Lady Bears vs. Kent State Preview and Gamethread

Listen to Count Down to Tip Off on Baylor IMG Network at 9:30 AM CT.

FOLLOW THE ACTION...

Fans can watch live game action on YouTube here. Audio of the games will also be on the Baylor Sports Network, IMG College and ESPN 1660 AM. Rick May (play-by-play) and Lori Fogelman (color) will call the action.

From WacoTrib’s Tony Adame at BearsExtra:

If one person could underline exactly where Baylor’s focus needs to be for three games in three days starting Friday at the Gulf Coast Showcase, it’s sophomore forward Beatrice Mompremier.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward from Miami, just two hours from where the Lady Bears will play in Estero, Fla., has as much of an excuse for her mind to be elsewhere as she gets to play the closest she will get to home, possibly, for the rest of her career.

Mompremier’s mind however, seems right where it needs to be headed into the tournament opener against Kent State (2-2) – just like the rest of her team.

“I just want us coming out and playing hard in three games,” Mompremier said. “Just compared to how we started last season, there will be more competition and we need to come out and play in the bigger games with confidence.

“I mean, it is a big deal that I’m (close to home). But it doesn’t really matter where I play as long as I bring it.”

If being near the beach has any appeal to the Lady Bears, it was only coach Kim Mulkey who even risked mention the word “fun” as she broke down the upcoming trip that features two ranked teams on each side of the bracket – No. 5 Baylor (4-1) and No. 18 DePaul (3-0) in the top half and No. 8 Ohio State and No. 11 Syracuse in the bottom half.

Baylor plays the DePaul-Western Kentucky winner on Saturday.

“It’s a fun trip, but it’s also a work trip with three hard games in three days,” Mulkey said. “If I had the type of team that I didn’t think would respond good, win or lose, I would be worried, but I think this group understands what we’re trying to do. We’re playing this type of schedule not just to get us ready for the Big 12, but for the postseason.”

SERIES HISTORY...

● Against the Gulf Coast Showdown field, Baylor owns a 4-1 record.

● Baylor meets Kent State for the second time in program history on Friday. Kent State won the only meeting, 81-75, on Dec. 5, 1997, in Albuquerque, N.M.

● The Lady Bears lead DePaul, 1-0, in the all-time series, winning the lone matchup, 86-82, on Nov. 22, 2015, in Waco, Texas.

● Baylor leads Western Kentucky, 1-0, all-time. The Lady Bears won the only meeting, 87-74, on March 22, 2014, in Waco, Texas.

● If Ohio State advances to the championship, it will be the first time the Lady Bears have played the Buckeyes.

● Baylor leads Syracuse, 2-0, in the all-time series. The Lady Bears defeated the Orange, 77-43, on Dec. 21, 2010, in Nassau, Bahamas, and, 74-72, on Dec. 19, 2014, in Winter Park, Fla.

● The Lady Bears would meet George Washington for the first time if both teams advance to the championship game.

● Baylor has yet to meet Florida Gulf Coast in program history.

HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE...

● Baylor is one of three teams to score 100 points or more in three games this season (Maryland, Michigan).

● The Lady Bears opened the season with a 118-point performance against Houston Baptist on Nov. 11, 2016, which is the second highest scoring effort recorded by a NCAA Division I team this year (126 -- Oakland).

● Against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday, Nov. 20, Baylor netted 101 points for its second 100+ point performance in four games. It was the sixth time in program history and the fourth time under head coach Kim Mulkey that the Lady Bears have recorded two 100+ point performances in the first four games of the season.

● Pouring in 109 points against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, Nov. 22, Baylor posted its third 100-point effort in the first five games of the year. The only other time the Lady Bears tallied three 100-point games in the first five games of the season occurred in 1977-78 (Game 1 vs. Texas State, 116-64; Game 3 vs. Navarro Community College, 107-62; Game 5 vs. Tarleton State, 106-72).

HEADING HOME...

Redshirt senior Alexis Prince and sophomore Beatrice Mompremier are looking forward to playing in their home state of Florida this week. Prince hails from Orlando, Fla, which is approximately three hours from the site of the tournament, while Mompremier is from Miami, Fla., which is approximately two hours away.

SURPASSING 2,000

• Senior forward Nina Davis became the sixth Lady Bear to surpass the 2,000 career points mark on Sunday, Nov. 20, against Mississippi Valley State.

• The Memphis, Tenn., native, netted a jumper in the paint at the 4:42 mark in the fourth quarter to accomplish the feat.

• Davis scored 15 points in the game and currently has 2,008 in her career.

OFF THE BENCH CONTRIBUTIONS...

• Depth has been a strength for the Lady Bears so far this season with 198 of their 473 overall points coming from the reserves.

• Sophomore Kalani Brown has been a force off the bench, averaging a double-double with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She is also second on the team in blocks, posting 1.8 stuffs per game.

• Freshman Lauren Cox is averaging 7.6 points and 4.8 boards off the bench in 11.2 minutes per contest.

• Freshman Natalie Chou is averaging 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She has been the first off the bench for the Lady Bears, averaging 13.2 minutes per game.

• All 13 players on Baylor's roster have logged minutes in the last two games played.

BIG 12 LEADERS...

• Baylor leads the Big 12 in five major categories, including scoring (94.6 points per game), field goal percentage (.499), three-point field goal percentage (.427), rebounding (+26.0 margin) and blocked shots (8.8 per game).

• The Lady Bears are second in assists per game (22.8) and assist to turnover ratio (1.6).

• Sophomore post Kalani Brown is second among all Big 12 players in field goal percentage (.784), third in rebounding (10.4 per game), sixth in free throw percentage (.857), seventh in blocked shots (1.8 per game) and 10th in scoring (15.2 points per game).

• Senior point guard Alexis Jones is second in the conference in three-point field goals made (3.2 per game), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.552), fifth in assists (4.0 per game), sixth in scoring (16.8 points per game) and ninth in assist to turnover ratio (1.4).

• Sophomore post Beatrice Mompremier is also seventh in blocked shots (1.8 per game), eighth in field goal percentage (.645) and 10th in rebounding (7.8 per game).

• Senior Alexis Prince checks in at 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.471), 11th in field goal percentage (.556) and 13th in three-point field goals made (1.6 per game).

HOME SWEET HOME WIN STREAKS...

• Baylor has won 171 consecutive home games vs. non-ranked opponents, dating back to an April 4, 2003, homecourt loss to Auburn in the WNIT finals. BU is 159-4 (.975) in non-league home games under Kim Mulkey.

• Baylor owns a 45-game home win streak dating back to March 2, 2014, when it lost to 11th-ranked West Virginia, 71-70.

IN THE POLLS...

• Baylor checks in at No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 and is No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches Poll in week three of the season.

• Baylor has been included in the USA Today's Top 10 for 41-consecutive releases, including 31 Top 5 rankings, and in the AP's Top 5 for 12-straight polls. The Lady Bears have been ranked in the Top 5 in the final release of the AP poll in each of the last six seasons.

• All told, Baylor has been ranked in 285 AP polls which ranks No. 21 on the all-time list.

• Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 244 straight AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24.

APPROACHING MILESTONES...

• Senior Nina Davis is sixth on Baylor's all-time scoring list with 2,008 in her career. She is 19 points from moving up to fifth all-time (Maggie Davis-Stinnett - 2,027).

• Davis is also 110 rebounds from recording 1,000 in her career with 890. Only five other Baylor women's basketball players have compiled 1,000 or more career rebounds.

• If Davis reaches both milestones, she will become the sixth Lady Bear to compile 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

• With 890 career rebounds, Davis is eighth on Baylor's all-time list. She is 46 boards from moving in to seventh (Steffanie Blackmon - 936).

• Seventeenth-year head coach Kim Mulkey is 23 wins from tallying her 500th victory. She has guided the Lady Bears to 477 wins.

• Senior Khadijiah Cave is 200 points from reaching the 1,000-point club. She has scored 800 career points, averaging 261 points per season.

• Redshirt senior Alexis Jones is 346 points from netting 1,000 points at Baylor with 654. After scoring 586 career points in 2015-16, she has the potential to become the seventh player in Baylor women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career points mark in just two seasons played.

• Including her numbers from Duke, Jones has compiled 1,362 points and 448 rebounds in her career.

DOUBLE DOWN...

• Through five games, sophomore Kalani Brown is averaging a double-double with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.

• Brown is second among conference players in field goal percentage (.784) and third in rebounding (10.4 per game). She also checks in at sixth in free throw percentage (.857), seventh in blocked shots (1.8 per game), and 10th in scoring (15.2 per game).

• Brown, a Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention and 2016 Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection, averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a freshman in 2015-16.

• Against Houston Baptist, she paced the offense and matched her career-high with 24 points. Brown collected the first Co-Big 12 Player of the Week honor of her career for her performance in the season opener.

• Against No. 9/9 UCLA, Brown set a new career-highs with 25 points, 19 rebounds (10th highest single-game total recorded in program history), field goals made (12), field goals attempted (15) and steals (6). She also matched her career-high with five assists. It marked the second double-double of her career.

• At No. 3/2 UConn, Brown fought through early foul trouble to compile nine points and five rebounds in 19 minutes. She made 3-of-4 field goal attempts in the contest.

• Brown was one point shy of another double-double, tallying nine points and 12 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State in 16 minutes played. She netted 4-of-6 field goal and 1-of-1 free throw attempts.

• Against Southeastern Louisiana, Brown compiled nine points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes played. She was a perfect 2-for-2 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

• Through five games, the Slidell, La., native, owns a .784 field goals percentage and an .857 free throw percentage. Both are team-highs for the Lady Bears.

PRODUCTION IN THE PAINT...

• Through five games, Baylor has recorded 42 percent (197-473) of its offense in the paint.

• The Lady Bears are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 26.0 boards per game (255-125). BU outperformed Houston Baptist, 62-27, No. 9/9 UCLA, 52-25, No. 3/2 Connecticut, 39-29, Mississippi Valley State, 59-30, and Southeastern Louisiana, 43-14, on the glass.

THE MULKEY FILE...

• In her 17th season, Kim Mulkey has posted an impressive 477-93 (.837) record which ranks her No. 2 nationally in winning percentage among active coaches behind Connecticut's Geno Auriemma (.877).

• Kim Mulkey's 34 seasons as a player and coach have resulted in 34 postseason trips, including 33 to NCAA/AIAW Tournaments.

• In 558 of 570 games under Kim Mulkey, the Lady Bears have held their opponent at or below 50 percent field goal shooting with only five of those efforts coming in the last 14 years.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS...

• The Lady Bears have made 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 15 overall. Those appearances have resulted in two national championships (2005, 2012), three Final Fours (2005, 2010, 2012), seven Elite Eights and 11 Sweet Sixteens.

• Baylor has won six consecutive Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. Overall the program has won seven regular season and eight tournament conference championships, most among all Big 12 programs.

• Baylor is 213-17 (.926) over the past six seasons, 34-3 in 2010-11, 40-0 in 2011-12, 34-2 in 2012-13, 32-5 in 2013-14, 33-4 in 2014-15, 36-2 in 2015-16, and 4-1 in 2016-17. In that same span, BU is 118-6 (.952) in Big 12 play -- 100-6 in the regular season and 18-0 in Big 12 Tournament play.

• 183 of Baylor's 213 wins since 2010-11 have been by 10 or more points, and only 13 times in that span has its winning margin been five or fewer points (most recently five, 69-64, vs. West Virginia, Jan. 12, 2016).

• In Baylor's last 370 games, only two opponents (Stanford, .509 & West Virginia, .500) have shot 50 percent or above. In the 2012-13 season, the Cardinal broke BU's 217-game streak of holding an opponent to 50 percent or less shooting from the floor. BU's current string is 85 straight games holding its foe to .500 or below from the field.

BIG 12 PRESEASON HONOR ROLL...

• For the second consecutive year and the seventh time in conference history (2006, `10, `11, `12, `13, `15, `16), Baylor is favored to win the Big 12 women's basketball regular season title according to a vote of league head coaches previewing the 2016-17 regular season.

• The squad has won or tied for seven regular season championships, including the last six in a row. Baylor has also hoisted the last six Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship trophies.

• The Lady Bears received nine of 10 first place votes in the poll (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams). Texas received one first place vote and was listed second followed by Oklahoma in third place.

• For the second-straight season, senior Nina Davis was selected as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. It marks the seventh time a Baylor player has been named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year (Nina Davis -- 2015-16, 2016-17; Odyssey Sims - 2013-14; Brittney Griner - 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13; Sophia Young - 2005-06).

• Freshman Lauren Cox, who is rated No. 1 in her class by ESPN Hoopgurlz and All Star Girls Report (ASGR), was tabbed Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

• Senior Nina Davis and redshirt senior Alexis Jones, the 2016 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, received Preseason All-Big 12 Team distinction.

• Sophomore Kalani Brown, a Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection in 2016, was an Honorable Mention Big 12 selection.

JONES MAKES 2017 NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD WATCH LIST...

• Redshirt senior Alexis Jones is one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2017 Nancy Lieberman Award. The award, now in its 17th year, recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.

• Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

• Jones is a Preseason All-Big 12 selection after collecting 2015-16 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition as a junior.

• Jones started 34-of-38 games in her first season with the Lady Bears after transferring from Duke. She averaged 15 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and recorded 30 double-digit scoring performances en route to 2016 All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player honors.

• A WBCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2016, Jones also earned All-Tournament Team recognition at the NCAA Dallas Regional, was named a Junkanoo Jam All-Star and collected WBCA All-Region honors.

• Prior to her arrival at Baylor, Jones earned All-ACC Second Team accolades in 2013 and 2014 and was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2013.

• By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2017 Lieberman Award will be narrowed to just 10. Guards can play their way on or off the watch list throughout the year.

DAVIS EARNS SECOND PRESEASON AP ALL-AMERICAN RECOGNITION...

• Nina Davis earned Associated Press Preseason All-American recognition for the second consecutive season on Nov. 3.

• The 5-11 senior forward is one of four Lady Bears named to the AP's elite preseason squad, including Sophia Young (2005-06), three-time honoree Brittney Griner (2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13) and two-time honoree Odyssey Sims (2012-13, 2013-14).

• Davis, a two-time consensus All-American, led the program in scoring as a junior, averaging 16.3 points per game, and shared the rebounding award with post Beatrice Mompremier, averaging 6.1 boards per contest.

• The Memphis, Tenn., native was picked 2017 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 first team. In her career, Davis is a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection.

2015-16 Quick Hits...

• Baylor secured its sixth-straight 30-win season with its 74-48 victory over Texas in the 2015-16 regular season finale on Feb. 29. Overall, Baylor has recorded 11, 30-win seasons with seven, including six-straight, coming since head coach Kim Mulkey's arrival.

• Baylor's 36 wins last year is the second-most in program history behind the 40-0 season in 2011-12, which resulted in the program's second NCAA title.

• Consensus All-American Nina Davis and honorable mention All-American Alexis Jonesaccounted for 40 percent of Baylor's offense in 2015-16. The duo led the Lady Bears, averaging 16.3 and 15 points per game, respectively, to amass 1,189 of the team's 2,951 points.

• Logging minutes in all 38 games last year, freshmen posts Kalani Brown (352 points, 164 rebounds) and Beatrice Mompremier (273 points, 233 rebounds) recorded 22.9 percent of the team's rebounding and 21.2 percent of the squad's offensive production.

• Baylor's two losses in 2015-16 were by a total of 10 points and both came on the road -- at Oklahoma State, 52-45, and vs. Oregon State, 60-57, in Dallas.

• In 2015-16, Baylor's bench outscored its opponents by an average of 11.4 points per game, 973-539 (25.6-14.2).

• Last season, Baylor led the nation in rebounds (1,730), was second in assists (786), scoring margin (+24.1) and win-loss percentage (94.7), third in assists per game (20.7) and field goal percentage defense (33.1), fourth in rebounding margin (+13.9), rebounds per game (45.5), and free throws made (532), fifth in field goal percentage (48.4) and seventh in blocks per game (6.3) and assist to turnover ratio (1.37).

• Baylor outscored its opponents in the paint 1,630-794 in 2015-16. BU averaged a dominant 42.1 points per game in the paint, while limiting its opponent to 21.0 points per game.

• Baylor's bench outscored opponents by 11.4 points per game, 973-539, last season. The bench is even deeper in 2016-17, with every player healthy and available for action.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS...

• The Lady Bears welcomed in the nation's top recruiting class this fall, including No. 1 overall recruit Lauren Cox, No. 8 Natalie Chou and No. 40 Calveion Landrum.

• Cox collected 2016 WBCA High School Player of the Year recognition and was back-to-back Gatorade State Player of the Year (2015, `16). The Flower Mound, Texas, native was also a finalist for Naismith High School Player of the Year and McDonald's All-American Morgan Wootten Player of the Year.

• Cox was named USA Today Texas Player of the Year and to the USA Today All-Texas first team in 2015 and 2016.

• With USA Basketball, Cox won four gold medals, most recently earning Most Valuable Player honors at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.

• Chou was a 2016 McDonald's and WBCA High School All-American. She joined Cox as a finalist for the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year award.

• Chou, a Jordan Brand Classic selection, also has experience playing for USA Basketball. The Plano, Texas, native won a gold medal in the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship (with Baylor teammate Lauren Cox) and a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship.

• Landrum was a two-time Waco Tribune-Herald Super Centex Player of the Year honoree (2014, `16). The Waco, Texas, native was a four-time all-state selection and all-star game pick at nearby La Vega High School.