By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Green and gold confetti falling from the rafters, a trophy presentation at midcourt and cutting down the nets. 
            It's like Groundhog Day, déjà vu or a movie plot line that hasn't changed for a decade. 
            Having already clinched their 10^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship, the second-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (27-1, 16-0) got to do it all over again after Saturday's 83-58 rout of Kansas State (14-13, 8-8) before a Ferrell Center crowd of 6,976. 
            "That's what you play for, man," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "It's fun for the fans, it's fun for the newcomers and the kids who have never done that. But, it's also fun for those of us who have."
            Senior All-American Lauren Cox, who recorded her 35^th career double-double with a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals, three assists and two blocks, said this is why she came to Baylor. Cox and fellow senior Juicy Landrum, who had 14 points and six assists, finished off a 4-for-4 sweep of conference regular-season titles. 
            "We came to win championships," Cox said, "and not just Big 12 championships."
            Since Cox and Landrum arrived four years ago, Baylor is a mind-boggling 69-1 in league play. The Lady Bears have won a school- and Big 12-record 57-consecutive conference games and 55-straight home games, the longest active streak in the nation. 
            Saturday's game one was never really in doubt. Baylor built a double-digit lead in the first eight minutes, was up 44-18 at the break and led by as many as 30 early in the second half. 
            "(Angela) Harris kept us at least within striking distance in the first quarter," K-State coach Jeff Mittie said of Harris scoring eight of her team-high 17 points in the first quarter, "but they hit us pretty good. And then, that second quarter was just not good. I thought (Ayoka) Lee and (Peyton) Williams played well in the second half, but ultimately you can't play 20 minutes and expect to walk out of here with an opportunity to win."
            Lee and Williams, who both came in averaging double-doubles, had a combined two points in the first half on 1-for-8 shooting from the field. Going against the 6-4 Cox, Lee had 11 rebounds but only eight points, half of her season average. 
            Mulkey said Cox and 6-2 sophomore forward NaLyssa Smith "accepted the challenge tonight." Smith recorded her 10^th double-double of the season and 13^th of her career with 23 points and 13 boards, helping Baylor outrebound K-State, 41-30, and outscoring the Wildcats, 54-26, in the paint. 
            "The challenge was they have two post players that lead the conference in double-doubles, in scoring and offensive rebounding," Mulkey said. "Usually, our perimeter players have to guard those best players. Tonight, I challenged our post players, and I thought they accepted the challenge."
            Te'a Cooper chipped in with nine points and four assists for the Lady Bears, while DiDi Richards had six points, six rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Williams scored all 14 of her points in the second half, with Lee adding eight points and 11 boards. 
            Cox, whose previous season high was 17 points against Tech, was 10-of-18 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line. 
            "Lauren is Lauren," Mulkey said. "She's just more aggressive right now, getting in the flow better, making shots, finishing. This is the time of the year you need to do it. As I've told many people, quit looking at Lauren's stats. She's not a kid that's going to give you 30 (points) and 15 (rebounds) every night. But if you look at what she gives everybody on her team, it's equivalent to the same thing. She's a winner, she's smart, she has a basketball IQ that's off the charts, and she's cut a lot of these nets down in her career at Baylor."
            Mittie said Cox looked "as good as I've seen her."
            "Looks good, looks like she's in shape, and certainly had a good rhythm," Mittie said. "I thought (Cox and Smith) were really aggressive early. You could see it. . . . Lauren looked very decisive."
            Baylor will host Texas (17-10, 9-6) for "Senior Night" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before closing out the regular season with a noon game at Iowa State (16-11, 8-8) next Sunday, March 8. 
            "I was coaching hard today, and I'll tell you why," Mulkey said. "I made a statement to the players . . . that I needed their undivided attention and we're going to get after it. I need you to get after it. I just didn't think there was any silliness today. There was happiness, and we celebrated. We want to win the next two, we're playing for (NCAA) seeding now. And then we want to do the same thing in the conference tournament. That's what competitors do. And if I'm going to ask them to do it, I've got to give them my best shot."