Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer
By Parmida Schahhosseini
Sports Writer
The No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears will face off against TCU for the second time this season in the “Sic’em for the Cure” game at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awaremess.
TCU is coming off a heartbreaking 76-75 loss against Kansas as they continue trying to get their first conference win.
While it hasn’t won a game in 2013, Baylor will keep their focus knowing that each game is important to become Big 12 champions.
“I talked to them today at shoot around about maintaining their focus,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “We went over specifics with a few of them individually, just to keep them focused. How much do you do, how much do you not do, how much do you get on them. You just have to talk to them sometimes and say, ‘Do you still want to win a national championship?’”
TCU struggled against Baylor the first time they played, as they could not get into any kind of rhythm.
They only shot for 21 percent, making only 13 field goals of the 62 they attempted.
The 3-point shooting was also a problem as they made five of the 32 shots attempted for 15.6 percent.
During the game, Baylor left TCU scoreless for 13 minutes due to the pressure they put on defense.
“This was a kicking; this was a painful lesson,” TCU’s head coach Jeff Mittie said after the loss on Jan. 2. “We struggled to score and struggled to get any offensive flow whatsoever. Junior guard Odyssey Sims controlled us from the start of the game, and our point guards had a really rough night.”
Baylor has dominated most teams because they are fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball.
They have an average 26-point scoring margin due to the fact that their defense puts pressure on opposing teams to keep up with the second-ranked scoring offense in the nation.
Opposing teams try to think of different ways to stop the Lady Bears, but it is easier said than done.
Baylor leads the country in assists at 21.2 per game because they play unselfish basketball and everyone can score.
While senior center Brittney Griner is a huge part f the Lady Bears’ success, everyone contributes.
“We are just out there having fun. I think when we came out with intensity, like we did when we played them the first time, we never let up,” Sims said after the game against Texas Tech. “We got on them from the jump and it is always exciting when you are up by a lot and you can share the ball and have fun with it at the same time.”
TCU needs to play its best game in order to keep the game competitive, but Griner, who has the NCAA career blocked shots record at 693, makes that a tough task. TCU has been outscored 1,392 to 1,493 and has a scoring margin of -4.4.
TCU (7-16, 0-12 Big 12) has also been out-rebounded 879 to 1002. Baylor (23-1, 13-0 Big 12) currently holds the nation’s largest home win streak at 52 games, hoping to get to 53 games with a win against TCU.
