Baylor Bears Women's Basketball
Few women's basketball teams can boast a better run than the one the Baylor Bears had starting in 2010. The team placed first in the Big 12 Conference for nine seasons in a row, and won two NCAA National Championships. In the 2011–12 season, the Lady Bears even went undefeated, with a record of 40-0, on their way to capturing the national title. Coached since 2000 by Kim Mulkey — herself a decorated college player at Louisiana Tech University — the team has won three NCAA National Championships overall and can boast five appearances in the Elite Eight and five in the Sweet 16. Starting in 1988, the Lady Bears have played their home games in the Ferrell Center, which holds 10,347 people, although plans are in the works for a slightly smaller basketball pavilion next to Baylor's baseball stadium. Students who attend games enjoy sitting in the Bear Pit, which is located right behind one of the baskets.
Baylor Bears Women's Basketball History
Baylor started a women's basketball team beginning with the 1974–75 season when they were coached by Olga Fallen and had an impressive winning record of 30-11. At first, the team played home games in Heart O' Texas Fair Coliseum, a facility located in Waco. The Lady Bears were independent for the first eight seasons before joining the Southwest Conference starting with the 1982–83 season. Nearly 15 years later, with the 1996–97 season the squad started competing in the Big 12 Conference. Other notable coaches in the team's history include Pam Bowers, who coached the team between 1979 and 1994, and Sonja Hogg, who guided the Lady Bears to the WNIT Finals in the 1997–1998 season. The program has produced multiple WNBA players, led by Brittney Griner, Odyssey Sims, Sophia Young and Kalani Brown; all four players also won Big 12 Player of the Year honors while at Baylor.