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Top-seeded Baylor (No. 5/5, 32-3, 17-1 Big 12) will meet fourth-seeded Louisville (No. 13/12, 29-7, 12-4 ACC) in the Sweet Sixteen tonight inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK.
Tipoff is set for approximately 8:30 p.m. (CT) and the game will air live on ESPN2 with Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Gale Goestenkors (analyst) on the call. Live audio is also available on the Baylor Sports Network, IMG College and 92.9 FM in Waco. Rick May (play-by-play) and Lori Fogleman (analyst) will call the action.
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Louisville is 2-0 all-time against the Lady Bears, handing them Sweet 16 losses in 2009 and '13, with the second loss coming in Oklahoma City.
"If memory serves me right, I think they made 16 out of 25 threes," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said of the 82-81 loss when the Lady Bears were the top seeds and defending national champions. "For us to have come back and even make it a close game and a shot to win it was miraculous, because they couldn't miss. But, that's history. Now, you go to this game and they're a different team, we're a different team. . . . I think we have a size advantage, but really what does that mean at this level? If you can play, you can play."
Louisville almost has the height matchup for Baylor and the roster depth but the experience of Baylor’s seniors and talent depth should prove the difference in this game.
Cardinals to Watch
No. 25 (So.) Asia Durr, No. 4 (Jr.) Mariya Moore (6’0”), and No 2 (Jr.) Myisha Hines-Allen (6’2”). Each of these cardinals are in the 1000 point club and can be expected to play for close to the entire 40 minutes of the game. Mariya Moore made 5 of 5 from 3 point land and played the entire game against Tennessee in the 2nd round. The three players played for a total of 115 minutes against Tennessee. In the 1st round against Chatanooga they still totaled 96 minutes in a game where Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz played a total of 14 players with each seeing two minutes or more. Needless to say, these three are accustomed to going the distance. No. 23 (Fr.) Jazmine Jones (6’0”) and No. 21 (Fr. ) Kylee Shook (6’4”) are also capable of double digit games. No. 13 (Sr.) Cortnee Walton (6’3”) averages 7.3 rebounds per game.
Baylor’s Juggernaut of Depth
Senior Nina Davis is ranked among Baylor's top 10 in nine different categories. She is second in starts (140), field goal percentage (57.0) and free throw attempts (787), third in free throws made (542), fourth in field goals made (910) and rebounding (1,052), fifth in scoring (2,365), sixth in field goal attempts (1,597) and tied for seventh in double-doubles (31). Amid her second season with the Lady Bears, redshirt senior Alexis Jones is second all-time in three-point field goal percentage (41.6), fourth in assist average (4.6), eighth in three-point field goals made (126) and 10th in three-point field goal attempts (303). With a career field goal percentage of 63.9, sophomore Kalani Brown (6’7”) leads all Baylor players. Senior Khadijiah Cave (6’3”) is fourth with a 56.7 career field goal percentage. Sophomore Beatrice Mompremier (6’4”) is sixth with a 53.2 career field goal percentage. Junior Kristy Wallace is eighth all-time with a 38.0 three-point field goal percentage. Redshirt senior Alexis Prince (6’2”) is sixth all-time with 359 three-point field goal attempts and eighth with 130 three-point field goals made. Freshman Lauren Cox (6’4”) is averaging 7.7 points and 4.2 boards in 13.2 minutes per contest. She earned the first start of her career against Winthrop on Dec. 15, 2016. Freshman Natalie Chou (6’1”) is averaging 4.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14.0 minutes per game. Junior Dekeiya Cohen (6’2”) has seen action in 30 games this season and averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds a contest.
Two Lady Bears Earn WBCA All-Region Accolades
Baylor women’s basketball sophomore Kalani Brown and senior Nina Davis were named All-Region 3 nominees for 2017 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches All-America team on Thursday evening. From Baylor Bears dot com.
The selection committee will select 10 players from the All-Region list of 52 to receive 2017 WBCA All-America recognition.
Davis is a four-time All-Region selection in her career and two-time WBCA All-American, while Brown earns her first career All-Region honor.
Two Cardinals Earn WBCA All-Region Accolades
University of Louisville women's basketball's Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen were named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-Region I Team on Thursday. Full story at Go Cards dot com.
More Sweet Sixteen Previews
OKC notebook: Louisville’s Walz familiar with Baylor's Cox, Mompremier - WacoTrib.com: Lady Bears Basketball, "Both of them were a joy to work with," Walz said. "Just two great kids. They worked extremely hard.
Lady Bears gear up for Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen - WacoTrib.com: Lady Bears Basketball, "Louisville, they may not be as big as us, but they are just as aggressive," sophomore Kalani Brown said. "So I’m just going to have to bring that same aggressiveness when it comes to rebounding. Nobody is just going to let you have it."
Sweet Sixteen capsules: Lady Bears, Cardinals set for rematch in OKC showdown - WacoTrib.com: Lady Bears Basketball, The Lady Bears rolled through their first two rounds in Waco as they outscored Texas Southern by an NCAA-record 89 points, followed by a 40-point victory over California.
U of L and Baylor to rehash Sweet 16 rivalry, The Louisville and Baylor women's basketball teams will meet in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the third time in the last decade
Louisville women's basketball team shakes off Sweet 16 underdog label, The Cardinals are confident their depth and versaility will help them prevail Friday over No. 1 seed Baylor
Lady Bears face familiar foe in sweet sixteen matchup | The Baylor Lariat, "We’ve shed plenty of tears there, but we’ve also celebrated in confetti there," senior forward Nina Davis said. "We’re not really worried about the location where we’re playing at. We’re just worried about our next opponent, which is Louisville, and just focused on us and what we have to do to get to the next round."
The Louisville women's basketball team will meet Baylor again in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament; U of L beat the Bears in 2013 - Louisville - Scout, The Louisville women's basketball team will meet Baylor again in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. U of L pulled the major shocker and knocked off the then No. 1 Bears in 2013.
Baylor heads to Oklahoma City, site of both cheers and tears | by Stephen Hawkins | wcfcourier.com, WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor left Oklahoma City two weeks ago after a rare loss in the Big 12 Tournament. Two years ago, their season ended after losing an NCAA