Recap | Box Score | Notes

BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES

Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey

On if playing their third game in as many days was possibly affecting the team...
"No, I really don't. Give Marist credit. To me, that team played much better in this game. I thought they had a game plan going in that was very effective for them, shooting a lot of threes and they did a little diamond-and-one, and as I told the team, I haven't attacked that yet in practice, but we'll get to that. We saw it almost every game last year with Odyssey [Sims], but they were doing that with Imani [Wright] and then they went a little to the triangle-and-two with her and Alexis ]Prince], but those are things that we'll teach and get better at. So I thought their game plan was very good. I thought we did a good job of not turning the ball over, but they don't put a lot of pressure on you to turn the ball over, so I thought we, for the most part, had a good weekend. 3-0."

On whether or not Baylor pressured Marist at all...
"No. We did the first couple of days, but what happened is that when you go into a game where you don't have your two quarterbacks, you're asking kids to play out of position, and so asking Ieshia [Small] and Imani to play point guard today, I thought they embraced it well. You sure don't like to have [Kristy Wallace] not be here, and Niya [Johnson] also. Niya could have played, there's no structural damage, no ligaments, she got kneed by Prince yesterday in the shin, and right below the knee, and she got hit from the back so it kind of made her leg hyperextend, so she could've played but she's just sore."

On Ieshia's game today...
"The main thing with Ieshia is she only had three turnovers, and Ieshia has a little flare to her game, which I love. I think this is a game where there's a lot of entertaining to be had, but sometimes Ieshia tries to force the issue, and it just makes her and all of us look bad. I just thought her decision-making with the ball in her hand was solid today."

On the outlook of team...
"Confused. I'm confused. I'm supposed to know a little more than I do, but it's a good type of confusion. You have [Wallace] gone, so you're putting people in positions they haven't been in, Nina [Davis] being one of them, and then you've got Dekeiya [Cohen] all of a sudden who you didn't have in the Kentucky loss because she had just gotten cleared to practice, so you have to find a spot for her, but it's a good kind of problem to have. If I can give all of them double figure minutes and they can all give me something, I think it will just make us that much more difficult to guard. I think we're very talented, but we're still so inexperienced. I know that's an overused statement, but it's very true. You're looking at people on that floor now with 30-plus minutes, who had been playing 10-15 minutes a game on a good night, and now their roles have changed, and it's their time to shine."

On still having five players score in double figures...
"This team doesn't rely on any one player. Obviously we will do some things where we expose their strengths and hide their weaknesses on some different looks as the season progresses, but all of them look to score, some are better rebounders, and I have to make some decisions throughout the game. I went big near the end of the game, and that's something I don't do often, but I think they did a good job."

Sophomore Imani Wright

On ball-handling and running the offense...
"I think I've become more comfortable, and I think it's coming easier for me. My confidence has grown a lot since last year, so I'm just always ready to play and do all I can to help my team win."

Sophomore Khadijiah Cave

On earning tourney MVP...
"It was something I needed. It made me push myself even more, having three games back-to-back-to-back, and this was something mentally and physically I needed to help me for the rest of the season."