Lady Bears Win Big 12 Tourney
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- The Baylor Lady Bears defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 72 to 63 Sunday afternoon inside the Cox Convention Center to claim the 2009 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament Championship.
Baylor's Jessica Morrow was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. Morrow hit a three-point basket to but the Lady Bears ahead 60 to 54 with 5:34 left in the game. Morrow finished the game with 12 points (2 for 10 field goal shooting and 6 for 9 from the foul line).
BU trailed the Aggies 17 to 7 at the 11:35 mark of the first half; and, seeing that her team was having a tough time defending the Aggies in man-to-man defense Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey decided to do the unthinkable (for her) -- switch to zone defense.
"We were down 10 points," said Mulkey. "And, I thought 'Both teams are fatigued. We've played three games in three days. And the style of play that both teams play, something has got to give, we're not doing very well guarding them.' So, you just make a gut decision. It was not something planned. It was not something I discussed with any coach on the bench. It was something I called as I watched the game and it worked. It worked."
In addition to Baylor's zone defense working, Baylor post player Morghan Medlock went to work on offense. Medlock scored 13 points in the first half on perfect 6 for 6 shooting. Her variety of post moves gave the Aggies fits. Medlock's 13 points helped erased Baylor's 10 point deficit and give the Lady Bears a 33 to 25 lead at halftime.
"Medlock was a force that we couldn't stop," said Gary Blair, Aggies head coach, after the ball game.
Baylor stretched the lead to nine points twice in the second half; but, Aggies senior guard, Takia Starks helped bring her team. Starks scored 17 second-half points on 6 for 11 field goal shooting. Starks was much more aggressive in the second half as she helped Texas A&M pull within two points (60 to 58) at the 4:42 mark of the game.
Jessica Morrow hit two free throws to increase Baylor's lead to four; then, Jhasmin Player converted a three-point play to give Baylor a 65 to 58 lead with 3:21 remaining in the game. Player scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half.
After Danielle Gant hit two free throws to make the score 65 to 60, Player drained a three-point basket to give BU a 68 to 60 lead with 2:43 left in the game.
Starks answered with a three-point bucket; but, her basket was the last made field goal for the Aggies in the ball game.
Baylor's bench outscored the Aggies' bench 24 to 2 in the ball game. Medlock scored 15 points and sophomore Melissa Jones scored nine points and pulled down a team-high tying eight rebounds.
"My bench has been our savior all year long," said Gary Blair. "I couldn't pull the right numbers at the right time."
Both teams will learn their seed in the NCAA Tournament Monday evening.
Coach Mulkey believes her team deserves a number one seed (along with Oklahoma's getting a number one seed).
"All I know is what more can we do," Mulkey said. "If we're (the Big) the number one RPI conference in America -- and, y'all have written that -- everybody in this room has read it, then why can't we have two number 1 seeds? I don't understand why you can't. I have said that from day one. I certainly will be disappointed if another conference has two number one seeds."
Baylor's Jessica Morrow was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. Morrow hit a three-point basket to but the Lady Bears ahead 60 to 54 with 5:34 left in the game. Morrow finished the game with 12 points (2 for 10 field goal shooting and 6 for 9 from the foul line).
BU trailed the Aggies 17 to 7 at the 11:35 mark of the first half; and, seeing that her team was having a tough time defending the Aggies in man-to-man defense Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey decided to do the unthinkable (for her) -- switch to zone defense.
"We were down 10 points," said Mulkey. "And, I thought 'Both teams are fatigued. We've played three games in three days. And the style of play that both teams play, something has got to give, we're not doing very well guarding them.' So, you just make a gut decision. It was not something planned. It was not something I discussed with any coach on the bench. It was something I called as I watched the game and it worked. It worked."
In addition to Baylor's zone defense working, Baylor post player Morghan Medlock went to work on offense. Medlock scored 13 points in the first half on perfect 6 for 6 shooting. Her variety of post moves gave the Aggies fits. Medlock's 13 points helped erased Baylor's 10 point deficit and give the Lady Bears a 33 to 25 lead at halftime.
"Medlock was a force that we couldn't stop," said Gary Blair, Aggies head coach, after the ball game.
Baylor stretched the lead to nine points twice in the second half; but, Aggies senior guard, Takia Starks helped bring her team. Starks scored 17 second-half points on 6 for 11 field goal shooting. Starks was much more aggressive in the second half as she helped Texas A&M pull within two points (60 to 58) at the 4:42 mark of the game.
Jessica Morrow hit two free throws to increase Baylor's lead to four; then, Jhasmin Player converted a three-point play to give Baylor a 65 to 58 lead with 3:21 remaining in the game. Player scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half.
After Danielle Gant hit two free throws to make the score 65 to 60, Player drained a three-point basket to give BU a 68 to 60 lead with 2:43 left in the game.
Starks answered with a three-point bucket; but, her basket was the last made field goal for the Aggies in the ball game.
Baylor's bench outscored the Aggies' bench 24 to 2 in the ball game. Medlock scored 15 points and sophomore Melissa Jones scored nine points and pulled down a team-high tying eight rebounds.
"My bench has been our savior all year long," said Gary Blair. "I couldn't pull the right numbers at the right time."
Both teams will learn their seed in the NCAA Tournament Monday evening.
Coach Mulkey believes her team deserves a number one seed (along with Oklahoma's getting a number one seed).
"All I know is what more can we do," Mulkey said. "If we're (the Big) the number one RPI conference in America -- and, y'all have written that -- everybody in this room has read it, then why can't we have two number 1 seeds? I don't understand why you can't. I have said that from day one. I certainly will be disappointed if another conference has two number one seeds."
posted by Kris G @ 4:15 PM
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