Baylor Lady Bears
Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #1 Big 12
Baylor has gone ten years straight finishing first in the Big 12. During that ten year stretch the Lady Bears have lost just eight conference games. They have also won two national titles in that time. Coach Kim Mulkey has three starters to replace, but as usual Baylor is ready to reload.
2019-20 Record: 28-2, 17-1
Coach: Kim Mulkey
Coach Record: 604-100 at Baylor, 604-100 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Te’a Cooper, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Juicy Landrum, Guard, 10.8 ppg
Lauren Cox, Forward, 12.5 ppg
Erin DeGrate, Center, 4.9 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
NaLyssa Smith, Junior, Forward, 14.3 ppg
Queen Egbo, Junior, Center, 10.8 ppg
DiDi Richards, Senior, Guard, 8.2 ppg
Moon Ursin, Senior, Guard, 5.1 ppg
Caitlin Bickle, Junior, Forward, 2.8 ppg
Jordyn Oliver, Sophomore, Guard, 2.8 ppg
Trinity Oliver, Junior, Guard, 2.6 ppg
Key New Players
Sarah Andrews, Freshman, Guard
Dijonai Carrington, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from Stanford
Hannah Gusters, Freshman, Center
Kamaria McDaniel, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Penn State, not eligible
Jaden Owens, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from UCLA, not eligible
Projection:
NaLyssa Smith is back after leading the Lady Bears with 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds last season. She will provide Baylor with a steady and consistent force in the paint. Queen Egbo is another proven interior scorer and rebounder. She averaged 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds despite playing just 18.5 minutes per game. Without Lauren Cox, Smith and Egbo are poised for breakout seasons. The health of DiDi Richards could determine just how far this team can go. She averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 assists last season, but she is recovering from a scary spinal cord injury. Speaking of health, that is the biggest concern with Stanford transfer Dijonai Carrington. There is no doubt that Carrington is a superb talent, but injuries have hampered her career so far. The graduate transfer averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds with the Cardinal back in 2018-2019 before missing nearly all of last season with an injury. If Carrington can stay healthy, she has the talent to take over this team. Top ten incoming freshmen Sarah Andrews and Hannah Gusters will at least provide plenty of quality depth and give Coach Mulkey the tools she needs to put together another team that can win the Big 12 and compete for a spot in the Final Four.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 81.9 (7th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 51.6 (2, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 50.1 (2, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 31.0 (1, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.4 (297, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.1 (25, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.6 (223, 6)
Rebound Margin: 13.2 (2, 1)
Assists Per Game: 22.1 (1, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (33, 2)
Madness 2021 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#9 DiDi Richards
Madness 2020 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#7 Sarah Andrews
#9 Hannah Gusters
