By Jordan Smith | Sports Editor
For the fourth season straight, the Lady Bears are headed to the Elite 8 as the No. 1-seed Baylor Lady Bears defeated No. 4-seed Louisville Cardinals 97-63 in the Sweet 16 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night.
With this win, the Lady Bears continue to set records as the 34 point margin of victory for the Lady Bears, combined with their already record-setting numbers from the first two rounds, set another record as Baylor has had a margin of victory of 163 points, which is the largest margin in three games in NCAA Tournament history.
Lady Bears head coach Kim Mulkey reflected on the kind of work ethic that senior guard Nina Davis has and what her main objective is.
“Well this kid, all she wants today is a Final Four and a chance at a national championship,” Mulkey said. “Send me those kinds of kids and I will coach them at anytime.”
Davis definitely helped her case out in the game with 21 points, along with seven rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes of play.
Davis said the game was one that was right on schedule with their game plan.
“It was a lot of fun,” Davis said. “We came out of it and had a fast start, which is something that we needed to do, something that we have been focusing on and we were just getting our runs in. They were feeding me the ball and that’s kind of the game we like to play. We like to push the ball and play up-tempo.”
The Lady Bears had the advantage in every single stat category, in particular leading in field goal percentage with 50 percent, dead ball rebounds at three and the rebound category with 52.
Also helping out in the game was sophomore post Kalani Brown. In the game, Brown recorded another double-double. She ended the night with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Also adding to the stat sheet, Brown recorded two assists and three blocks in just 17 minutes of play.
Sophomore post Beatrice Mompremier also made a huge contribution in the game. In just 19 minutes of play, Mompremier had a double-double of her own, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the game.
“I just expected a tough game. Going out there and rebounding and helping my team with whatever I could do to help my team win,” Mompremier said.
The Lady Bears improve their record to 33-3 on the season and will take on Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow for a spot in the Final Four. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
