What a day! There is a ton of news to get to, so I am going to skip an introduction and just jump right in.
In Season: Men's and Women's Basketball
No. 12 WBB Knocks Off No. 8 Oklahoma State, 69-66 in OT - BaylorBears.com
First of all, if you missed this game, you missed a phenomenal game. The Lady Bears went into Stillwater (it pains me to type that word) following a destruction of Kansas State this last Wednesday. Before the KSU victory, however, the Lady Bears had lost two straight; something that had not happened in several years. Would the Lady Bears be able to come out of the raucous Gallagher-Iba Arena with the victory?
At half, the score was 33-24 in favor of the Lady Bears and the game looked destined for an easy victory. There's a reason Oklahoma State is ranked number eight in the land though. Riding on Tiffany Bias' 14 points in the second half, Oklahoma State came roaring back, actually leading at points.
Late in the fourth quarter, Odyssey Sims was riding the pine with four fouls. The lack of Sims was no problem for one Makenzie "Ice In Her Veins" Robertson, who casually drained a three to bring Baylor within one. With 40.6 seconds left, Kendra Shuttles put the Cowgirls up three. Although Sims came back in, the end of regulation was all Robertson. Baylor was still down by three with six seconds left when Miss Ice In Her Veins sank yet another three to tie up the game at 61. Oklahoma State had four seconds to get a buzzer-beater, but Bias' layup bounced just a little too hard and off to overtime the game went.
In overtime, Robertson hit yet another three (she had six threes on the day) to put the Bears up 66-61. OSU hits some critical shots, Baylor missed some, and suddenly, the game was tied at 66 with 1:07 left. Following and outstanding block by Kristina Higgins on Suttles attempted three, Sims took the ball, drove to the basket, made the layup, and drew the foul, which she converted. That put Baylor up three with 3.8 seconds left. Tiffany Bias tried to take the ball down the court to send the game into overtime, but a clutch steal by Odyssey sealed the game for the Lady Bears.
The men's team takes on West Virginia tonight at 6:00 in Waco.
Off Season: Football and Baseball
All your Junior Day news and reactions can be found here.
Jordan Najvar was invited to join in the NFL Combine. A huge congrats to him!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Big S/O slash congratulations to my boy <a href="https://twitter.com/jnaj18">@jnaj18</a> with the NFL combine invite today!!! Proud of ya big man!</p>— Bryce Petty (@b_petty14) <a href="https://twitter.com/b_petty14/statuses/427550853210193920">January 26, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Because you know you never get tired of looking at this stadium:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/McLaneStadium">@McLaneStadium</a> will be the best facility in the most beautiful setting in College Football. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23newbaylor&src=hash">#newbaylor</a> <a href="http://t.co/loUDDqbmbG">pic.twitter.com/loUDDqbmbG</a></p>— Ian_McCaw (@bu_ad1) <a href="https://twitter.com/bu_ad1/statuses/427618577416327168">January 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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John Werner: Bears are done with mad-dash recruiting - WTH
Baseball returns in 19 days.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Video of live pitching/hitting from today's practice No. 2. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%2319Days&src=hash">#19Days</a> until the opener <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SicEm&src=hash">#SicEm</a> <a href="https://t.co/F8ilDVIpN0">https://t.co/F8ilDVIpN0</a></p>— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/BaylorBaseball/statuses/427582273697759232">January 26, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Best of the Rest
Bears qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships with win. - BaylorBears.com
The No. 7 Baylor Bears men's tennis defeated 28th ranked Auburn to claim as spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. This will be their 11th appearance.
Women's Tennis Blanks Penn State, 7-0
No. 19 Baylor swept their second straight opponent as they down No. 49 Penn Sate.
Baylor is really good at tennis.
Track & Field Opens Rod McCravy Memorial Meet - BaylorBears.com
There's a good number of personal bests in that crowd. Keep up the good work!
Other Happenings
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pro Bowl MVPs - (Offense) Austin Westlake's Nick Foles | (Defense) Waco High's Derrick Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23txhsfb&src=hash">#txhsfb</a></p>— Texas HS Football (@texashsfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/texashsfootball/statuses/427653563939323904">January 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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What did you expect, players from states that aren't Texas to be the best?