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Big 12 team-by-team preview: Texas, Baylor battle for the top

By Jada Butts

COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 17: West Virginia Mountaineers center Lanay Montgomery (15) with teammates at the start of the Div. 1 NCAA Women's basketball 1st. round game between Elon and West Virginia on March 17, 2017, at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland. West Virginia defeated Elon 75-62. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 17: West Virginia Mountaineers center Lanay Montgomery (15) with teammates at the start of the Div. 1 NCAA Women's basketball 1st. round game between Elon and West Virginia on March 17, 2017, at Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland. West Virginia defeated Elon 75-62. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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STORRS, CONNECTICUT- NOVEMBER 17: Kalani Brown
STORRS, CONNECTICUT- NOVEMBER 17: Kalani Brown /

Baylor

Projected finish: 2nd

Key returners:

Kalani Brown 15.4 ppg, 68%, 8.2 rpg, 21 mpg

Kristy Wallace 7.6 ppg, 43%, 3.9 rpg, 5.6 apg, 28 mpg

Lauren Cox 7.6 ppg, 43%, 4.1 rpg, 13.4 mpg

Biggest losses:

Alexis Jones 13.2 ppg, 42%, 4.7 rpg, 4.8 apg, 27 mpg

Nina Davis 13 ppg, 56%, 5.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 24 mpg

Alexis Prince 12.1 ppg, 47%, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 28 mpg

Newcomers:

Moon Ursin G, 5-7, Destrehan, LA, Freshman, #12 guard

Didi Richards G, 6-1, Houston, TX, Freshman, #4 guard (Hoopgurlz)

Trinity Oliver G, 5-11, Euless, TX, Freshman, #30 guard (Hoopgurlz)

Alexis Morris G, 5-6, Beaumont, TX, Freshman, #6 guard (Hoopgurlz)

Head coach: The wonderful, successful, hard-nosed Kim Mulkey. If she doesn’t know anything else, she definitely knows how to win. In her 17 years at Baylor she has transformed this team into a national power. Here are some stats of her time at Baylor: 17 20-win seasons, 15 25-win efforts, eight 30-win campaigns and an NCAA record 40 victories and a perfect season in 2011-12. In addition, over the past 14 seasons, Mulkey has led the Lady Bears to three Final Four appearances (2005, ’10, `12) and a Big 12 record 16 Big 12 Conference titles. Sounds like greatness to me.

Key non-conference games:

UCLA 11/18

Kentucky 11/30

Stanford 12/3

Outlook: I believe this team has the most significant losses in the conference this season. The dominance of the Baylor Bears is a thanks to Nina Davis, Alexis Prince, and Alexis Jones. There are major shoes to fill for this team to continue to reign in the Big 12. Preseason player of the year Kalani Brown will need to have solid backups as Mompremier and Cave are no longer with the Bears.  The newcomers come in highly-ranked, but Baylor’s success will depend on the freshmen’s ability to adjust to playing at the collegiate level.

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