I don’t want this to come as a shock to anyone, but I’ve been known to abandon my journalistic integrity when it comes to the Baylor Bears. This may have something to do with being a fourth-generation graduate/Baptist.
And it’s one of the reasons my neighbors reported hearing loud shrieks (my 11-year-old daughter) and shouting coming from my backyard at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time Sunday. The Baylor Lady Bears are the 2019 National Champions, and Kim Mulkey is once again on top of the women’s college basketball mountain after beating Notre Dame 82-81. I vaguely remember what I was doing when Mulkey won national titles in 2005 and 2012, but I’ll never forget what it felt like Sunday.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t fully embrace women’s basketball until I had a daughter who fell in love with the sport. I grew up going to the SWC Tournament at Reunion Arena with my father when every team seemed to have a future NBA star. Of course, Phi Slama Jama had two future Hall of Famers in Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. My team had to make do with Terry Teagle. It never occurred to me these schools had women’s teams.
But on Sunday evening, Kalani Brown, Lauren Cox and Chloe Jackson meant just as much to me as Teagle, Vinnie Johnson and Micheal “Mr. Quick” Williams. What Mulkey has done in Waco is one of the most amazing stories in college sports. She took over a sleepy program that was thrilled to play in the WNIT and turned it into a national powerhouse.
Big 12 basketball has been dominated by two coaches: Bill Self and Kim Mulkey. The storied women’s program in Austin appears to be in good hands with Karen Aston, but the Lady Horns can’t even stay on the court with Mulkey’s team.
Baylor’s biggest issue is not being challenged during conference play, which is why Mulkey schedules national powers such as Stanford and UConn. The Huskies’ legendary coach Geno Auriemma was so blown away by Baylor’s fan support in Waco this season that he joked about trying to take them back to Storrs.
All Mulkey wanted to do was spend her career in Ruston, La., coaching her alma mater Louisiana Tech, but the athletic director refused to offer her a multi-year contract. And that’s how one women’s dynasty ended and another began. The national title she won in 2005 helped the school recover from a men’s basketball scandal that saw a player murdered by one of his teammates. I covered that tragic story for the Dallas Morning News, and I remember how Mulkey’s success helped with the healing process.
Scott Drew has led one of the great turnarounds in college basketball history, but it will be impossible for him to equal Mulkey’s success. That makes things a little awkward at times because Mulkey’s not one to share the attention. But I think it’s a healthy thing to have a women’s coach who refuses to play second fiddle to anyone. She’s revered by fans young and old in Central Texas.
On Sunday, everything seemed to be slipping away in the fourth quarter. All-American forward Lauren Cox, who hails from Flower Mound, left the game in a wheelchair after a gruesome leg injury. The Irish suddenly had new life and they went on a 30-18 run to finally take the lead in the final minutes. It was agonizing to watch the Lady Bears cough up a seemingly comfortable lead they’d held since early in the first quarter. But former LSU shooting guard Chloe Jackson, Mulkey’s first grad transfer, took over down the stretch. She hit a 12-foot jumper to give the Bears an 80-78 lead, and after Notre Dame tied it, Jackson blew by two defenders for a layup with 3.9 seconds left. Notre Dame had a chance to send the game to overtime when its star player Arike Ogunbowale was fouled on a drive, but she missed the first free throw. There was pandemonium in Tampa . . . and in my backyard.
After having a good cry, Mulkey referred to Brown and Cox, saying she’d take a “big old-school post player any day.” Kim can be brash at times. She might drop a few naughty words while addressing a Baylor women’s organization. She’s unlike anyone who’s ever walked our campus.
And if she wants a lifetime contract like John Calipari’s, I say we damn well give it to her.
