No. 7/7 Baylor WBB Hosts Oklahoma State Wednesday on ESPN+

Tue Feb 23 12:19:35 CST 2021

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#7/7 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (17-2, 12-1)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> (La. Tech, 1984)

Roster<https://baylorbears.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/2020-21> | Stats<https://baylorbears.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://baylorbears.com/documents/2021/2/23/BU_WBB_Game_Notes_Oklahoma_State_2_24_21.pdf?id=17048>
#7/7 BAYLOR (17-2, 12-1) vs OKLAHOMA STATE (17-6, 13-4)
February 24, 2021 | 7 PM
Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284)
[Big 12 Now on ESPN+]WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1b18c6a3-7f2d-40db-9814-eb92a2ca4db0#bucketId=24800>
Talent: John Morris<https://baylorbears.com/staff.aspx?staff=52> (PBP), Jim Haller (Analyst)
RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM DIGITAL RADIO LINK: ESPN Central Texas<https://listen.streamon.fm/krzi>
Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Analyst)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast<http://baylorstats.com/>

Baylor Social Media: [auto twitter icon] <http://twitter.com/baylorwbb>  [instagram png] <http://instagram.com/baylorwbb>  [Facebook PNG] <http://facebook.com/baylorwbb>
** Due to COVID-19, there will be no physical copies of stats, media almanacs, rosters, please use the following link for MEDIA RESOURCES<http://baylorbea.rs/MediaWBB> **
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OKLAHOMA STATE COWGIRLS (17-6, 13-4)
Location: Stillwater, Okla.
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Jim Littell (William Penn, 1979)

Roster<https://okstate.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster> | Stats<https://okstate.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats> | Game Notes

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BAYLOR'S SECOND-HALF EFFORT DEFENSIVELY HELPS LADY BEARS DOWN OKLAHOMA ON THE ROAD
    For just the 16th time in Kim Mulkey<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573>'s era at Baylor, a game was tied at half Sunday when Oklahoma and Baylor were knotted at 42 in Norman after both programs shot 58 percent from the floor. The Lady Bears, known for their defense, limited the Sooners to just a 28-percent effort in the second half, and Baylor was able to pull away for a 77-66 road win. DiJonai Carrington<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10073> scored 19 points off the bench and Moon Ursin<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10010> and NaLyssa Smith<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10009> added 17 and 16 points, respectively. Baylor kept up its shooting performance, finishing the game at 57.4 percent. The Lady Bears' two highest shooting efforts in the Big 12 this season both came against the Sooners after shooting a league season-best 59 percent vs. OU at home, Jan. 23. Baylor needs to get to 15 wins to clinch a share of its 11th-straight Big 12 regular season title unless West Virginia loses a fourth game this week. The Lady Bears' win over Oklahoma Sunday improved the team to 12-1 in league play.

LADY BEARS VS. THE COWGIRLS
    Baylor is 24-2 against Oklahoma State in Waco, 45-11 all-time, and 30-5 in the Kim Mulkey<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> era. Oklahoma State last beat Baylor Dec. 30, 2015 to open conference play in Stillwater. The Cowgirls' last win in Waco came March, 2008 (72-8). The Lady Bears will look for 11-straight wins over the Cowgirls, Wednesday. Earlier this season, Baylor played OSU in Stillwater, Jan. 20, and took a 77-58 win. Moon Ursin<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10010> led Baylor with 20 points and had eight rebounds while NaLyssa Smith<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10009> had 18 points and 12 boards for the Lady Bears. In the losing effort, Natasha Mack had 21 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Cowgirls.

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 19 games at a .318 clip. The Lady Bears also lead the nation in rebound margin (19.5) 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<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> 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, KNOWN FOR HER DEFENSE, QUIETLY MOVING UP BAYLOR'S ALL-TIME ASSISTS LIST
     When most think of DiDi Richards<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10008>, 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 5th nationally. She ranks second in the league in total assists, and last season she was the Big 12 statistical champion, ranking 7th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Her 502 assists coming into Wednesday's game ranks 4th 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 5 Big 12 games left to play, a Big 12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament. Her pace is 6.8 assists per game, and if she continues at that rate, she would pass Wallace in the next 4 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
     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<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10010>, lost her grandmother, Ruby Alexander, to the virus in April after a swift and brief battle with COVID. Kamaria McDaniel<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10266>, a transfer from Penn State that is having to sit this season, lost her grandfather, Johnny Webster, Sr., in April as well. Kim Mulkey<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573>, Jordyn Oliver<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10006>, DiJonai Carrington<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10073> and Caitlin Bickle<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10004> have all had to miss time due to COVID-19 protocols this season.
     The Big 12 announced Thursday the re-scheduling of several league games affected by COVID-19, including Baylor hosting K-State Feb. 27 and finishing the regular season in Lawrence, March 6.

RICHARDS RETURNS TO FLOOR AFTER SPINAL INJURY, FEATURED ON ESPN'S SPORTSCENTER
     Oct. 24, Moon Ursin<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10010> and DiDi Richards<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10008> 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<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> 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.

___________________________________
Kyle Robarts | Associate Director, Athletics Communications (WBB, WTEN)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3042 | C: 254-405-9492

[cid:image008.png at 01D709DE.237DDDC0]<http://baylorbears.com/>
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