No. 7/6 WBB Picks Up 74-50 Road Win at TCU

Saturday, January 2

Fort Worth, Texas

1 p.m.

Baylor

8-1,3-0Big 12

TCU

5-3,0-3Big 12

Baylor

TCU

No. 7/6 WBB Picks Up 74-50 Road Win at TCU

1/2/2021 3:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score WBB_09_TCU

Ursin leads Lady Bears with first-career double-double

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            FORT WORTH, Texas – Baylor associate head coach Bill Brock had to step into some pretty large Hall of Fame shoes Saturday afternoon, but thankfully not the heels that Kim Mulkey usually wears on the sidelines.
            With Mulkey quarantined for COVID-19 tracing, Brock filled in on the bench as the No. 7/6 Lady Bears (8-1, 3-0) pulled away late to defeat TCU (5-3, 0-3) for the 30^th-consecutive time, 74-50, at Schollmaier Arena.
            "I've done this about three or four times prior, so it wasn't really just a shock to me about what needed to be done," said Brock, who has won three of the four games where he's filled in for the Naismith Hall of Famer. "As I told the kids in the locker room, I really appreciated their efforts and the way they let me coach them this week and they responded to our coaching staff."
            TCU associate head coach Hanna Howard also had to fill in for Raegan Pebley, with both head coaches missing the game for COVID tracing despite multiple negative tests. Brock said Mulkey followed CDC guidelines, in consultation with Baylor's medical staff, and is quarantining through Sunday after being exposed and having direct contact with a family member.
            "We've had to do this before, but it's never fun," Brock said. "We always like to be full force with our coaching staff. . . . I just know Kim has confidence in our coaching staff that we're going to do it the right way."
            It was no coincidence that Brock leaned the most on senior guards Moon Ursin and DiDi Richards and junior forward NaLyssa Smith, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. That trio combined for 53 points, including a first career double-double for Ursin with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
            "They have that experience, they have that composure, they feel confident," Brock said of the Ursin, Richards and Smith, who had her 16^th career double-double with 18 points and 12 boards. "And anything that you call, they know what they're supposed to do. I just thought they really stepped up today and showed up big-time."
            A little over two months after a scary practice collision that left Richards with a spinal cord nerve injury and Ursin with a concussion, the two seniors both played 40 minutes. Richards had 14 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
            "I had a concussion, I knew I would be fine. I'm just glad DiDi is OK," said Ursin, who knocked down 2-of-3 from 3-point range while logging a career-high 40 minutes. "But, it's in the past now, obviously. We can't stop because of a freak accident. God was good enough to allow us to both get up and keep going."
            Richards hit a jumper that started a 12-2 run by the Lady Bears and then drained a pair of free throws that gave them a 20-10 edge after the first quarter.
            Ursin, who scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half, hit her stride early in the third quarter when she hit two 3-pointers and a jumper in a 2 ½-minute stretch that pushed the lead out to 43-28.
            "In third period, boy, she hit a stretch there where she hit like three shots in a row," Brock said. "I just thought she had a great all-around game."
            Lauren Heard, who came in as the league's third-leading scorer with a 20.1-point average, led the Horned Frogs with 14 points. But, she was just 2-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-14 from the line.
            "I think we would always take 2-of-15 from anyone we play," he said. "I thought DiDi's length a few times really bothered her. She let her go a few times and blocked her shot from behind. But just to make her work like that for her points, that's big."
            Leading by just 12 going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears scored the first eight points on buckets by Ursin, Smith and Richards and a fast-break layup by DiJonai Carrington that stretched it to 58-38. Baylor outscored the Frogs, 24-12, in the fourth quarter, taking its biggest lead on an Ursin layup with just four seconds left.
            "Physically, I was tired, but mentally and emotionally I was excited," Ursin said. Asked about her all-around game, which included a block, one steal and a 10-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio, she said, "Just happy. I'm feeling like an athlete again, I'm feeling like Moon again. It makes my heart happy, and I just want to continue to do that."
            Getting extended minutes with starter Queen Egbo in foul trouble, 6-5 freshman center Hannah Gusters had eight points and eight rebounds, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor.
            Baylor returns home for a high-profile matchup against No. 4/5 UConn at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday that will be televised by ESPN. The two winningest teams in the nation over the last decade, the Lady Bears and Huskies are tied in the all-time series, 4-4.
            "I think it will be a measuring stick for us, but just to have that kind of team with that kind of tradition coming in and playing us on our home court, our kids will be excited," Brock said. "Everybody that plays significant minutes for UConn can score the basketball. Sometimes, that presents defensive nightmares. But, we'll try to do our best the next couple days to figure out a game plan. We'll give it our best shot and see what happens."

-BaylorBears.com-