# 2020–21 Baylor Lady Bears basketball team

The 2020–21 Baylor Lady Bears basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The team played its home games at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas and were members of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey in her 20th and final season with the Bears. On April 26, 2021, Mulkey was introduced as head coach of the LSU Tigers.
This was the final season in which Baylor women's basketball used the "Lady Bears" nickname. On September 3, 2021, Baylor announced that the last three women's teams that were still using "Lady Bears", namely basketball, soccer, and volleyball, would be known simply as "Bears" from that point forward.

## Previous season

The Lady Bears finished the 2018–19 season with a record of 28–2, 17–1 in Big 12 to win the Big 12 regular season title. They qualified for the Big 12 women's tournament, which, along with the NCAA women's tournament, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Te'a Cooper | 4 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Powder Springs, GA | Completed college eligibility |
| Lauren Cox | 15 | F | 6'4" | Senior | Flower Mound, TX | Graduated |
| Juicy Landrum | 20 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Waco, TX | Graduated |
| Erin DeGrate | 22 | F | 6'6" | Senior | Waco, TX | Graduated |
* ↑ Cooper was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from South Carolina.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 4 | Central Arkansas | W 82–37 | 1–0 | 25 – Smith | 15 – Smith | 6 – Andrews | Ferrell Center (2,121) Waco, Texas |
| December 1* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 4 | at South Florida | W 67–62 | 2–0 | 25 – Egbo | 11 – Egbo | 7 – Richards | Yuengling Center Tampa, Florida |
| December 6* 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 4 | at No. 16 Arkansas Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge | L 78–83 | 2–1 | 24 – Carrington | 7 – Tied | 8 – Richards | Bud Walton Arena (2,633) Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| December 10 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | at West Virginia | W 65–45 | 3–1 (1–0) | 19 – Carrington | 8 – Ursin | 5 – Ursin | WVU Coliseum (121) Morgantown, West Virginia |
| December 14 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 7 | Texas Tech | W 91–45 | 4–1 (2–0) | 21 – Smith | 9 – Smith | 8 – Oliver | Ferrell Center (2,105) Waco, Texas |
| December 16* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | Southern | W 86–52 | 5–1 | 16 – Smith | 11 – Egbo | 6 – Richards | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| December 18* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | Northwestern State | W 136–43 | 6–1 | 30 – Smith | 11 – Bickle | 7 – Ursin | Ferrell Center (2,048) Waco, Texas |
| December 19* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | McNeese State | W 117–24 | 7–1 | 17 – Gusters | 11 – Tied | 8 – Owens | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| January 2, 2021 | No. 7 | TCU | W 74-50 | 8–1 (3–0) | 21 – Ursin | 12 – Smith | 7 – Tied | Schollmaier Arena Fort Worth, Texas |
| January 7* | No. 6 | No. 3 UConn | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| January 16 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | Iowa State | L 71–75 | 8–2 (3–1) | 15 – Owens | 12 – Smith | 10 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,247) Waco, Texas |
| January 20 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | No. 9 | at Oklahoma State | W 77–58 | 9–2 (4–1) | 20 – Ursin | 12 – Smith | 7 – Richards | Gallagher-Iba Arena (1,123) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| January 23 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 9 | Oklahoma | W 84–61 | 10–2 (5–1) | 21 – Smith | 11 – Ursin | 12 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,274) Waco, Texas |
| January 26 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 9 | TCU | W 82–49 | 11–2 (6–1) | 21 – Ursin | 16 – Smith | 6 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,261) Waco, Texas |
| January 31 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | at Iowa State | W 85–77 | 12–2 (7–1) | 20 – Smith | 15 – Ursin | 6 – Ursin | Hilton Coliseum (1,129) Ames, Iowa |
| February 3 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 8 | Kansas | W 83–50 | 13–2 (8–1) | 17 – Smith | 11 – Egbo | 7 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,240) Waco, Texas |
| February 7 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 8 | at Kansas State | W 64–52 | 14–2 (9–1) | 17 – Smith | 8 – Smith | 10 – Richards | Bramlage Coliseum (323) Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 10 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 7 | at Texas Tech | W 82–50 | 15–2 (10–1) | 28 – Smith | 13 – Smith | 6 – Richards | United Supermarkets Arena (2,086) Lubbock, Texas |
| February 14 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 | Texas | W 60–35 | 16–2 (11–1) | 14 – Smith | 12 – Ursin | 10 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,350) Waco, Texas |
| February 20 1:00 pm | No. 7 | at Oklahoma | W 77–66 | 17–2 (12–1) | 19 – Carrington | 6 – Richards | 5 – Richards | Lloyd Noble Center (637) Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 14* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 7 | Oklahoma State | W 70–51 | 18–2 (13–1) | 20 – Smith | 11 – Carrington | 11 – Richards | Ferrell Center (2,119) Waco, Texas |
| February 27 2,203, ESPN+ | No. 7 | Kansas State Reschedulded from January 10 | W 85–49 | 19–2 (14–1) | 19 – Egbo | 5 – Ursin | 8 – Ursin | Ferrell Center (2,203) Waco, Texas |
| March 1* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | Texas | W 64–57 | 20–2 (15–1) | 23 – Smith | 14 – Egbo | 5 – Ursin | Frank Erwin Center (1,028) Austin, Texas |
| March 6 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 6 | at Kansas Rescheduled from January 13 | W 93–67 | 21–2 (16–1) | 21 – Smith | 12 – Smith | 4 – Ursin | Allen Fieldhouse (400) Lawrence, Kansas |
| March 8 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 6 | No. 17 West Virginia Rescheduled from February 17 | W 96–73 | 22–2 (17–1) | 26 – Egbo | 10 – Egbo | 9 – Richards | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| Big 12 Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 12 1:30 pm, FSN | (1) No. 6 | vs. (8) TCU Quarterfinals | W 92–55 | 23–2 | 26 – Smith | 12 – Egbo | 6 – Tied | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 13 Noon, ESPN+ | (1) No. 6 | vs. (4) Texas Semifinals | W 66–55 | 24–2 | 21 – Smith | 18 – Egbo | 2 – Tied | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| March 14 Noon, ESPN2 | (1) No. 6 | vs. (2) No. 17 West Virginia Finals | W 76–50 | 25–2 | 18 – Egbo | 11 – Egbo | 2 – Richards | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21 3:00 p.m., ABC | (2 RW) No. 5 | vs. (15 RW) Jackson State First Round | W 101–52 | 26–2 | 24 – Ursin | 10 – Smith | 4 – Richards | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 23 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2 RW) No. 5 | vs. (7 RW) Virginia Tech Second Round | W 90–48 | 27–2 | 21 – Tied | 13 – Egbo | 9 – Richards | Bill Greehey Arena San Antonio, TX |
| March 27 2:00 p.m., ABC | (2 RW) No. 5 | vs. (6 RW) No. 16 Michigan Sweet Sixteen | W 78-75 $^{OT}$ | 28-2 | 24 – Smith | 8 – Egbo | 9 – Richards | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 29 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (2 RW) No. 5 | vs. (1 RW) No. 1 UConn Elite Eight | L 67-69 | 28-3 | 14 – Smith | 13 – Smith | 3 – 2 tied | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7⊤ | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Coaches | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |