#7/7 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (18-2, 13-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	#7/7 BAYLOR (18-2, 13-1) vs K-STATE (7-14, 2-12) February 27, 2021 | 11 AM Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284) WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (PBP), Danielle 'Crockrom' Fontenot (Analyst) RADIO: 92.9 FM DIGITAL RADIO LINK: 92.9 FM 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 **
	KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (7-14, 2-12) Location: Manhattan, Kan. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Jeff Mittee (Missouri Western, 1989) Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Like the old proverb says, all good things must come to an end, right?
            The No. 7 Baylor Lady Bears (18-2, 13-1) saw their 61-game home winning streak come to an end with a 75-71 loss to Iowa State on Jan. 16. And some day, maybe they won't win a Big 12 championship. 
            Kim Mulkey can clinch at least a share of her 11^th-consecutive and 12^th regular-season title overall by beating last-place Kansas State (7-14, 2-12) in Saturday's 11 a.m. game at the Ferrell Center. 
            "Our goal when the season started was to win a Big 12 championship," Mulkey said, "and now it's oh-so-close."
            With West Virginia's 85-68 loss at Iowa State on Wednesday, the Lady Bears essentially have a three-game cushion on the 18^th-ranked Mountaineers (17-4, 11-4). Baylor can win it outright by beating K-State on Saturday and then Texas on Monday night in Austin. 
            "I say it all the time, don't take things for granted," Mulkey said. "Things don't last forever, particularly in sports. The greatest programs have down times. I want people to appreciate it while it's taking place. I want the players to enjoy it while it's taking place. I want the coaches to strive every day to keep it going and also enjoy it. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work, and I think we have the right people on this staff to keep it going. But, it's not easy."
            The Lady Bears have made it look relatively easy in reeling off 10 straight wins since that loss to Iowa State six weeks ago. 
            Part of that stretch was a gritty 64-52 road win at Kansas State on Feb. 7, when the Wildcats' Ayoka Lee was 9-of-16 from the floor and scored a game-high 21 points. The 6-6 sophomore center is averaging 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. 
            "Lee presents a problem because she's a stronger-built post player." Mulkey said. "We're not going to change our defensive philosophy, we're going to be man-to-man. We can give Queen (Egbo) more help, but I think Queen is a better basketball player defensively today than she was when we were there. That's because she had to guard the big kid, Charli (Collier), and the other post player at Texas. And she's had to turn around every night and guard very good post players."
            Egbo's defensive improvement in the post area has coincided with the Lady Bears seemingly finding their groove on both ends of the floor. 
            "I definitely think it's one day, one game at a time," junior guard Trinity Oliver said, "but we're starting to hit our stride and play some really good basketball."
            Mulkey said it's as simple as being able to get on the practice floor every day with the whole team. The Lady Bears haven't had any more COVID interruptions since getting junior forward Caitlin Bickle and grad transfer DiJonai Carrington (12.9 ppg, 4.9 rebounds) back after the Iowa State game.
            "I also worry about the conference tournament coming up," Mulkey said. "I worry about after that's over how many teams and programs will be affected, if at all. Those things that are just added to your stress level that you don't normally ever have to stress about. That's just the way it is this year."
            On top of potentially celebrating its 11^th-straight Big 12 championship, Baylor will also honor Carrington and senior guards DiDi Richards (7.5 ppg, 7.1 assists) and Moon Ursin (11.9 ppg, 6.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists). While the NCAA ruled that all players will not lose a year of eligibility this season, leaving the door open for them to come back, all three players have finished their undergrad degrees. 
            "Those three seniors are having outstanding years, and that's what you want," Mulkey said. "By the time they become seniors, you want that to be a special year for them. . . . All three bring something different to the table. DiDi is not the scorer as much as she runs the show out there, the defensive presence. Chloe Jackson and Moon Ursin are two of the best I've ever coached at mid-range jumpers. And then DiJonai making an impact in a short period of time with her perimeter shot. She's stayed healthy, which was a lot of her problem at Stanford. She's stayed healthy and figured out, how do I fit in and help Baylor women's basketball."
            Saturday's game will be streamed live by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and Baylor Hall of Famer Danielle Crockrom Fontenot calling the action. 
    

---

BAYLOR'S 11^TH-CONSECUTIVE BIG 12 REGULAR-SEASON TITLE, 12^TH OVERALL, IN REACH FOR SATURDAY VS. K-STATE
    West Virginia's loss to Iowa State Wednesday cleared a path for Baylor to clinch at least a share of its 12^th Big 12 Regular Season Championship Saturday vs. K-State. With a win, the Lady Bears would reach 14-1 and would need just one more victory in its final three contests to secure the outright championship. Beginning with 2011, Baylor has 10-straight regular-season titles, and Saturday could mark the 11^th-straight. Eleven consecutive regular season titles would be tied for fifth best all-time in Division I women's hoops, and the Lady Bears have the longest active streak in that category. Next closest to Baylor is UConn with eight, which includes this season where the Huskies have already clinched the Big East title.
    
SENIOR CELEBRATION: RICHARDS, URSIN, CARRINGTON TO BE HONORED SATURDAY
     Baylor will celebrate seniors DiDi Richards, Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington Saturday. The NCAA ruled prior to the season that all players on active rosters will not lose a year of eligibility in 2020-21 leaving the door open for all three players to return. However, with all three players achieving undergraduate degrees and no official decisions made, the program will celebrate the trio with their families at the Ferrell Center Friday. Richards and Ursin are crowd favorites, were members of the 2019 NCAA Championship team and Carrington is in strong consideration for the Big 12's Sixth Person of the Year Award this season.
 
LADY BEARS VS. THE WILDCATS
    Baylor's 35-game winning streak over K-State is the longest of any streak the Lady Bears have going in the Big 12. The Wildcats last took a victory over Baylor, Jan. 27, 2004, in Manhattan. That game was the end of a four-game streak for the Wildcats and the only four wins that K-State has over Baylor since Kim Mulkey took the reins in the 2000-01 season. The Lady Bears lead the all-time series 39-8 and are 37-4 in the Mulkey era. In Manhattan, Feb. 7, Baylor's NaLyssa Smith scored 17 points while Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington each added 16. DiDi Richards had 10 assists and three steals to go along with seven points for Baylor, and Ayoka Lee scored 21 points in the losing effort for K-State.
 
LADY BEARS IN NATION'S LEAD FOR FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE … AGAIN
     For four-straight years and five since the 2010-11 season, the Baylor Lady Bears have been the NCAA Statistical Champion in Defensive Field Goal Percentage. It took until Feb. 14, but Baylor leads the category again through 20 games at a .316 clip. The Lady Bears also lead the nation in rebound margin (19.0) and Assists Per Game (22.1).
 
AP POLL RESEARCH SHOWS MULKEY AS ACTIVE LEADER IN TOTAL TOP 25 APPEARANCES AS PLAYER, ASSISTANT AND HEAD COACH
     Longtime women's hoops guru Mel Greenberg put together a list of coaches and players' appearances in the AP Top 25 poll over the years and found that Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is the NCAA's active leader in appearances at 665 from her time as a player and assistant at Louisiana Tech and her 21-year tenure as head coach at Baylor. She trails only Holly Warlick for most all-time appearances; Warlick played, assisted Pat Summitt and was head coach at Tennessee from 2012-2019.
 
RICHARDS EYES THIRD-PLACE ALL-TIME ON CAREER-ASSISTS LIST AT BU
     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. This season, she ranks first in the Big 12 in assists per game, which ranks 2nd nationally. Her 513 assists coming into Saturday's game ranks 4th all-time on the Baylor career assists list. She will have a strong shot to leave Baylor at 3rd all-time in that category, trailing Kristy Wallace's 525 by just 12 assists. Richards has four Big 12 games left to play, a Big 12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament. Her pace is 7.1 assists per game, and if she continues at that rate, she would pass Wallace in the next 2 games. Niya Johnson is Baylor's all-time leader with 988 and Odyssey Sims ranked second at 641.
 
COVID-19'S EFFECT ON THE LADY BEARS
     Baylor lost four games scheduled for the Preseason WNIT in Waco in November, along with a Thanksgiving week game vs. Oregon in Las Vegas. Baylor lost its top-10 matchup with UConn Jan. 7.
     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 she resumed her starting role Dec. 6 at Arkansas.
     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.