No. 6/6 Baylor WBB Hosts No. 20/23 West Virginia in the Regular-Season Finale

Sun Mar 7 14:56:15 CST 2021

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#6/6 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (21-2, 16-1)
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/2021/3/7/BU_WBB_Game_Notes_West_Virginia_3_8_21.pdf?id=17128>
#6/6 BAYLOR (21-2, 16-1) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (19-4, 13-4)
March 8, 2021 | 7 PM
Waco, Texas | Ferrell Center (10,284)
[Big 12 Now on ESPN+]WATCH: ESPN+<https://listen.streamon.fm/krzi>
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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20/23 WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (19-4, 13-4)
Location: Morgantown, W. Va.
Conference: Big 12
Head Coach: Mike Carey

Roster<https://wvusports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster> | Stats<https://wvusports.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://baylorbears.com/documents/2021/3/7/WVU_BU2.pdf?id=17129>

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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<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> 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<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10009> and DiDi Richards<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=10008> 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<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1573> 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<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 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<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.

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.

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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 01D71362.03899530]<http://baylorbears.com/>
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