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The No. 4/4 Baylor Lady Bears (24-2, 13-1) host Oklahoma State (14-11, 4-10) for their annual Sic `Em for the Cure/Play4Kay game today, inside the Ferrell Center. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (CT). Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the contest and arrive early for a pregame recognition.
No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears (24-2; 13-1 Big 12) • Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (17th Year — 497-94)
Oklahoma St. Cowgirls (14-11; 4-10 Big 12) • Head Coach: Jim Littell (6th Year — 123-65)
Fans can watch today's game online or on Fox Sports Southwest Plus. Live Audio is also available on the Baylor Sports Network, IMG College and ESPN 1660 AM in Waco, Texas. Rick May (play-by-play) and Lori Fogelman (analyst) are on the call.
Game Thread
Use this article for today’s Lady Bears Game Thread.
About the Lady Bears
The Lady Bears are 13-1 at home this season with their lone loss coming in their most recent outing on Feb. 6 against Texas.• Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (89.5 ppg), scoring defense (53.6 ppg) and scoring margin (+36.0).• Alexis Jones ranks seventh in the league at 14.7 points per game, is second with her 5.1 assists per game and third in 3-point field-goal percentage at 42 percent.
• Baylor leads the nation in scoring margin (+36.0) and is second in scoring offense with an 89.5 points per game average. • Broken down, the Lady Bears average, 49.7 points in the paint, 32.4 points from the reserves, 19.9 second chance points, 19.3 points off turnovers and 7.4 fast break points per contest. • Baylor averages 21.3 points per game in the first quarter, 22.7 points per game in the second quarter, 24.2 points per game in the third quarter and 21.3 points per game in the fourth quarter. • The Lady Bears have a balanced scoring effort throughout the game, averaging 44.0 first half points and 45.6 second half points per contes
About the Cowgirls
This game will be Oklahoma State's women's basketball team’s ninth contest against a team ranked in the Top 25 this season. • They lost all eight of the previous games against top 25 oponents. • Kaylee Jensen enters the contest as the league's leading scorer with her 19.0 points per game and its top rebounder at 10.7 boards per outing.• Jensen's 14 double-doubles are tops in the Big 12. • Her total ranks fifth on the school's single-season list and is one away from tying Toni Young for fourth place. • Mandy Coleman is averaging 17.9 points per outing over the past seven games and is 15-27 (55.6 percent) from beyond the 3-point line during that span. • In addition to Jensen, three other Cowgirls have also logged double-doubles on the year. Coleman has four, while Jentry Holt and Katelyn Loecker each have one. • Loecker has dished out 46 assists in conference play against 22 turnovers. She ranks fifth overall among league players in assist-turnover ratio and is 11th with her 3.1 assists per game.
RECAPPING THE LAST MEETING...
• In the first meeting of the season on Jan. 7, Baylor topped Oklahoma State, 86-50, in Stillwater, Okla. • The Lady Bears' inside presence keyed the victory, as Baylor outscored (44-14) and outrebounded (61-30) the Cowgirls in the paint. The squad also recorded 25 second-chance points to Oklahoma State's six. • Four scored in double figures to lead Baylor, including sophomore Kalani Brown (17), redshirt senior Alexis Jones (15), freshman Lauren Cox (13) and sophomore Beatrice Mompremier(12). • In the contest, Baylor shot 43.2 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from long range and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Karli Wheeler scored 15 points for Oklahoma State (12-3, 2-2).
The Lady Bears used a 21-7 run spanning the first and second quarters for a 29-13 lead. At that point, Oklahoma State had made just 6 of 26 shots while Baylor was shooting 13 for 18. Baylor closed the first half with a 12-2 burst that made it 46-19.
Academic All Big XII Team
- Sophomore Beatrice Mompremier and junior Kristy Wallace represent the Baylor women’s basketball program as second team Academic All-Big 12 honorees, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. From Baylor Bears dot com.
Wallace, a health, kinesiology and leisure studies major, is recognized for the second time, as she was named first team Academic All-Big 12 as a sophomore in 2016, while Mompremier, a business major, picked up her first career academic award from the conference.
To qualify for second team honors, student-athletes must maintain a GPA between 3.00 and 3.19 and participate in 60 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first academic year at their respective institutions.
Altogether, 51 student-athletes were named to the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball Team, with 35 first team and 16 second team honorees. First team members boast GPAs of 3.20 or higher, five of which own 4.0 GPAs.
- Oklahoma State's women's basketball team was well represented on the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 squad with six Cowgirls being honored it was announced today by the league office. From OK State dot com.
Of the 35 first-team selections, five student-athletes maintained a 4.0 grade point average, including OSU junior Kaylee Jensen, a nutritional sciences major, and sophomore Jentry Holt, a sports media major.
The duo was joined on the first team by senior Katelyn Loecker, a health education and promotion major, and sophomore Karli Wheeler, who is pursuing a degree in nutritional sciences.
Senior Diana Omozee, a psychology major, and junior Mandy Coleman, a liberal studies major, were named to the squad's second team. Jensen, Loecker and Omozee were all named to the squad for the second time in their careers.
First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests.
VOTE NINA
Baylor women’s basketball forward Nina Davis is one of 10 finalists for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Wednesday morning. From Baylor Bears dot com.
The award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website
(www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/nina_davis/)
through March 20. Fan votes are combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winner. Finalists were chosen by national media, and the Senior CLASS Award recipient will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Off the court, Davis gives back each year in the Waco community and abroad. She speaks to youth at prisons, reads to elementary school students, visits hospital patients and babies at the NICU and shares her love for Christ through Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Davis also participates annually in Feed by Starving Children and Care Bear Drive events. The 5-11 forward takes time each summer to take part in Baylor-organized mission trips in Brazil as well.
Her community involvement was inspired by those who provided the same guidance to Davis growing up as a youth in Memphis, Tenn. She now uses her platform as a Baylor student-athlete to have a positive impact on those around her.
Davis has been a leader on the court for the Lady Bears since her freshman year. She is second all-time at Baylor in starts (133) and field goal percentage (57.1), is fifth in career scoring (2,260 points) and sixth in career rebounding (1,004). The two-time consensus All-American and three-time All-Big 12 first team honoree is the fifth Lady Bear to tally 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
This season, Davis is averaging 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game for the No. 4/4 Lady Bears. The 2017 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year is shooting 55.0 percent from the floor.
Davis and the Lady Bears are back in action against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center. It is the annual Sic ’Em for the Cure/Play4Kay game and fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Baylor women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey is one of four Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame women’s committee finalists
- Seventeenth-year Baylor women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey is one of four Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame women’s committee finalists, the organization announced on NBATV Saturday morning. From Baylor Bears dot com.
Members of the 2017 Class will be announced at the 2017 Women’s Final Four in Dallas, Texas.
Mulkey, who was nominated as both a player at Louisiana Tech and as a coach, advances to the final ballot with her impressive coaching resume. A member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2000), CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2003), Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame (2007) and Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2009), Mulkey has guided Baylor to national championships in 2005 and 2012 and a Big 12 record 15 league titles, including the last six Big 12 regular season and tournament titles in a row.
Mulkey earned WBCA, Naismith, Associated Press and USBWA National Coach of the Year recognition in 2012 and USBWA National Coach of the Year honors in 2011. She is a five-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.
The Hammond, La., native is the only basketball coach to win a national championship as a head coach, as an assistant coach and as a player. Amidst her 17th season at Baylor, she has amassed a school record 497-94 mark (.841). She has led the Lady Bears to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, 17 20-win seasons, seven 30-win campaigns and a perfect 40-0 season in 2011-12.
Mulkey’s .841 win percentage as a head coach is second nationally among active Division I coaches. She ranks fourth all-time in win percentage.
Also included on the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame women’s committee list are Rebecca Lobo (player), Muffet McGraw (coach) and Wayland Baptist University (team). For more information on the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, visit www.hoophall.com.