March 8, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Baylor coach Kim Mulkey won national championships as a player and coach, yet none felt quite as special as the latest family title won Saturday.

Two hours before her No. 5 Lady Bears were set to tip off against No. 10 Texas A&M, Mulkey was 100 miles south, watching, cheering and pumping her fists as her daughter Makenzie Robertson won a Texas Class 4A state championship with Hewitt Midway.

A junior guard, Robertson scored eight points and had seven rebounds in Midway's 50-27 victory over Mansfield Timberview, hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter. Hewitt is just outside Waco.

"I'm a proud momma, baby," Mulkey told The Associated Press while watching the postgame trophy ceremony. When it was over, she got a big hug from her daughter before it was time to jump in the car to get to her own game, which the Bears won 64-60.

"This is a special moment for our family. Championships are hard to come by," Mulkey said.

Asked which felt better, hers or her daughter's, Mulkey didn't even pause to think.

A child's championship tops it all.

"It's more special than mine because it's your children," she said with a smile. Mulkey won the 2005 NCAA championship with Baylor and looked every bit as emotional on Saturday as she did four years ago.

Sitting about 10 rows behind the team bench, Mulkey whooped and hollered with Midway fans and chanted "Let's Go Midway!" during timeouts.

She rarely sat down, groaning when she thought the officials missed a foul, and leaping to her feet every time Midway scored a basket. When the third quarter ended with Midway leading 42-17, she jumped out of her chair, pumped both fists in the air and let out a loud yell.

"I'm just so happy for my kid. And I'm happy for these Midway kids. When I moved to Waco to take the Baylor job these kids were fourth and fifth graders and to watch them grow up together ... we're so proud of Makenzie," said Mulkey, who won two national titles as a player at Louisiana Tech in the 1980s.