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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right"><a name="OLE_LINK11"></a><a name="OLE_LINK12"></a><a name="OLE_LINK23"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">BAYLOR
ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – </span></b></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">March 10, 2021</span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><u><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><a name="OLE_LINK9"></a><a name="OLE_LINK10"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK9"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Smith
Highlights Baylor WBB’s Big 12 Honors, Named Player of the Year</span></b></span></a></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK10"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK9"><u><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></span></span></span></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK9"></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK10"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Carrington, Ursin, Richards and Egbo also recognized by league coaches</span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Impact",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">For more information contact: </span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Kyle
Robarts, 254-405-9492, </span></span></span><a href="mailto:Kyle_Robarts@baylor.edu"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#954F72">Kyle_Robarts@baylor.edu</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">2020-21 Lady Bears head shots</span></b></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">:
</span></span></span><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ly1jqnx5i6dfagk/AAAo20mNe1mnznHlnDquyfD8a?dl=0"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ly1jqnx5i6dfagk/AAAo20mNe1mnznHlnDquyfD8a?dl=0</span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">WACO, Texas – </span></strong></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">The
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year lived up to the hype, and Wednesday, Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith added the Big 12 Player of the Year award to her trophy case. The league office announced the 2021 Big 12 Postseason Awards with Smith taking home the top individual
honor, and four others from the regular-season champion, No. 6-ranked Lady Bears were honored.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Smith, a 6-3 junior power forward from Converse, Texas, finished the
regular season leading the 22-2 Lady Bears with 18.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest. She shot 54.1 percent from the field and tallied 10 double-doubles this season.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">In addition to being selected as the Player of the Year, she was a unanimous
selection to the All-Big 12 First Team and Baylor’s only representative on the 10-person team. Smith is in the running for a trio of National Player of the Year awards, including the Naismith Trophy, the Wade Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award. Wednesday’s
announcement marked the second-straight season that Smith has been selected as an All-Big 12 First-Team selection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Graduate transfer DiJonai Carrington was a unanimous selection by the
Big 12 head coaches as the Newcomer of the Year and the Sixth Person of the Year. The Stanford transfer averaged 13.3 points per contest in the regular season for the Lady Bears, while grabbing 4.9 rebounds per contest and leading Baylor with 42 steals. She
led the team in the regular season with 32 3-point field goals, and for her performance, she was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Moon Ursin was recognized for her play on the court for the first time
as a senior, picking up both All-Big 12 Second-Team honors, and she was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team. Ursin, a senior from Destrehan, La., shattered career bests this season by averaging 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. Her 33 steals and
100 assists were both second on the team in the regular season, and she ranks 12<sup>th</sup> in the NCAA and 1<sup>st</sup> in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.71:1).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">DiDi Richards was named All-Big 12 Second Team for the second-straight
season and was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team along with Ursin. Richards is a semifinalist for the 2021 Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award, an honor she won last season as a junior along with WBCA National Player of the Year honors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Richards averaged 7.0 points per game, grabbed 31 steals while ranking
1<sup>st</sup> in the Big 12 and 7<sup>th</sup> in the nation in assists per game at 6.7. She ranks 17<sup>th</sup> in the nation and 2<sup>nd</sup> in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.66:1.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Junior center Queen Egbo earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
team after averaging 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest in the regular season. She shot 51.2 percent from the floor and led Baylor with 32 blocks. Last season Egbo was named Big 12 Sixth Person of the Year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Smith’s nod as Big 12 Player of the Year marks the 12<sup>th</sup> time
a Lady Bear has taken home the league’s top individual honor, and it is the fourth-straight year that at least one entity has named a Baylor player to the top award.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Carrington is the ninth Baylor player in history to be named Newcomer
of the Year and the seventh to earn the Sixth Person award. Since the graduate transfer rule has been implemented, Baylor has had one such player win the Newcomer of the Year award in the Big 12 in three-straight seasons. Chloe Jackson won in 2019, Te’a Cooper
took it in 2020 and Carrington was selected Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white">Richards joined Lauren Cox, Odyssey Sims and Brittney Griner as the only
Lady Bears to have earned All-Defensive team honors at least three times. Griner is Baylor’s only player to be named four times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK12"><span style="mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK11"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">www.BaylorBears.com</span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:black">___________________________________</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#006132">Kyle Robarts</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#006132"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">| Associate Director, Athletics Communications (WBB, WTEN)</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">O: 254-710-3042 | C: 254-405-9492</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:4.0pt;color:black"> </span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://baylorbears.com/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="160" height="44" style="width:1.6666in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D715A5.A88B5650"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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