Browsing: Women’s Basketball

It was the Odyssey Sims show as the senior guard put on a dominating performance Monday, leading No. 9 Baylor to a 79-46 win at the Ferrell Center to move to 3-0 this season.

Sims finished the night with 33 points, three assists and two rebounds and outscored Rice at halftime 21-16. When head coach Kim Mulkey took Sims out, she only trailed the entire Rice team by one point. This is the fourth straight game Sims has scored more than 20 points dating back to last year’s Sweet 16 game.

In the second game of the season, the No. 9 ranked Lady Bears dominated unranked Nicholls State University with a 111-58 win on Thursday at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears have scored more than 110 points in every game thus far, averaging 110.5 per game.

“You just have to give Baylor the credit in terms of their personnel, the depth they have, the ability to, in a good way, they can just wear you down,” Nicholls State head coach DoBee Plaisance said. “They’re outstanding. They’re not number nine in the country for nothing.”

It’s a new year and a new team for the Baylor Lady Bears after losing six seniors – center Brittney Griner, guard Kimetria Hayden, guard Jordan Madden, forward Brooklyn Pope, forward Destiny Williams and student assistant Shanay Washington.

With the Griner era over, it’s up to the new seniors to lead the talented underclassmen to their potential. It will be a big task for the post players, but after practicing against Griner, they are up to the challenge.

With talks of rebuilding surrounding No. 10 Baylor, the Lady Bears played with something prove en route to a 110-55 win over the Grambling State Lady Tigers on Saturday at the Ferrell Center. Baylor’s 55-point victory was the largest margin of victory in a season opener under head coach Kim Mulkey.

The Lady Bears balanced offense had plenty of scorers, but it was senior guard Odyssey Sims who stole the show with her 28-point, four-assist, four-rebound and five-steal performance. Four other Lady Bears scored in double digits with three of the four players coming off the bench, some of which can be attributed to Sims helping draw defenders.

After the unveilings of its three 2012-2013 banners, No. 10 Baylor Lady Bears kicked off its regular season with a 110-55 win over the Grambling State Lady Tigers Saturday at the Ferrell Center.

The Lady Bears 55-point victory was the largest margin of victory in a season opener under Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey. Senior guard Odyssey Sims led the team with 28 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals.

The No. 10 Baylor Lady Bears defeated the Oklahoma City Stars 91-49 Tuesday at the Ferrell Center.

Senior guard Odyssey Sims led the team 23 points, four rebounds and four assists with freshman post Khadijiah Cave adding 11 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.

Baylor’s defense fueled its offense as the Baylor Lady Bears cruised to a 111-52 win in an exhibition game over Palm Beach Atlantic on Wednesday. Senior point guard Odyssey Sims led the team with 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Without Brittney Griner and last year’s seniors in the lineup, this was a different Baylor team, but it showed its fight as all 11 players scored in the game.

Baylor senior guard Odyssey Sims was 2013 World University Games MVP, three-time Wade Watch list candidate and participant in the USA Women’s National Team mini-camp.

The World University Games are equivalent to the Olympics for collegiate athletes and Sims had the opportunity to play for Team USA at this summer’s games in Russia.

“Over the course of four years, you break down together and you pick each other back up. That is what makes us such a great unit.”

On Thursday, March 28, a few days before the Lady Bears’ upset by Louisville, senior center Brittney Griner did not realize the impact of her words.

As defending National Champions, the Lady Bears’ loss came as a surprise, but according to head coach Kim Mulkey, the loss should not define the six seniors’ collegiate careers.

The Griner Era has begun in Phoenix. The Mercury drafted Brittney Griner with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft on Monday night.

The Mercury are already promoting the “Griner Pack,” which is a sale on three lower-level tickets, including Griner’s debut on May 27, and an autographed photo of Griner for $142.

Injuries hurt the Mercury last year. The team finished with a 7-27 record, the second-worst in the league.

Shoni Schimmel tried to fling a long, hard bounce pass to Jude Schimmel along the right sideline — the kind of crowd-pleasing play the sisters often pull off — only to have Connecticut’s Bria Hartley pick it off and break the other way.

Soon after, Jude Schimmel appeared to be in tears as she went to the Louisville bench with three fouls in the middle of the first half, watching helplessly while her older sister’s deep jump shots kept rattling off the rim and the Cardinals fell farther and farther behind.

Jeff Walz sees no reason to pile on with all the pressure that naturally comes with the NCAA women’s tournament.

The Louisville coach wants his players to play fearless, play free and have fun. Even against two of the sport’s most intimidating opponents, the formula worked to perfection.

As tears streamed down the players faces when the buzzer hit zero, the Baylor Lady Bears came to the realization that their quest for a second consecutive National Title was over. With the expectations high, Baylor saw their chances dwindle with each 3-point jumper Louisville made.

It was an emotional Sunday night for the No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears when the journey for a second consecutive National Title came to a close after a heartbreaking 82-81 loss to No. 5 Louisville Cardinals.

The Baylor campus and Waco community are still in shock, trying to process how this could have happened. Many fans had already bought Final Four tickets and were planning a trip to New Orleans months in advance. Now with the Lady Bears out of the tournament, many are trying to sell them.

Brittney Griner has been in a class by herself all season. Now she’s part of a select group.

Baylor’s 6-foot-8 star senior was a unanimous selection to The Associated Press’ All-America team Tuesday.

History repeated itself as the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals defeated the No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears 82-81, making this the second time Baylor lost to Louisville in a Sweet Sixteen game. Despite a last-minute rally, Baylor could not over come the largest deficit it has faced all year.

The journey to a second-consecutive National Championship continues for the No. 1 Lady Bears, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to play No. 8 Florida State at 8:30 p.m. today at the Ferrell Center.

The path for a consecutive National Title begins at 6:30 p.m. Sunday as the No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears play No. 16 Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers in the Ferrell Center in the first game of the NCAA Tournament.

With March Madness upon us and spring break over, it is the time of year where everyone gets serious. Students make that final push academically for the perfect GPA before the semester ends, and basketball teams compete for the opportunity to play for a National Championship. This competition is reality for the No. 1 Lady Bears as they try to meet high expectations and advance to the Final Four round in New Orleans for a chance to win consecutive national titles.

Compete is a word very familiar to head women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey. In high school, she led her Hammond High School basketball team to four consecutive state championships. She then went on to play point guard at Louisiana Tech University and won two National Championships, the AIAW title in 1981 and the inaugural NCAA title in 1982. When it came to sports, Mulkey knew how to compete.

The No. 1 Lady Bears put on a show on March 9-11, at the Big 12 Tournament as they became the only team in the Big 12 to win the championship for three consecutive years.

The Lady Bears displayed why they are the No. 1 team in the nation, whether it was by blowing a team out, making shots in the clutch or responding every time an opponent tried to come back into the game.

Compared to her teammates, junior guard Odyssey Sims is small, but that doesn’t mean her game is.

Standing at 5 feet 8 inches, the All-American has led the Lady Bears to another successful season. As the top-ranked team in the nation, the Lady Bears charge into the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. Personal accolades are also on the way for her.

While the rest of the country stresses its NCAA tournament plans on Selection Monday, the Lady Bears plan to sit back and enjoy themselves.

Sure, there are a few teams in the field that have a good idea where they’ll go. Notre Dame, UConn and Stanford can reasonably expect No. 1 seeds and subregional tournaments closer to home. Dozens more teams know they’ll be in the field, awaiting seeds and confirmation they beat the bubble.

The No 1. Lady Bears played with a chip on their shoulder in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game after a sloppy game against Oklahoma State on Sunday. Baylor responded in dominating fashion as they went on to win the Big 12 Championship for the third consecutive year after defeating No. 23 Iowa State 75-47.

The No. 1 Lady Bears defeated Oklahoma State 77-69 in a physical, hard fought battle Sunday in the semi-finals of the Big 12 Tournament with senior guard Jordan Madden coming through in the clutch.

Senior post Brittney Griner led Baylor with a double-double, scoring 30 points. She also had 10 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals. Senior forward Brooklyn Pope had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assist and three steals. Senior forward Destiny Williams scored all 10 of Baylor’s bench points.