Baylor
TCU
No. 9/9 WBB to Finish Season Series with TCU at Home
1/25/2021 10:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Lady Bears look to extend streak over Horned Frogs to 31 games
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#9/9 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (10-2, 5-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
#9/9 BAYLOR (10-2, 5-1) vs TCU (7-6, 2-6) January 26, 2021 | 7 PM (CT) Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284)  WATCH: ESPN+Talent: John Morris (PBP), Jim Haller (Analyst) RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM DIGITAL RADIO LINK: ESPN Central Texas Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Analyst) LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast Baylor Social Media:    ** Due to COVID-19, there will be no physical copies of stats, media almanacs, rosters, please use the following link for MEDIA RESOURCES ** |
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TCU (7-6, 2-6) Location: Fort Worth, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Reagan Pebley (Colorado, 1997, 7th Year) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
For a coach, few things are more helpless than sitting at home watching your team play and not being able to do anything about it.
That was the situation Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was in on Jan. 2 when she was quarantined for COVID-19 tracing and watching from home as the Baylor women defeated TCU, 74-50, in Fort Worth.
"I can't just sit down and watch and just focus . . . my personality, it's hard to watch that, I get too worked up," said Mulkey, whose ninth-ranked Lady Bears (10-2, 5-1) go for a series sweep when they host TCU (7-6, 2-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday. "There were some not-so-good moments where I would just (scream) and go in another room. I would probably be a good fan, if that was all I was. But when that's your team and you're not there, you just feel hopeless."
Mulkey and TCU head coach Raegan Pebley both missed the last meeting, when Baylor associate head coach Bill Brock leaned on the veteran trio of seniors Moon Mursin and DiDi Richards and junior forward NaLyssa Smith. They combined for 53 points, with Ursin recording her first double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
"My first thought is selfishly, I get to coach in the game," Mulkey said. "That was the first game that I've missed in a long time."
Bouncing back from a 75-71 loss to Iowa State that snapped a national-best 61-game home winning streak, Baylor reeled off lopsided wins over Oklahoma State (77-58) and Oklahoma (84-61). Coupled with Texas' 70-59 win over 24th-ranked Iowa State, the Lady Bears moved back into first place in the Big 12 standings.
"What you're seeing across the country, particularly in women's basketball, there is no dominant team," Mulkey said. "Everybody in the top is getting beat or having close games or losing at home. A lot of people want that parity. Well, is it truly parity, or is it the circumstances that we're having to playing with? I don't know."
In Saturday's win over Oklahoma, Ursin and redshirt junior guard Trinity Oliver scored 14 points apiece and were a combined 14-of-18 from the floor.
"It takes all the pressure off us when our perimeter is hitting shots," said Smith, who had a team-high 21 points for her 11th career 20-point game. "When they keep doing what they're supposed to be doing, it helps with the double-teams and triple-teams that come to the posts."
Ursin has been on a tear of late, averaging 16.7 points over the last four games while shooting a sizzling 60.4 percent (29-of-48) from the field, 6-of-6 from the line and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. She had a double-double against Oklahoma with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"She's just a young lady that has gotten better every day, learned our system, is playing like you hope all seniors will play and just having a great year," Mulkey said of Ursin, who is averaging a career-high 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists. "(2019 Final Four MVP) Chloe Jackson and Moon can shoot the mid-range jumper as good as anybody I've coached."
Over the last five games, Richards is averaging 10.4 points, 8.4 assists and 2.1 steals. She had a career-best 12 assists against Oklahoma that included a pair of alley-oop passes to Smith for layups.
"Twelve assists and one turnover in the last game tells you a lot about her ability to deliver the pass," Mulkey said of Richards, who has made a smooth transition to point guard, averaging a Big 12-best 6.7 assists per game. "Is she most comfortable (at point guard)? I don't think so. I think DiDi is a true slasher, wing-type player, but she's helping the young ones grow by being able to handle the point guard for us."
TCU, which has won two of its last three after losing its first five conference games, is led by senior guard Lauren Heard. The Horned Frogs' lone double-figure scorer in the first meeting (14 points), Heard ranks seventh in the league in scoring (18.3), third in assists (4.9) and top 15 in rebounds (6.8).
"I thought she and DiDi in the last game really battled," Mulkey said of Richards limiting Heard to 2-of-15 shooting from the floor in the last matchup. "You saw two good players go at it."
Tuesday's game will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor men's basketball head coach Jim Haller calling the action.
In a pivotal game that will be televised by ESPN2, the Lady Bears go back on the road next to face Iowa State (10-5, 6-2) at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Cyclones fell out of the AP poll after getting swept by Texas for their only two losses in league play.
LADY BEARS DOMINATE GLASS IN WIN OVER OKLAHOMA
One week after the Baylor lost their 61-game win streak at the Ferrell Center, the Lady Bears wasted no time starting a new one. Baylor held Oklahoma to 14 rebounds, the lowest tally by a Big 12 opponent against Baylor since Kim Mulkey's arrival in 2000. The Lady Bears' reserves outscored the Sooners' bench 20-0 and Baylor coasted to an 84-61 victory to extend their streak over Oklahoma to 12 games. NaLyssa Smith scored 21 points, Moon Ursin collected her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and DiDi Richards has 12 assists with just one turnover to highlight individual performances.
BAYLOR AND TCU HOPE TO HAVE BOTH HEAD COACHES AT THE HELM TUESDAY AFTER BATTLE OF ASSOCIATE HEAD COACHES
The 2021 portion of Baylor and TCU's schedule started strangely. In Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs and Lady Bears were set to square off to open the second semester's season but by game time fans learned that neither TCU's Reagan Pebley or Baylor's Kim Mulkey would be coaching in the game. Both were out due to contact tracing because of the COVID-19 virus, and Mulkey ended up testing positive two days later. While it was likely strange for the programs and its fans, it was business as usual for Associate Head Coach Bill Brock and the Lady Bears. Baylor took a 74-50 win over TCU marking its 30th-straight win over the Horned Frogs. Moon Ursin had 21 points while NaLyssa Smith had 18 for the Lady Bears and Lauren Heard scored 14 in the loss for TCU. Baylor's last loss to TCU overall came Feb. 28, 1990, and its last loss at home to the Horned Frogs was Jan. 27, 1990 earlier that season.
RICHARDS, KNOWN FOR HER DEFENSE, QUIETLY MOVING UP BAYLOR'S ALL-TIME ASSISTS LIST
When most think of DiDi Richards, they think defense. After all, she was the National Defensive Player of the Year by both the WBCA and Naismith last season without having high steals or blocks numbers. Her reputation for on-ball defense and pestering the Big 12 and the nation's top perimeter players earned her the awards. But, many might not know that Richards is one of Baylor's all-time best passers. In her last two games, Richards has collected 22 assists with just one turnover. This season, she ranks first in the Big 12 in assists per game, which ranks 8th nationally. She ranks second in the league in total assists, and last season she was the Big 12 statistical champion and ranked 7th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Her 453 assists coming into Tuesday's game ranks 7th all-time on the Baylor career assists list. With COVID-19 looming, Richards may not get to put up the numbers she normally would have, but she has a shot to leave Baylor at 3rd all-time in that category. Kristy Wallace collected 525 assists in her four years and ranks third. Richards has 12 Big 12 games left to play, a Big 12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament. Her pace is 6.7 assists per game, and if she continues at that rate, she would pass Wallace in the next 13 games. Niya Johnson is Baylor's all-time leader with 988 and Odyssey Sims ranked second at 641.
RANDOM LADY BEARS BITS
Trinity Oliver has kept a hidden talent, mostly to herself, since her arrival at Baylor in 2017-18. She's an artist. She paints, sketches and draws and is extremely talented. The athletic department's "Baylor Vision" division produced a feature story for halftime of Saturday's Oklahoma-game broadcast on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ featuring an interview with her and a showcase of some of her work. Baylor women's basketball's social media accounts posted the segment on Sunday.
Oliver, a redshirt junior in her fourth season with the Lady Bears along with senior Moon Ursin have made the most of their first significant playing time in the program. While Ursin had more previous playing time than Oliver, she's already on pace to set career best for season totals in virtually every category. Through 12 games, her 128 points is quickly approaching her previous career best of 154 in her junior season, accomplished in 30 games. Oliver on the other hand already has career best in points (83) and rebounds (47) in just a dozen games.
COVID-19'S EFFECT ON THE LADY BEARS
All are having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Lady Bears are no exception. Baylor lost four games scheduled for the Preseason WNIT in Waco in November, along with a Thanksgiving week game vs. Oregon in Las Vegas. Originally scheduled for Nov. 27, Baylor and Northwestern State's game was postponed due to COVID issues within the NWST program and was rescheduled for Dec. 18. Baylor lost its top-10 matchup with UConn Jan. 7 and postponed originally-scheduled Big 12 contests with K-State at home (Jan. 10) and at Kansas (Jan. 13).
Moon Ursin, lost her grandmother, Ruby Alexander, to the virus in April after a swift and brief battle with COVID. Kamaria McDaniel, a transfer from Penn State that is having to sit this season, lost her grandfather, Johnny Webster, Sr., in April as well. Kim Mulkey, Jordyn Oliver, DiJonai Carrington and Caitlin Bickle have all had to miss time due to COVID-19 protocols this season.
RICHARDS RETURNS TO FLOOR AFTER SPINAL INJURY, FEATURED ON ESPN'S SPORTSCENTER
Oct. 24, Moon Ursin and DiDi Richards collided in mid-air during a practice scrimmage, leaving Ursin with a concussion and Richards with a Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality (SCIOWRA). Ursin returned to practice after clearing concussion protocol in mid-November while
Richards' rehab began immediately after she briefly lost feeling below her knees. Richards was first confined to a walker to assist her in walking, but by mid-November she was completing individual drills and workouts with medical and strength & conditioning staff. Richards shocked doctors, team medical staff and coaches with the rate of her rehab. Thirty-eight days after the injury, she played 30 minutes off the bench at South Florida Dec. 1. She scored a bucket 13 seconds into her entry, and picked up where she left off last season by leading Baylor with seven assists. Dec. 6 in
Fayetteville, Ark., she resumed her starting role, getting her first start at point guard and finished the contest with a game-high eight assists. She led the Big 12 in assists per game in 2019-20, ranked 13th in the nation and had the NCAA's sixth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.9:1.
Her return to the floor sparked interest from ESPN with Mechelle Voepel writing a feature on her recovery, and Scott Van Pelt led off his Tuesday edition of SportsCenter, covering Richards' return with the "Best Thing I Saw Today" segment.
BAYLOR WINS 1,000TH WIN AS A PROGRAM; LADY BEARS BECOME 15TH PROGRAM IN D1 HISTORY TO REACH 1,000 VICTORIES
Baylor's win at South Florida Dec. 1 marked the program's 1,000th victory. Baylor became the 15th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 1,000 victories joining Tennessee, UConn, James Madison, Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Texas, SFA, Old Dominion, Ohio State, Maryland, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin-Green Bay, South Dakota State, and Notre Dame. Kim Mulkey has 606 of those wins as head coach for Baylor. At Louisiana Tech, she was either a player, assistant or associate head coach for 560 victories, which makes her a direct contributor to 1,106 wins between the two programs on the prestigious list.
MULKEY JOINS STAR-STUDDED 2020 CLASS WITH NAISMITH HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
The Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled, but Kim Mulkey did get some good news in April when she was announced as a member of the 2020 induction class to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She and her class' peers are virtually peerless as she joined a star-studded class, including Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, Rudy Tomjanovich, Eddie Sutton, Barbara Stevens and Patrick Baumann.
Her induction ceremony was delayed due to COVID-19 and the 2020 class has yet to be enshrined. Her induction will be as a coach, although she has been nominated as a player on numerous occasions. She was also a finalist in 2018. Mulkey's many accomplishments earned her the honor, but among them are three NCAA titles, 21 Big 12 championships, and she was the fastest NCAA Division I head coach, man or woman, to reach 600 career victories (700 games).
