Women's basketball team of the week: Baylor Lady Bears

Baylor’s run to a 12-0 start this season has included wins over four ranked opponents during the non-conference portion of its schedule. The latest victory came on Dec. 19, with the Lady Bears scoring an 88-81 win over No. 23 Miami (Fla.) at the Florida Sunshine Classic in Winter Park, Florida. Nina Davis scored 25 points to lead the way, while Alexis Jones added 24 to lead fourth-ranked Baylor to the victory.

Baylor led by just a point at the halftime break and then created some breathing room with an 8-2 run at the start of the third quarter. After trailing for most of the second half, the Hurricanes, who went 11 for 22 from 3-point range, closed to 84-79 with less than a minute to play. But the Lady Bears finished off the win at the free-throw line.

The Lady Bears started the week with a 97-39 home rout of Oral Roberts on Dec. 17. It was the end of a five-game home stand where Baylor outscored their opponents by 52.8 points per game. Davis had 26 points and six rebounds to lead the way, with many of her points scored as a result of assists from senior point guard Niya Johnson, who had 18 assists. Johnson is averaging a national-best 10.2 assists for the season.

Coach Kim Mulkey's Lady Bear squad is led on the season by Davis, with the junior All-American candidate averaging 17.8 points per game. Jones and freshman post Kalani Brown average 14.4 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. As a team, Baylor is shooting a Big 12-leading .529 (407-770) from the field. Baylor holds down four of the top five spots on the Big 12 field goal percentage list, with Davis ranking No. 1 (.672) while Beatrice Mompremier checks in at No. 2 (.661), Khadijiah Cave No. 4 (.620) and Brown is No. 5 (.614).

Following a game with James Madison at the Florida Sunshine Classic on Dec. 21, Baylor will open Big 12 Conference play on Dec. 30 at Oklahoma State.

Honorable mention teams of the week: Colorado State, DePaul, Duquesne, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, Seton Hall, Southern California and Texas.

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