Defense wins championships, so it’s no mistake that the Baylor Lady Bears cherish that end of the floor.
On a night when Baylor seemed a little herky-jerky on the offensive end, the Lady Bears doubled down on defense and got what they came for.
Top-ranked Baylor’s 80-40 victory over Kansas on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship, marking the Lady Bears’ ninth consecutive such title and their 10th in program history.
The win set off a confetti-saturated celebration as Baylor (24-1, 14-0 Big 12) hoisted the Big 12 championship trophy, cut down the nets and mingled with fans to the tune of plenty of championship-style music.
“We’re not just one of the other sports here, we are the program that national people recognize,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey told the Ferrell Center crowd over the public-address system as the postgame party got started.
Baylor Lady Bears clinch share of Big 12 title: Feb. 20, 2019
A little later, in a media huddle, Mulkey outlined the hierarchy of Baylor’s goals for the rest of this season, including finishing strong in four remaining Big 12 games, winning the Big 12 Tournament and taking aim at another trip to the Final Four.
But she definitely didn’t want to overlook the importance of celebrating what the Lady Bears accomplished on Wednesday.
“This is one of our goals,” Mulkey said. “But it’s always going to be one that we celebrate. It’s not easy to win one (conference title). We’ve won 10 and nine in a row. That’s just a blessing of having great players.”
Baylor held Kansas to 30-percent shooting, 20-percent from 3-point range, and out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 48-26.
Although it wasn’t a night when the usual inside-outside combinations clicked early on offense, defense made the difference and the end result was the same.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Mulkey said. “It’s been a long time since we missed that many open looks. It happens, that’s the game of basketball. That’s why you better make sure you take care of the defensive end of the floor. Last time we played Kansas, they scored 14 threes. I don’t know how we won that game. Tonight they had two at halftime, they finished with three, I’ll take that effort any night.”
Guard Juicy Landrum eventually got going and finished with a game-high 20 points. Fittingly, Baylor forward Lauren Cox and center Kalani Brown posted a pair of double-doubles. Brown registered 14 points and 11 rebounds and Cox had 11 points and 12 boards. Guard Chloe Jackson made it 4 Lady Bears scoring in double digits with 10.
Landrum, who made just five of her first 15 shots, kept firing and it paid off as she nailed a couple of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter. The second put Baylor ahead by 26 and cruising toward the win in the fourth quarter.
“I told (Landrum) in front of the bench she had an opportunity to shoot a lot more and I said, ‘If you’re not going to shoot it, come sit by me,’” Mulkey said. “You’ve got to keep shooting the ball, you can’t let it get in your head. And she hits those big threes there. That’s what you do.”
Baylor came out shooting cold, just 37.5-percent from the field through the first 10 minutes of action, but still managed to open up a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter. Brown blocked a shot on the defensive end and, seven seconds later, Landrum drilled a 3-pointer from the left side to put the Lady Bears in front, 23-11, with 6:57 left before halftime.
Brown finished the first half with 10 rebounds and a block, as she formed the core of the Lady Bears defense that held Kansas to 28 percent from the field before intermission.
Landrum’s trey helped Baylor warm up late in the second quarter. Brown made a layup, Jackson hit a jump shot and Cox made a pair of free throws during the Lady Bears’ 16-0 run in the period that gave them a 29-11 lead.
Baylor went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes, helping it grab a 37-19 edge at halftime.
As the second half progressed, it became more and more of a priority to get the ball to Brown, who came into the game needing 11 points and 2 rebounds to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She accumulated the rebounds in the first quarter, but had just four points going into the final period.
Brown scored her 11th point on an assist from Cox with 3:51 remaining, adding the icing to the cake of Baylor’s postgame celebration.
However, even as the confetti came down, Mulkey and the Baylor players seemed to be turning their attention to the rest of this campaign.
However, even as the confetti came down, Mulkey and the Baylor players seemed to be turning their attention to the rest of this campaign.
Baylor last advanced to the Final Four when it won its second national championship in 2012. The Lady Bears didn’t shy away from pointing directly at the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, in April as the goal for the rest of this season.
“It’s been a minute since we got to the Final Four,” guard DiDi Richards said. “So it’s been ‘Together to Tampa.’ Our bracelets, our shirts, everything says ‘Together to Tampa.’ ”
—- WACOTRIB
—- WACOTRIB
