#2/2 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (26-1, 15-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	#2/2 BAYLOR (26-1, 15-0) VS KANSAS STATE (14-12, 8-7) February 29, 2020 | 6 PM (CT) Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: ESPN App Talent: John Morris (PBP), Jim Haller (Color) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:
	KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (14-12, 8-7) Location: Manhattan, Kan. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Jeff Mitte Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Win or lose, the No. 2-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (26-1, 15-0) will celebrate a decade of dominance following Saturday's 6 p.m. game at the Ferrell Center against Kansas State (14-12, 8-7). 
            Baylor clinched at least a share of its 10^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season title with Monday's 64-39 win at West Virginia and then won it outright when Texas upset 25^th-ranked TCU, 77-67, on Wednesday. 
            "That's probably the first time ever that a lot of Baylor folks pulled for Texas," said coach Kim Mulkey, whose team has won 56-consecutive conference games, 54-straight at home and 33 in row versus the Wildcats. 
            "If we don't win, we're going to do a fake smile and have a celebration, but you want to win the game. You have to celebrate (the Big 12 title), because this is Jordyn Oliver's first, this is (Te'a) Cooper's first for us, this is Erin Degrate's first for us. And it will be (Lauren) Cox's fourth and Juicy (Landrum's) fourth. So, you do it. It means something."
            A decade of dominance that started with players like Brittney Griner, Odyssey Sims and Melissa Jones leading the way ends with Cox (11.8 ppg, 8.0 rebounds), Cooper (14.0 ppg, 4.8 assists), Landrum (11.3 ppg), DiDi Richards (8.2 ppg, 5.5 assists) and NaLyssa Smith (14.3 ppg, 7.8 rebounds) steering the ship. 
            "We have three remaining games, and we want to win all three of them, cut some nets down and have some confetti fly," Mulkey said of Saturday's postgame celebration. "I thought it would be better to do it Saturday than in the locker room the next day at practice. So, that's what we'll do, win or lose."
            Sophomore forward Caitlin Bickle, part of last year's 37-1 national championship team, said "it's always a blessing" to win a Big 12 title. But even in the midst of last year's celebration, she said Mulkey "side-commented and said we would get ready for next year."
            "She is always looking forward, and each season we have the highest goal."
            Three weeks ago, the Lady Bears shot just 38 percent, got outrebounded (44-43) and scored a season-low 54 points in a 54-40 road win at Kansas State. 
             The Wildcats have one of the most imposing front lines in the league in 6-5 freshman center Ayoka Lee (16.1 ppg, 11.3 rebounds, 3.2 blocks) and 6-4 senior forward Peyton Williams (15.3 ppg, 11.7 rebounds). 
            "I believe in giving credit to the opponent," Mulkey said, "but we missed a lot of shots, we turned the ball over, we didn't execute things, (didn't) get to loose balls. But also, they are pretty darn good. They have two kids that average double-doubles. They can rebound with us and alter shots. . . . You've got to play good defense, and I thought our defense won that game for us."
            In addition to the postgame celebration for the nation's longest active streak of conference titles, the first 5,000 fans will receive a Kim Mulkey bobblehead commemorating the Lady Bears' three national championships. 
            "I didn't originally want to do that. I really wanted something with our team," Mulkey said. "The three championship trophies represent the team, and I guess I'm the leader. . . . If it helps promote and get people in the seats, OK. I just hope I don't look like Bon Jovi on the bobble head. I looked like Bon Jovi on the last one they did. I hope they cover up the wrinkles and the gray hair. Maybe we'll sell a few more tickets and people want to have one of those. Just don't let me see it on (your) dashboards."
            Saturday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball coach Jim Haller calling the action. 
            The Lady Bears wrap up the season with a "Senior Day" matchup against Texas (17-10, 9-6) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and a road trip next Sunday, March 8, at Iowa State (15-11, 7-8). 
 

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BAYLOR LADY BEARS WIN 11TH BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON TITLE OUTRIGHT, 10TH STRAIGHT
    TCU's loss to Texas Tuesday gave Baylor the outright Big 12 regular season championship. The Lady Bears celebrated in the locker room after a 64-39 win at West Virginia Monday, knowing they claimed at least a share of the program's 11th regular season title and 10th straight. With the Horned Frogs' loss, Baylor will not share the title. Following Baylor's game with K-State Saturday, the team and staff will celebrate in front of the home crowd.
    The Lady Bears' 10th consecutive regular season conference title is the longest active streak in the nation, and since the 1999-2000 season Baylor's 11 conference titles are tied for seventh most in the NCAA. The Lady Bears now have extended their Big 12 record to 21 conference championships between regular season and tournament titles, all under head coach Kim Mulkey.

COX SISTERS HONORED WITH USBWA'S PAT SUMMITT AWARD FOR COURAGE
     Lauren Cox got the thrill of a lifetime when she got face off against her sister Whitney in an exhibition contest Oct. 30 before the 2019-20 season began. Tuesday the pair will forever be enshrined together as the Lubbock Christian freshman, Whitney, and the Baylor senior, Lauren, were honored with the Pat Summitt Award for Courage by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
      Lauren Cox was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of seven and has used her platform at Baylor to reach out to others suffering from T1D, especially children looking to play sports.
     The Cox family endured another hardship when Whitney was diagnosed at the age of 17, and now both players look to use their platform to inspire others.
     Since Lauren Cox's arrival to Baylor, the program has had a Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Game each season, and her senior year, she got to share that moment with Whitney. Lauren has spoken at numerous events on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), including a fundraising dinner that raised over $50,000 in the fall in Waco where Lauren was the keynote.
     The USBWA gives out the Most Courageous Awards to figures associated with college basketball who have demonstrated extraordinary courage reflecting honor on the sport of amateur basketball.

STREAKS ON THE LINE FOR BAYLOR VS. KANSAS STATE
    Baylor won its 56th-straight Big 12 game in the regular season Monday in Morgantown, which ranks as the seventh-longest conference-win streak in NCAA history. The Lady Bears will shoot for No. 57 Saturday vs. K-State at home. To catch the sixth-best streak in NCAA history, Baylor will need a win Saturday to tie with UConn at 57 (2008-2012). Baylor will also be looking for its 55th-straight win at the Ferrell Center, the nation's longest-active home win streak and would be the 11th best home-win streak in NCAA history. Baylor will also look for its 34th-straight win over the Wildcats.

GOING FOR 400 AT THE FERRELL CENTER
    With plans for a new basketball arena looming, the Ferrell Center has seen many great moments in the history of Baylor women's basketball. In fact, the Ferrell Center has become a place where opponents know it's going to be a tough place to grab a win. Baylor's win percentage in the Ferrell Center is 80.4 percent, and a win vs. the Wildcats Saturday would give the Lady Bears 400 wins at the Ferrell Center.

MULKEY REACHES HISTORIC MILESTONE AT TEXAS TECH
    Baylor's win at Texas Tech Feb. 18 gave 20th-year head coach Kim Mulkey her 600th victory, and she became the fastest NCAA Division I coach, man or woman, to accomplish the feat. Her milestone along with the Baylor men's 23-game Big 12-win streak (record) led off the 10 p.m. ESPN SportsCenter Tuesday night. While not a complete list, Mulkey 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 20th season, two seasons faster than the next coach on the list, Auriemma, who achieved 600 in his 22nd season at UConn. SEE PAGE 7 FOR FULL LIST

MULKEY NAMED A NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME FINALIST FOR THE SECOND TIME
    Feb. 14, 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.

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 235-1 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 & RICHARDS NAMED AMONG 10 SEMI-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 semi-finalists, which includes just 10 players.
    Cox has missed time due to injury, but is still averaging 2.6 blocks and 1.2 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 1.9 per game, she's added 23 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 FOUR STATISTICAL CATEGORIES    
    The 26-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 16 categories through games played through Feb. 26. Baylor ranks No. 1 in the nation in four categories: Assists (607), Assists Per Game (22.5), Field Goal Percentage Defense (.307), and Scoring margin (32.1).
    In addition, Baylor ranks in the top five in 11 additional categories.
    DiDi Richards ranks 7th nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.90:1) while also cracking the Top 25 in assists per game at 15th (5.5) and assists at 15th (143). Juicy Landrum is back in the Top 25 after a brief absence in the assists-to-turnover ratio, ranking 13th nationally and third in the Big 12 with a 2.55:1 mark. NaLyssa Smith ranks 13th in the nation and 2nd in the Big 12 in field goal percentage with a .591 shooting mark.

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.