The Baylor Lady Bears are back in familiar territory, reclaiming the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press poll after seven weeks out of it.
“I never worry about it because I’ve come to learn that the only thing that matters is championships in your conferences, a good seed in the N.C.A.A. tournament,” Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey said. “You don’t have to be ranked No. 1 to get a No. 1 seed or to even be the overall No. 1 seed. I think the [N.C.A.A.] selection committee uses it as a gauge, but because you’re No. 1 in the country doesn’t mean you’re going to be the No. 1 seed. I don’t put much stock in it, other than it might bring a little recognition to your school, your program.”
The Lady Bears fell from the top after a 71-69 loss to Stanford in Hawaii on Nov. 16.
Stanford, then No. 1, fell to No. 2 Connecticut 61-35.
Connecticut, then No. 1, fell to No. 5 Notre Dame 73-72, bringing Baylor to the top again.
For Baylor, how can it be better this season when it was perfect last season?
“I was looking at the N.C.A.A. stats the other day and I have not had a team sharing the basketball as much as this team is sharing it right now,” Mulkey said. “We are scoring a high, high percentage from the field. The field goal percentage is probably the highest of any team I have ever coached and it is coming from a lot of different places. It is not just coming from Brittney (Griner) or coming from Odyssey (Sims), it is just a lot of people shooting the ball well.” Read more…