasons and averaged more than 30 per year, winning national championships in 2005, 2012 and 2019.
            "Years ago, the milestone was 20 wins a year," Mulkey said. "You're going to save your job, get to the playoffs, and all is good. You're a great coach if you win 20. But, when you set a standard like we have in our program, sometimes we tend to overlook 20-win seasons. I don't. I remember when we got to (win) No. 8 my first year, and I said, 'Yes! We did better than last year.' And I think it was when we got to 15, I was like, 'Yes, we can't have a losing season.'
            "Hopefully, we can win. Not because I need 600 (wins) or whatever. That's going to happen in time, regardless. But, it keeps us separated from the second-place team in our league."
            Going into Tuesday's game, Baylor has a three-game lead on TCU (18-5, 9-3) with six to play, trying to win its 10^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship and 11^th overall.
            Tech, coming off a 67-60 loss on the road at West Virginia, gave the Lady Bears one of their stiffest tests this year. The Lady Raiders did trail by 21 in the fourth quarter, but they made 12-of-39 from outside the arc and made it a single-digit game (87-79) by scoring the last eight points.
            "That's a very good basketball team we're getting ready to face," Mulkey said. "They're averaging (74.7) points a game in our league. They're putting up just an ungodly number of 3's. After they shot 39 here the last time we played them, they went and beat Oklahoma State at home and made 20 3's. So, we've got our work cut out for us."
            Brittany Brewer and UConn transfer Lexi Gordon combined to hit seven 3-pointers and scored 24 and 18 points, respectively, in that first meeting back on Jan. 26 in Waco.
            "I feel like they're more versatile than they were last year," said sophomore post Queen Egbo, a Lisa Leslie Award finalist who is averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. "They're a bit harder to guard on the 3 and things like that, especially in transition. They're not as post-oriented, they're more guard-oriented. We'll see how that plays out."
            Second-year Tech head coach Marlene Stollings said that when you play Baylor, "you've got to spread them out some. You're not going to get a ton of stuff at the basket" with the 6-3 Egbo, 6-4 senior All-American Lauren Cox (11.6 ppg, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks) and 6-2 sophomore NaLyssa Smith (14.3 ppg, 7.9 rebounds) waiting inside.
            The 6-5 Brewer is averaging a double-double with 15.9 points and 6.2 rebounds, while sophomore guard Chrislynn Carr and Gordon check in at 13.6 and 11.1 points per game, respectively.
            Named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the second time in three years, Mulkey said "it's a tremendous class to have your little name mentioned right there with them." The other finalists are former players Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Tamika Catchings and coaches Eddie Sutton, Rudy Tomjanovich and Barbara Stevens.
            "It is hard to ever be considered, to ever reach that finalist stage," Mulkey said. "There are no guarantees. Do I think it will happen some day? I really do. I have to believe that my resume will get me in some day. But, if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to be devastated. I've been through that before."
            Tuesday's game will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest, with Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen calling the action.
            After finishing the two-game road trip, Baylor returns home to host Oklahoma (12-13, 5-8) at 4 p.m. Saturday as part of a basketball doubleheader. The top-ranked Baylor men will host No. 3 Kansas at 11 a.m., with ESPN's College GameDay broadcasting live from the Ferrell Center in the two hours prior to tipoff.

MULKEY SET FOR HISTORIC MILESTONE WITH NEXT VICTORY
     Saturday's road win over Oklahoma State put Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey at 599 career wins with 100 losses. That sets the stage for Tuesday in Lubbock where Mulkey could become the fastest NCAA Division I head coach, man or woman, to achieve 600 wins. While not a complete list, the 20^th year head coach for Baylor would beat Adolph Rupp (704 games), Geno Auriemma (716), Jerry Tarkanian (720), Pat Summitt (734), Roy Williams (739), John Wooden (755) and Dean Smith (773) to the punch. Were Baylor to fall to Texas Tech, the Lady Bears would need pull out just one win in the following three games for Mulkey to still achieve the feat. In addition to reaching the milestone in the fewest amount of games, Mulkey would also reach 600 in her 20^th season, two seasons faster than the next coach on the list, Auriemma, who achieved 600 in his 22^nd season at UConn.

MULKEY NAMED A NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME FINALIST FOR THE SECOND TIME
     Friday, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey learned that she was a finalist in the coach category for the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class. Mulkey was also a finalist in 2018 in the coach category, and she was also nominated as a player. Mulkey joined Rudy Tomjanovich, Barbara Stevens, Tamika Catchings, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Eddie Sutton as the eight finalists this year. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the committee to be inducted into the 2020 class, which will be announced April 4 at 10 a.m. on ESPN from the NCAA Men's Final Four in Atlanta. Enshrinement festivities will take place in Springfield, Mo., Aug. 28-30.

BIG 12 STREAKS ON THE LINE FOR THE LADY BEARS IN LUBBOCK
     With Mulkey's 600^th win as motivation enough for the Lady Bears to continue their winning ways vs. Texas Tech Tuesday, Baylor will also look to extend their Big 12 regular season win streak and conference road-win streak. Baylor will be gunning for its 54^th-straight Big 12 win in the regular season, which would be the seventh-best such streak in NCAA history. The Lady Bears will also shoot for their 43^rd-straight road win in the regular season vs. a conference opponent, which would extend a school & Big 12 record while remaining the third-best such streak in NCAA history.

THREE LADY BEARS NAMED FINALISTS FOR WBCA 'STARTING FIVE' AWARDS
     Te'a Cooper, Lauren Cox and Queen Egbo have all be selected as finalists in their respective positions for the Naismith Hall of Fame/WBCA Starting Five Awards. Cooper was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award that honors the nation's top point guard Monday, for the third-straight year Cox was named a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award for nation's top power forward Thursday, and Egbo earned a spot on Friday's Lisa Leslie Award top 10 for the nation's top center.
     All three awards named 10 finalists this week and will narrow the list to the "Final Five" in March.

NCAA SELECTION COMMITTEE PUTS LADY BEARS AS NO. 2 OVERALL SEED, NO. 1 IN DALLAS REGIONAL
     Feb. 3, at halftime of the UConn vs. Oregon game on ESPN2, the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Committee had its first reveal of the Top-16 teams. The committee picked South Carolina as the No. 1 overall seed and Baylor as the No. 2 overall seed. Joining SC and BU as No. 1 seeds were Louisville and Oregon with South Carolina headed to the Greenville regional, Baylor to the Dallas regional, Oregon to the Portland regional and Louisville to the Fort Wayne Regional.
     South Carolina lost to No. 17 Indiana for its only loss of the season Nov. 29 while Baylor's only loss came to the No. 5-ranked Gamecocks Nov. 30 without Lauren Cox.
     The committee will reveal its updated Top 16 March 2 at halftime of the South Florida vs. UConn game on ESPN2, which tips at 7 p.m. ET. Then, the NCAA Committee will have the entire bracket on the ESPN Selection Show at 7 p.m. ET, March 16.

50/50 – BAYLOR'S MAGIC NUMBER OFFENSIVELY & DEFENSIVELY
     Kim Mulkey coached teams at Baylor 233-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, while just 16 times in 19-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.

COX NABS THREE MORE LATE-SEASON HONORS; SMITH JOINS HER ON NAISMITH MIDSEASON TEAM
     Lauren Cox was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, named to the late-season watch list for the John Wooden Award, and the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy along with sophomore NaLyssa Smith. The Senior CLASS Award narrowed its list of candidates to 10 women's players who exemplify excellence in competition, in the classroom, and in the community. The Wooden Award honors the top player in college basketball, and Cox was the only Big 12 representative out of 20 players. Smith & Cox are on the Naismith midseason watch list, which consists of 20 players, including Iowa State guard Ashley Joens.

COX & RICHARDS NAMED AS 15 FINALISTS FOR NAISMITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
     Lauren Cox is the 2-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and DiDi Richards' reputation for her on-ball defense earned her First-Team All-Big 12 honors last year. This year, those performances have carried over to national recognition as the pair made the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Team, which includes just 15 players.
     Cox has missed time due to injury, but is still averaging 3.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while opponent's offensive scouting reports are scrambled when they face the Cox-led Lady Bears. Richards' steal numbers are up to 2.1 per game, she's added 15 blocks this season and still draws assignments for each opponent's top perimeter player throughout the season.

LADY BEARS RANK NO. 1 IN THE NATION IN THREE STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
     The 23-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 16 categories through games played through Feb. 16. Baylor ranks No. 1 in the nation in three categories: Field Goal Percentage Defense (.303), Scoring Margin (33.1), and 3-Point Field Goal Pct. (.407).
     In addition, Baylor ranks in the top five in 13 additional categories (full list on page 5).
     DiDi Richards ranks 8th nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.83:1) while also cracking the Top 25 in assists per game at 15th (5.5) and assists at 20th (133). Queen Egbo's .600 shooting percentage ranks 10^th in the country and first in the Big 12 while NaLyssa Smith ranks 16^th and 2^nd, respectively in that category with a. .585 shooting mark. Juicy Landrum's .453 3-point field goal percentage ranks 8th in the nation and first 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.

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.

Stage Set in Lubbock for Historic Mulkey Milestone

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Players Mentioned

Kalani Brown

Te'a Cooper

Lauren Cox

Queen Egbo

Juicy Landrum

DiDi Richards

NaLyssa Smith

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Stage Set in Lubbock for Historic Mulkey Milestone

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kalani Brown

Te'a Cooper

Lauren Cox

Queen Egbo

Juicy Landrum

DiDi Richards

NaLyssa Smith

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