#2/1 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (18-1, 7-0) Location: Waco, Texas   Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster | Stats | Game Notes	#2/1 BAYLOR (18-1, 7-0) vs TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-6, 6-2) January, 31, 2020 | 6:30 PM Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,784) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com RADIO: 1660 AM/92.3 FM WATCH: Fox Sports App Talent: Ron Thulin (PBP), Brenda VanLengen (Color) LISTEN: Tune In Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media:
	TEXAS LONGHORNS (14-6, 6-2) Location: Austin, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Karen Aston Roster | Stats | Game Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Other than splitting a pair of top-five matchups against South Carolina and UConn, the No. 2/1 Baylor Lady Bears (18-1, 7-0) will get one of their toughest tests to date when they face Texas (14-6, 6-2) at 6 p.m. Friday at the Frank Erwin Center in the 100^th all-time meeting of this I-35 rivalry. 
            "A lot of our kids were recruited by Texas, so they understand it's going to be a good basketball game," said Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, whose team has won 48-consecutive Big 12 regular season games and 39 in a row on the road. 
"They understand that Texas is really good. They've got five or six McDonald's All-Americans on that floor. They know what they face. But, it's not going to be any different than what they face with other teams, other than Texas may be a little bit more talented."
This is a matchup of the Big 12's two preseason favorites and the teams that have finished 1-2 in three of the previous four years. The Longhorns have reeled off five-straight wins since dropping two of their first three conference games and are on the verge of cracking the top 25. 
            Texas is also the last Big 12 team to hand Baylor a loss, pulling out an 85-79 win in Waco on Feb. 6, 2017 against a then-No. 2 Lady Bear team. But, that's also the Longhorns' only win in this series over the last decade, as they've lost 20 of 21. 
            "Win or lose at Texas is not going to determine a big 12 championship," Mulkey said. "If you go win over there, you kind of separate yourself, three games maybe. If you go over there and lose, you're still in the lead. But, neither one of those scenarios win you a championship yet. It's too early. We understand that it's hard to keep winning championships. We understand what we're going to face every time we go on the floor. It's not like you have to have a big rah-rah speech."
            Baylor, coming off an 83-62 win at home over Iowa State, has a 1 ½-game lead over Texas and TCU in the Big 12 standings. The Lady Bears are trying to win their 10^th-straight and 11^th conference championship overall. 
            A matchup to watch will be Texas' frontcourt duo of 6-3 senior Joyner Holmes (14.1 ppg, 9.1 rebounds) and 6-5 sophomore Charli Collier (13.8 ppg, 10.3 rebounds) going against Baylor's rotation of 6-4 senior All-American Lauren Cox (12.8 ppg, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks), 6-3 sophomore Queen Egbo (12.1 ppg, 7.5 rebounds and 6-2 sophomore NaLyssa Smith (15.4 ppg, 7.8 rebounds). 
            "Those two kids match up well as far as size with us inside," Mulkey said. "What you'll notice about their game is they're shooting a lot of 3's. So, we'll have to defend inside, we'll have to defend outside. (Collier) is a year older, Joyner is a senior, and they are playing really well right now."
            After missing the two previous games with a high ankle sprain, Smith returned against Iowa State and had two points, four rebounds and a block in 11 minutes. Cox had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Egbo had 12 points, eight boards and two blocks off the bench. 
            "(Egbo) needs to keep giving us what she's been giving us," Mulkey said. "Until we can get (sophomore Caitlin Bickle) healthy and Cox back and NaLyssa back, we'll just keep piecing it together. But, we've got enough weapons to continue to grind."
            Baylor is playing just its fifth true road game, but has won its previous four by an average margin of 22.3 points per game, including a 74-58 win at then-No 1 UConn. 
            "Anytime you go on the road, it's tough," Mulkey said. "I know when we go to Austin, there's a lot of Baylor people there. It somewhat feels like when we go to TCU, there's a great number of Baylor fans. So, we're looking forward to seeing a lot of green and gold."
            This is the second game in a row that FS1 is broadcasting, with Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen calling the action. 
            Baylor, which finishes the first half of conference play with a home game against Kansas (12-7, 1-7) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, is playing its third game in seven days. 
            

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TOP BIG 12 TEAMS MEET IN AUSTIN FRIDAY
   Friday marks the 100^th meeting between Baylor and Texas with the Longhorns holding an 18-game advantage in the overall series. However, since Kim Mulkey's arrival, the Lady Bears are 32-11 with 20 wins in the last 21 contests and nine straight. Baylor is looking to improve Big 12 regular season overall and road win streaks with Texas being the last team to beat the Lady Bears.
   Texas comes in as winners of the last five games and is tied with TCU for second place in the Big 12 at 6-2. Baylor on the other hand has won 11 straight and carries a 7-0 record, improving the Lady Bears' regular season league win streak to 48 games.
 
BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON STREAKS CONTINUES FOR BAYLOR
   Baylor's 48-game league win streak began after a loss Feb. 3, 2017 to Texas at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears won the final five Big 12 games in the 2016-17 season, ran the table in both 2017-18 & 2018-19 at 18-0 and have a 7-0 start to 2019-20.
   The Lady Bears' 39-game road win streak in the Big 12 began after falling to Oklahoma State Dec. 30, 2015 in Stillwater (52-45). Baylor will go for 49 and 40, respectively, Friday at Texas on FS1.
 
LADY BEARS ON THE RUN
   Through 19 games the Lady Bears have 28 double-digit runs this season, including a season-high 37-0 run to begin the game vs. New Hampshire Nov. 5 and a Big-12 best 29-0 run at Oklahoma Jan. 4. In addition to the transition game on offense, Baylor's defense has allowed just 88 fast-break points on the season. Baylor is outscoring teams on the break by an average of 17.5-5.2.
 
50/50 – BAYLOR'S MAGIC NUMBER OFFENSIVELY &
DEFENSIVELY
   Kim Mulkey coached teams at Baylor 231-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, while just 16 times in 19-plus seasons has an opponent shot 50 percent or better against the Lady Bears defense. Baylor's only loss when shooting 50 percent or better came vs. Mississippi State in the 2017 Elite 8.
 
COX & RICHARDS NAMED AS 15 FINALISTS FOR NAISMITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
   Lauren Cox is the 2-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and DiDi Richards' reputation for her on-ball defense earned her First-Team All-Big 12 honors last year. This year, those performances have carried over to national recognition as the pair made the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Midseason Team, which includes just 15 players.
   Cox has missed time due to injury, but is still averaging 3.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while opponent's offensive scouting reports are scrambled when they face the Cox-led Lady Bears. Richards' steal numbers are up to 2.1 per game, she's added 15 blocks this season and still draws assignments for each opponent's top perimeter player thoughout the season.

LADY BEARS PIQUING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL THROUGH FIRST 19 GAMES       
   The 18-1 Lady Bears rank in the top 10 nationally in 15 categories through games played through Jan 29. Baylor ranks No. 1 in the nation in six categories: Assists (444), Assists Per Game (23.4), Field Goal Percentage (.512), Field Goal Percentage Defense (.311), Scoring Margin (34.8), Scoring Offense (86.4), and Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.417).
   In addition, Baylor ranks in the top five in five categories: Assists-to-Turnover Ratio (2nd, 1.73:1), Blocked Shots Per Game (5th, 6.2), Rebound Margin (2nd, 15.1), Scoring Defense (5th, 51.5), and Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (4th, .245)
   DiDi Richards ranks 3rd nationally in assists-to-turnover ratio (3.40:1) while Jordyn Oliver checks in at 18th (2.53:1). Richards also cracked the Top 25 in assists per game at 18^th (5.4). Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith rank 11th and 16th, respectively in national field goal percentage while ranking 1st and 2nd, respectively in the Big 12. Egbo is shooting .602 from the floor while Smith is turning in a .588 clip. Juicy Landrum's .467 3-point field goal percentage ranks 4th in the nation and first in the Big 12.
 
WRAPPING UP A NINE-YEAR RUN OF DOMINANCE FOR BAYLOR'S LADY BEARS
     Baylor closed 2019 with a 335-23 record between Jan. 2, 2010 and Dec. 30, 2019 for a .936 winning percentage. Last decade produced two national championships (2012, 2019), three Final Fours (2010, 2012, 2019), 10 Sweet 16s, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, nine Big 12 regular season championships, and eight Big 12 Tournament titles. It also saw 11 players receive WBCA First-Team All-America honors, seven earned Associated Press All-Americans, eight were named USBWA First-Team All-Americans, Kim Mulkey earned seven different National Coach of the Year honors and six Big 12 Coach of the Year awards. Six players were named Big 12 Player of the Year and 22 players earned First-Team All-Big 12.
 
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: LADY BEARS INK TWO TOP-10 RECRUITS FOR 2020
     Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey announced the signing of two of the top 10 players in the country Wednesday, with Irving MacArthur standouts Sarah Andrews and Hannah Gusters signing national letters of intent to join the Lady Bears in 2020.
     Gusters was the first to verbally commit to Baylor in May. The 6-4 post player is the No. 9 overall ranked player in the 2020 class and the No. 2 center by espnW's Hoopgurlz. The Dan Olson Collegiate Basketball Report ranks her ninth and second, respectively as well. After helping Duncanville High School win a state championship as a freshman, Gusters averaged 14.5 points per game as a sophomore in leading the Pantherettes to a 39-2 record and the Class 6A region finals. Gusters played AAU ball for Nike ProSkills, and her maternal grandfather, Dewey Turner, played football for the University of Texas.
     Andrews verbally committed to Baylor on social media Nov. 2 during an official visit. The 5-7 point guard is ranked No. 7 overall and the No. 2 point guard by espnW's  HoopGurlz recruiting rankings and carries the same ranking from the Dan Olson Collegiate Basketball Report. Among Andrews' honors as a point guard for Irving MacArthur High School, she was a two-time TGCA 6A All-State selection in 2018 and 2019. USA Today named Andrews to the second-team All-Texas team in 2019 as well. The Dallas Morning-News named Andrews the top recruit in Texas. As a junior, she was the District 6-6A MVP after averaging 15.1 points, 7.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 steals for a MacArthur team that went 29-9. Andrews played AAU ball for Nike ProSkills.
 
SCORING IS TOUGH VS. THE LADY BEARS
   Baylor ranked tops in the nation in 2018-19 in the following categories: Assists (850), Assists Per Game (22.4), Blocked Shots (274), Blocked Shots Per Game (7.2), Defensive Rebounds Per Game (32.0), Rebound Margin (+17.0), Rebounds (1,790), and won-lost percentage (97.4). But perhaps the most consistent category the Lady Bears led the nation in, was field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a .318 clip. That marked the third-straight year to lead the nation in that category while also ranking in the top five in eight of the last nine years.