By Nathan Keil | Sports Writer
At 19-1 overall and sitting atop the Big 12 conference with a perfect 8-0 record, Baylor women’s basketball continues to add mid-season accolades to its resume as quickly as it collects wins.
This week, senior forward Nina Davis was the latest Lady Bear to be named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week. This is the first time Davis has earned the honor this season but the eighth time in her illustrious career in green and gold.
Davis played a pivotal role in keeping the Lady Bears undefeated in conference play in Sunday’s 79-73 win over No. 24 West Virginia. Davis scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Mountaineers. Not only did she score, she did a little bit of everything for the Lady Bears. She registered three assists, three steals and one block, as well. Davis also hit five of six from the free throw line, including both attempts in the fourth quarter to put the Lady Bears up seven with just over a minute left in the game.
With West Virginia holding its own on the glass, Davis said she was simply trying to do whatever she could inside to help the team get the victory.
“The game was pretty close throughout. We needed someone to step up and get some rebounds,” Davis said. “We were struggling a little bit. I just wanted to step up and give us a spark to help us win.”
Davis also scored a team-high 17 points in a 68-42 win on Jan. 18 against Iowa State.
Despite this being the first time she has been honored this season by the Big 12, Davis’s career is nothing short of decorated. She has been First Team All Big 12 and a part of the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team all three years at Baylor. She earned the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2015 and Freshman of the Year in 2014. She currently ranks third on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game and earlier this season, she became the sixth player in program history to eclipse the 2,000 point scoring mark.
Kim Mulkey, Baylor women’s head basketball coach, said Davis represents the program and herself about as well as someone possibly can.
“Nina has been a great ambassador for our program. She’s an All-American,” Mulkey said. “She quietly does her work and plays a role from the time she has gotten here of being what you want every player to be, and that is somebody who represents this school, this program and her own family very well.”
Davis and the Lady Bears continue their march toward a Big 12 championship and potential top seed in the NCAA tournament when they take on No. 25 Kansas State, its second consecutive ranked opponent, at 7 p.m tonight in Manhattan, Kan. The game will air on ESPN3.
