Baylor
West Virginia
No. 6/6 WBB Hosts No. 17/23 West Virginia in Regular-Season Finale
3/7/2021 2:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Bears hope to close season at 17-1
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#6/6 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (21-2, 16-1) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
#6/6 BAYLOR (21-2, 16-1) vs. #17/23 WEST VIRGINIA (19-4, 13-4) March 8, 2021 | 7 PM 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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#17/23 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (19-4, 13-4) Location: Morgantown, W. Va. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Mike Carey Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Senior Day has come and gone for the sixth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (21-2, 16-1), who will host 17th-ranked West Virginia (19-4, 13-4) at 7 p.m. Monday at the Ferrell Center.
Not only is this the very last game of the Big 12 basketball regular season – men's or women's – it is also potentially the last game that seniors DiDi Richards and Moon Ursin and grad transfer DiJonai Carrington will play in the Ferrell Center. While the NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility, all three have graduated and may not be back for another season.
And unlike most years, when the Lady Bears would typically host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, this year's entire 64-team tournament will be held in the greater San Antonio area. Once it gets to the Sweet 16, all the games will be played at the Alamodome.
The lone remaining starter from the 2019 national championship team, Richards is the reigning National Defensive Player of the Year and now one of five finalists for the Lieberman Award as the best point guard in the nation. She leads the Big 12 and ranks seventh nationally in assists per game (6.6) and ranks 14thin assist turnover ratio (2.74).
"She is an impact player just by her defense," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said of Richards. "She just changes the complexion of a game defensively."
Switching from the wing position where she had started for the past two seasons, Richards took over at point guard after the departure of Te'a Cooper, a move that Mulkey compares to a receiver or running back switching to quarterback in football.
"That's not easy to do," she said. "The reason she's had success with it is 1, she's continued to be a defensive presence. And 2, she knows the system. She knows what everybody's supposed to do, she knows the plays. You become a more comfortable player, no matter what position you're playing. She is a joy to coach, she has fire in her belly, she's a fierce competitor. You never have to prod her to bring energy to the floor, that's just who she is."
Freshman point guard Sarah Andrews said that's one of the things she's learned from tutoring under Richards this season, that "you have to play hard every game, because every day is not promised. So, each and every day, you have to wake up and play."
With only five career starts coming into this season, Ursin played more of a limited role as a defensive specialist and occasional spark off the bench. But this year, starting all 23 games, she has averaged career-bests across the board with 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
"She will go down in history as one of the all-time favorites," Mulkey said of Ursin, who has scored in double figures 13 times in the last 15 games. "She's just a big, big part of what we do now. We knew she had the athleticism, the speed, the quickness, the jumping ability. She's just fine-tuned her basketball skills. I'm just so happy and proud of her."
While Richards and Ursin came in together almost four years ago as part of a class that also included fourth-year junior guard Trinity Oliver, Carrington is a grad transfer from Stanford who is averaging 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She also leads the team in 3-pointers made with 30, knocking down 4-of-7 in Saturday's 93-67 road win at Kansas.
"DiJonai, being a transfer, you always try to figure out will they fit in," Mulkey said. "DiJonai has the experience, she's got the intelligence, she brings the 3-point threat to our team, but she also brings a physical presence on the perimeter who can post you up if she needs to. She's just fit in beautifully and has made us a better basketball team."
Monday's matchup is the makeup of a Feb. 17 game that was postponed because of the historic winter storm that hit Central Texas that week. Since the two teams met in the conference opener back on Dec. 10, it's been three months since the Lady Bears blew out the Mountaineers in the second half, pulling away for a 65-45 win in Morgantown.
"We were not the team we are today, and neither are they," Mulkey said of looking back at the film from that game.
West Virginia was down to eight available players on a three-game road trip and has been without point guard Madisen Smith since an 81-78 win over TCU on Feb. 20. She has been out with a leg injury, with fifth-year senior Kysre Gondrezick (20.6 ppg, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 blocks) forced to fill in at the point.
"You know what you're going to get defensively," Mulkey said, "a very physical team, a team that's going to front the posts, a team that's going to make it very hard to make that first pass. They're extremely well-coached and they play extremely physical and hard."
Monday'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 No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Championship that starts Thursday in Kansas City, the Lady Bears will get a first-round bye and play in Friday's 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal against the No. 8 or 9 seed.
BAYLOR CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON VS. RANKED WEST VIRGINIA SQUAD
Baylor has a 16-1 conference record after Saturday's win at Kansas, leaving just West Virginia on the schedule Monday. The Mountaineers are ranked No. 20 by the AP and No. 23 in the coaches' poll. If Baylor can take the regular-season finale, it will mark the ninth time under head coach Kim Mulkey that the Lady Bears have finished conference play with one loss or fewer.
The Lady Bears are 71-17 at the Ferrell Center when playing a ranked opponent and 76-47 all-time vs. ranked opponents at home. Since the 2010-11 season, Baylor is 41-3 vs. the Top 25 at home. West Virginia's only win over Baylor in Waco came March 2, 2014, in a 71-69 decision. The Lady Bears hold a seven-game win streak over the Mountaineers, including a 65-45 win in Morgantown, W. Va., this season on Dec. 10.
BAYLOR'S WIN OVER TEXAS GIVES LADY BEARS 20+ WINS IN ALL OF MULKEY'S 21 SEASONS
Baylor's 64-57 win at Texas Monday improved the Lady Bears to 20-2 on the season. That marks all 21 seasons for Mulkey's bunch to achieve 20 victories in a season, and Baylor has the second-longest streak of 20-win seasons next to UConn's 28.
Div I Women, Longest Active Streaks of 20-Win Seasons
UConn 28 1993-94 - 2020-21
Baylor 21 2000-01 - 2020-21
Stanford 20 2001-02 - 2020-21
Maryland 17 2004-05 – 2020-21
Texas A&M 16 2005-06 - 2020-21
James Madison 15 2005-06 - 2019-20
(13 wins in 2020-21)
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 23 games at a .318 clip. The Lady Bears also lead the nation in rebound margin (19.0) and Assists Per Game (21.6).
SMITH, RICHARDS NAMED TO NAISMITH/WBCA 'FINAL FIVE' FOR RESPECTIVE NATIONAL POSITION AWARDS
Baylor's NaLyssa Smith and DiDi Richards are in strong contention for national awards at their respective positions. Richards, Monday, was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award 'Final Five' list for nation's best point guard while Smith was named to the Katrina McClain Award 'Final Five' for power forwards. Friday the position award short lists conclude and fans can begin voting for their selections at HoopHallAwards.com. Baylor fans can vote Richards and Smith along with their selections at shooting guard, small forward and center through March 19. Award winners will be announced shortly after the 2021 Final Four.
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 666 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 (693) 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 7th nationally. Her 524 assists coming into Monday's game ranks 4th all-time on the Baylor career assists list. She trails Kristy Wallace's 525 by just one. 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 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.
