#4/5 WBB Takes on St. Francis on Salute to Heroes Night

Thursday, November 8

Waco, Texas

7 p.m.

Baylor

Saint Francis (PA)

Tickets

Photo by: Baylor Photography

#4/5 WBB Takes on St. Francis on Salute to Heroes Night

11/7/2018 3:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Lady Bears set to play for second time in 48 hours



	#4/5 BAYLOR LADY BEARS (1-0) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kim Mulkey (La. Tech, 1984) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes	#4/5 BAYLOR (0-0) VS. ST. FRANCIS (0-1) November 8, 2018 • 7 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • The Ferrell Center (10,284) LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast WATCH: FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST PLUS \| FOX SPORTSGO APP Talent: John Morris (PBP), Jim Haller (Color) LISTEN: BaylorBears.com/1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Bruce Gietzen (PBP), Maggie Davis-Stinnett (Color) Baylor Social Media: Channel Lineup (SD/HD): Dish: 444/9515 \| DirecTV: 676-1/676-1 UVerse: 754/1754 \| Grande: 134/134

	ST. FRANCIS RED FLASH (0-1) Location: Loretto, Pa. Conference: NEC Head Coach: Joe Haigh (Southern Miss, 1986) Roster \| Stats

SALUTE TO HEROES NIGHT AT THE FERRELL CENTER
     Thursday night at the Ferrell Center will be "Salute to Heroes" night where active military, veterans, and first responders can receive a discounted $5 ticket to the game. In order to get the discounted rate, visit BaylorBears.com/promotions and use the promo code: HEROES or show a valid form of ID at the Baylor Ticket office prior to the game. In addition the Baylor Golden Wave Band Drumline will perform at halftime.

ST. FRANCIS IN SHORT
     The Red Flash will be the second-straight opponent Baylor has faced that reached the NCAA Tournament last season only to meet a No. 1 seed and fall in the opening round. Nicholls won the Southland Conference Tournament and face No. 1 Mississippi State in the opening round while St. Francis shared the regular season title and won the Northeastern Conference Tournament championship to earn the right to face No. 1 seed UConn where the Red Flash fell in the first round.
     St. Francis lost its season-opener Tuesday to Rutgers, 96-52. Jess Kovatch, who averaged 24.4 points per game last season, led the Red Flash in the losing effort with a dozen points. St. Francis returns 10 letter winners and two starters from last year's team that posted a 24-10 overall record and a 16-2 mark in conference.

MULKEY'S MIDAS TOUCH: 1,100 WINS
     Everything head coach Kim Mulkey touches doesn't necessarily turn to gold, but if it has to do with college basketball, nearly everything she touches results in a win. Baylor's win vs. Nicholls gave Mulkey 1,100 wins combined as a collegiate player (130, La. Tech), assistant coach (430, La. Tech) & head coach (540, Baylor). In those capacities, Mulkey's teams are a combined 1,100-192 for an astounding .851 winning percentage.

BALANCED SCORING TIES SCHOOL RECORD IN 100-39 SEASON OPENING WIN OVER NICHOLLS
     For the first time in four years Baylor had seven players in double figures for a game marking the second time the feat was achieved and tying the school's record. Kalani Brown and Moon Ursin had 13 points apiece, Caitlin Bickle & DiDi Richards each had a dozen, and Chloe Jackson, NaLyssa Smith & Queen Egbo all added 10 in the Lady Bears' rout of the Colonels. Khadijiah Cave (18), Kristina Higgins (16), Alexis Prince (14), Ieshia Small (12), Dekeiya Cohen (12), Imani Wright (12) and Nina Davis (11) were the only other group to put up seven double-figure scorers in a game in Baylor's win over Utah State Nov. 28, 2014.

MORE ON THE SEASON OPENER
     The Lady Bears went on two extended runs in the contest, both came at the beginning of each half. Baylor scored the first 24 points of the contest in the first quarter and also strung together a 20-0 run in the third after an early 3-point field goal from Nicholls. Baylor's .629 shooting percentage in the first half was the 11^th best performance in a first half in school history. All 11 active players scored for the Lady Bears. Every newcomer, save Aquira DeCosta, debuted for Baylor; DeCosta is nursing a minor foot injury and is expected to be back in a couple of weeks. Other than the four newcomers that scored in double figures (Jackson, Egbo, Bickle & Smith), Honesty Scott-Grayson scored six and had three points in her debut. Tuesday's win marked the 17^th-straight season-opening victory when the Lady Bears have opened at home and the ninth consecutive season-opening win overall. Moon Ursin and DiDi Richards each set career-highs in scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

ESPNW THE LAST TO ADD BAYLOR AS A TOP-FIVE PROGRAM IN THE PRESEASON
     Baylor received seven preseason top-5 national rankings with ESPNW checking the Lady Bears in Monday at No. 5, just before the season tipped off. Baylor's highest ranking came from SlamOnline.com at No. 2, Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview had Baylor at No. 3, the Associated Press and Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook had the Lady Bears at No. 4 and Lindy's Sports College Basketball and the USA Today/WBCA Preseason Top 25 had the Lady Bears at No. 5. Baylor was also picked to repeat as Big 12 champions in the league's preseason poll.

WOODEN AWARD TABS BOTH BROWN & COX, TWIN TOWERS CONTINUE TO BRING IN PRESEASON ACCOLADES
     Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox continue to receive notice from voting entities for the upcoming season and the John Wooden Award selected both players to the Top 30 Watch List for its annual All-American team and Most Outstanding Player award. Baylor was one of six schools along with Notre Dame, UConn, Mississippi State, Oregon and Stanford to have multiple players on the list.
     The senior, Brown, and junior Cox have been tabbed by many as the best post combo in the nation, and the pair has combined for six preseason All-America honors with Brown taking home four and Cox a pair. Brown was a first-team selection by the Associated Press, Athlon, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports while Cox earned second-team nods from Athlon and Street & Smith's.
     Both players were selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and Brown was selected to repeat as Big 12 Player of the Year.

POINT GUARD BY COMMITTEE: COMBO GUARDS WILL HAVE TO STEP UP IN 2018-19
     Head Coach Kim Mulkey said at the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tipoff Oct. 16 that she had never entered a season without knowing who her point guard would be. Well, in season No. 19, Mulkey and the Lady Bears will shuffle four players at the position after the dismissal of Alexis Morris in early September.
     Morris averaged just under double figures at 9.4 points per contest as Kristy Wallace's spell last season and was expected to take over the reins before a violation of team rules ended her tenure.
     While DiDi Richards could get some time at point, Chloe Jackson and Juicy Landrum will get the bulk of the time at the one. The trio started together in the backcourt Tuesday vs. Nicholls but it was Jackson and Landrum who took the point guard duties and each had five assists and zero turnovers for a nice 10:0 assist-to-turnover ratio to start the season.

FIERCE FIVE: FISH EAGER TO MAKE MARK AFTER SELECTION AS NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS
     For the second time in program history, the Baylor women's basketball team signed the nation's top recruiting class and the "Fierce Five" freshmen are ready to lace them up for 2018-19. Caitlin Bickle, Aquira DeCosta, Queen Egbo, Honesty Scott-Grayson and NaLyssa Smith all signed with the Lady Bears and all were ranked in the Top 30 overall by ESPN Hoopgurlz and boasted a five-star rating.

FIRST TOP 25-CLASH LOOMS WITH NO. 23 ARIZONA STATE IN FORT DEFIANCE, AZ.
     Baylor's non-conference schedule away from Waco won't be a pushover. Two neutral games in Las Vegas vs. South Dakota State (Nov. 23) and South Dakota State (Nov. 24) along with true road contests at No. 10 South Carolina (Dec. 2) and at No. 7 Stanford (Dec. 15). But, just around the corner in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Sunday, the Lady Bears take on No. 23/RV Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The game will be played on a Navajo Reservation in Fort Defiance, and the matchup has been named "The Showdown on the Rez." In addition to the top-25 matchup, the game will be played on Veterans Day and many Native American veterans will be recognized throughout the weekend and in association with the game. The contest will be played at the Bee Holdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center.