Baylor Lady Bears vs. West Virginia Mountaineers, Regular Season Finale, Senior Day and Big XII Championship Trophy Presentation

The Baylor Lady Bears take on the West Virginia Mountaineers tonight at 8:00 PM CT in the Ferrell Center. This is Senior Night and the game will also feature the presentation of the Big XII Conference Championship Trophy to the Lady Bears. If you can’t make the game you can follow along by watching on FS1 or listen to Baylor/IMG.

Senior Night

You can’t say enough about Baylor’s seniors Dekeiya Cohen and Kristy Wallace. One or the other has been the leading scorer in each of Baylor’s last four games, with each senior capturing the honor twice during the stretch.

The Lady Bears last loss to a Big XII team was a loss to the Mountaineers, 77-66, in last season’s Big XII tournament final. In that game the Lady Bears out shot the Mountaineers 45.6% to 37.9% but 15 Baylor turnovers and 11 made threes by the Mountaineers left the Lady Bears holding an empty bag with no trophy to bring home.

The Lady Bears did get some redemption against West Virginia earlier this season in Morgantown with an 83-72 win over West Virginia. It was the first time the Lady Bears had been pushed all season and at halftime Coach Kim Mulkey described the Lady Bears’ defense as “pathetic.” Baylor Bear Foundation’s Jerry Hill has that story:

No. 3/3 WBB Battles Back to Defeat No. 19/20 WVU - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, Kristy Wallace led the Lady Bears with 25 points as No. 3 Baylor women’s basketball defeated No. 20 West Virginia, 83-72, Sunday afternoon in Morgantown.

”I think it’s definitely what we needed, just to give us a little gut check that everything’s not going to be a walk in the park,” said senior forward Dekeiya Cohen, one of four double-figure scorers for the Lady Bears with 13 points. “It’s not always going to be a blowout, we’re going to have to grind some out. And I think that’s what we did today.”

”I thought our problem was on the defensive end,” said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team won its 16th in a row, improving to 20-1 overall and 9-0 at the halfway point in the Big 12 race. “In the second half, we had to start switching at all positions just to be able to defend them. I think the last 4, 4 ½ minutes, they went without a field goal. I thought it was the adjustment we made to switch at all positions.”

”We didn’t come out ready to go, and West Virginia was hitting shots. Credit to them,” said Wallace, who followed up a career-high 27-point outing in Thursday’s 81-56 win over No. 6 Texas with 25 points against the Mountaineers. “(At halftime), Coach Mulkey just reiterated that defense wins games. We came out and just focused on that. Our message was just to pick up the energy and get out there and play some defense.”

After the game, Kristy Wallace was TABBED ESPNW PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

Baylor women’s basketball senior Kristy Wallace was selected espnW National Player of the Week on Monday afternoon after playing a leading role in the Lady Bears’ 2-0 week. Charlie Creme, Graham Hays and Mechelle Voepel each vote to determine the honor, which is awarded every week of the women’s basketball season.

Wallace was the scoring leader for Baylor twice this week, netting a career-high 27 points against No. 6/6 Texas and 25 points at No. 19/20 West Virginia. She shot a team-high 66.7 percent from the floor and a team-high 62.5 percent from three-point range, accounting for all made three-pointers for Baylor on the week.

The Loganholme, Queensland, Australia native averaged 26.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, playing an average of 39 minutes per contest. Wallace has registered four 20-point performances this season and six in her career.

About Dekeiya, Baylor’s other Senior? Cohen thriving her senior season for No. 3 Baylor, WacoTrib,

Mulkey has said time and time again this season that you always know what you’re going to get out of Cohen. It’s a constant on which you can rely. She has scored in every game she’s played and piled up double-digit points in 17 contests.

The biggest rebounds of this season came a week ago in Austin. Texas was battling back late in the fourth quarter against Baylor, and Cohen came up with some monster board.

After the game, Mulkey said, ““That’s probably one of the most impressive things I’ll think about this game is Dekeiya Cohen is the offensive rebounds she got when the game was tight.”

Lady Bears Ready for Tonight’s Game

We all have our rituals and one of Juicy Landrum’s is to knock out a half court shot during practice before each game. Tonight’s game is no exception, here’s the video via twitter.

No. 3 WBB Takes on West Virginia on Senior Night - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, No. 3/3 Baylor Lady Bears (27-1, 17-0) conclude the regular season with a matchup against West Virginia (20-9, 8-9) on Monday, Feb. 26 inside the Ferrell Center. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) in Waco, Texas.

No. 3 Baylor WBB Takes on West Virginia on Senior Night, KXXV, No. 3/3 Baylor Lady Bears (27-1, 17-0) conclude the regular season with a matchup against West Virginia (20-9, 8-9) on Monday, Feb. 26 inside the Ferrell Center.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) in Waco, Texas.

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE

Monday’s game is Senior Night for forward Dekeiya Cohen and guard Kristy Wallace. The Lady Bear duo will be recognized at halftime. Following the game, Baylor will celebrate its eighth consecutive Big 12 regular season title and its ninth overall with a trophy celebration, net cutting and confetti. Fans are encouraged to stick around for the festivities.

BIG XII Champion Baylor Lady Bears

Lady Bears Ready to Celebrate, AP via ESPN, Now that the road portion of their Big 12 schedule is finished, the Baylor Lady Bears are ready to get home and celebrate another conference championship.

"Heck yeah, man," coach Kim Mulkey said when asked whether there would be a Ferrell Center celebration. "They've already won a Big 12 championship, so win or lose, we are celebrating. We should, and I hope there will be a great crowd."

Mulkey also noted a late start of 8 p.m. local time.

"We need people to let their kids stay up late regardless of school the next day," she said. "Confetti will drop and balloons, playing songs and getting the trophy. Those are memories."

Baylor Clinches Ninth Big 12 Women’s Basketball Regular Season Title - Big 12 Conference - Official Athletic Site, Baylor has secured the 2017-18 Big 12 women’s basketball regular season championship. The title is the eighth-straight and ninth overall for the Lady Bears.

No. 3 WBB Wins Eighth Consecutive Big 12 Championship - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, This meant something.

Monday night’s 93-87 shootout was more than just another win. It was more than the third-ranked Baylor Lady Bears beating the No. 6 Texas Longhorns for the 18th time in the last 19 meetings and eighth in a row in Austin.

This was about winning a championship.

Seniors Dekeiya Cohen and Kristy Wallace combined for 47 points to help the Lady Bears (26-1, 16-0) knock off a hot-shooting Texas team (22-5, 13-3) and win their eighth consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship. If you’re keeping count, that’s back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back conference champions.

”That matters. Eight in a row, guys, please don’t take that for granted,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “Do you guys really understand how hard that is to do? And then, to do it on the road in a (tough) environment against a good team like Texas, we don’t take it for granted. . . . It means something for us to win a Big 12 championship.

”These kids don’t come to Baylor to win games, they come to win championships. And they don’t run their mouths about how many championships they’re going to win. They just go out and play hard. They have a competitive fire within. And they have a coach that has a competitive fire that tries to bring it out in them.”

Junior Kalani Brown

Naismith Trophy Semifinal List Includes Brown - Baylor University Official Athletic Site, Baylor women's basketball junior Kalani Brown is one of 10 semifinalists for the Citizen Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Monday morning. The 6-7 center is the lone representative from the Big 12 on the list and is one of four juniors included.

Women's basketball: Naismith Watch List narrowed to 10 semifinalists | NCAA.com, The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the 10 semifinalists in consideration for the 2018 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year on Monday.