By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
The number two ranked Lady Bears basketball team seeks to build on its 13 game winning streak Wednesday when it welcomes rival TCU to the Ferrell Center.
The Lady Bears (15-1, 4-0) have yet to lose since dropping a road game to the current number one team in UConn on November 17. This past week, they picked up road wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma State to remain undefeated in the Big 12.
Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell was less than pleased about his team’s effort, but praised the amount of talent Baylor possesses.
“We got a lot to fix,” Littell said. “No mystery, we can’t throw the kind of talent level out there Baylor did and if that’s the case, you better have a lot of fight in you, and that’s the thing that I’m most disappointed with.”
The Horned Frogs, on the other hand, have lost their first four conference games, including a 83-54 loss last Saturday against Texas.
TCU head coach Raegan Pebley expressed worry about the team’s rebounding effort after the loss in Austin.
“There was a big difference between the first and the second half rebounding for sure,” Pebley said. “Most of Texas’ points were off second-chance opportunities. That is something we have to improve on. It’s not so much ability as it is focus and effort.”
TCU will have its hands full with Lady Bears sophomore forward and reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Kalani Brown. Brown is Baylor’s second leading scorer at 14.3 points per game and leading rebounder with 8.8 per game despite coming off the bench for 11 of the team’s 16 games.
The Lady Bears have plenty more major weapons on the offensive end, including senior guard Alexis Jones and senior forward Nina Davis. The upperclassmen are currently first and third on the team in scoring, respectively, averaging 15.9 and 11.7 points per game.
Despite each player’s individual talent, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey stresses the importance of team play.
“I tell them all the time, unselfish players are a blessing and a joy to coach,” Mulkey said after the Oklahoma State win. “When you’re as talented as these kids are, they don’t care about being the leading scorer and rebounder in the conference. They don’t care about awards. They got their priorities straight.”
The Horned Frogs will look to junior point guard AJ Alix to lead them in Waco. Alix leads the team in scoring and assists on the year, putting up 11.6 points and 4.4 assists per game while making 42% of her shots from three.
Pebley has also seen success bringing sophomore guard Jordan Moore off the bench in recent games, with Moore notching 11 points in 19 minutes of play against the Longhorns.
“I loved Jordan’s performance tonight,” Pebley said after the loss against Texas. “It was one of her better offensive performances. She was being really aggressive and smart.”
The Lady Bears won both games last season with a 72-55 win in Waco and a 81-77 win in Fort Worth. Baylor leads the all-time series 29-5 over the Horned Frogs with a 14-2 edge in Waco.
The Baylor-TCU game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Ferrell Center.
