By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Even in the most lopsided of victories, most coaches can find some flaw with which to nit-pick to their team.

If you think Baylor’s Kim Mulkey can’t find something to gripe about in a 53-point win, well, you don’t know Mulkey.

SLIDE SHOW

Lady Bears b-ball

Baylor's elite Lady Bears returned to the court with a big win.

Despite the No. 19 Lady Bears torching the nets for 57.1 percent shooting in a 123-70 win over the Houston Jaguars in their exhibition opener before a crowd of 5,375 at the Ferrell Center Monday night, the Baylor coach didn’t walk into the postgame locker room with a smile on her face.

That’s because she watched her freshmen unit surrender 29 points in the last 10 minutes of the game — an unacceptable result for Mulkey, even for rookies.

“Freshmen will not play for me giving up that many points,” Mulkey said. “Was it not 41 points with 12 minutes to go in the game? ... We didn’t have a defensive stopper in that bunch, and I lit into them in the locker room, ‘If you want to play for me, you better learn what defense is and you’d better learn quickly.’”

Baylor’s returning players weren’t even surprised by Mulkey’s postgame rant. After all, they’d endured their share over the years.

“You know she’s going to get after you, but it’s just to help you,” said junior post Danielle Wilson. “It’s not to discourage you. It’s just to make you better.”

Despite the defensive lapses in the final minutes, the Lady Bears still had plenty to feel good about, offering a sneak peek into what they expect to be another highly successful season. They outrebounded the smallish Jaguars — whose tallest player stood at 6 feet — by a 58-26 margin, routinely crashing the offensive glass for second and third-chance opportunities.

Baylor also hit the floor running. After falling behind 4-2, the Lady Bears ripped off the next 28 points, pushing the tempo and zipping the ball upcourt with crisp passes, including a pair of the no-look variety from sophomore Melissa Jones.

But for both the team and the fans, the moment that delivered the most warm fuzzies was seeing senior guard Jhasmin Player stride onto the court at the 13:09 mark of the first half. Player, who tore the ACL in her left knee on Feb. 2 against Kansas State, was met with a rousing standing ovation from the fans, her teammates and her coaches, including Mulkey.

“You saw Jhasmin out there, and she actually looked better in the game today than she has in practice,” Mulkey said. “She just forgot about her knee. She just played. The team needs her, we need her, and it was good to have her back out there. It was nice the fans acknowledged her entering the game, because Jhasmin is a leader for us.”

Player, who fed Jones for a layup moments after entering the game and finished with eight points and eight assists, said Mulkey wouldn’t allow her to take the court until the guard told her she was ready.

After some initial trepidation, Player said she was — and she’s glad she did.

“The journey back was just tough, and it’s great to be back here in front of the fans,” she said. “All day I’ve been thinking about it, and eight months ago I was lying on an operation table. To be out here today, to be back in the mix ... it was fun.”

Towering over the Jaguars, the 6-foot-3 Wilson led six Lady Bears in double figures with 22 points in 22 minutes, adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots. USC transfer Morghan Medlock contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Lindsay Palmer showed off a deft shooting touch, scoring 15 points, all in the second half.

Rachel Allison and Ashley Field added 14 points apiece, and Jones picked up 10 to go with nine rebounds and three assists.

Former Houston Baptist standout Dominique Thomas paced the Jaguars with 20 points.

Baylor will play its final exhibition game at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ferrell Center against the Dallas Diesel, another traveling squad of ex-college players. The Lady Bears open the regular season on Nov. 14, hosting Florida Atlantic.

BEAR FACTS: Following the game, Mulkey confirmed that freshman Brianna Brown is no longer on the team. The coach did not disclose the reason why, but said the 5-8 guard from Chandler, Ariz., would remain in school through the end of the semester.

By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Kimetria “Nae-Nae” Hayden won’t need a GPS to find her way to the Ferrell Center next year. She can just ask her dad for directions.

Hayden, a 5-11 senior guard from Dallas Lincoln, has made her pledge to sign with Kim Mulkey’s Baylor women’s basketball team when the early signing period begins on Nov. 12. The fifth Lady Bears commitment for the 2009 class, Kimetria is the daughter of Donnell Hayden, who played briefly for the BU men’s team in the late 1980s before transferring to North Texas.

“I just really liked Baylor’s coaching staff,” Kimetria said. “They’re really great. I actually played (AAU ball) for Coach Damion (McKinney), so I know him well.”

Hayden dazzled for Lincoln last year, averaging 17.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on her way to being named the Dallas Morning News’ Girls Player of the Year. She was the state tournament MVP for a Lady Tigers team that went 29-4 and captured the Class 4A state championship.

Mulkey got a first-hand look at Hayden in last year’s 4A playoffs when Lincoln defeated Midway, 59-49, in the Region II final. Mulkey’s daughter Makenzie Robertson is a starter for Midway.

Donnell Hayden said he put a basketball in Kimetria’s hands at an early age, and she proved to be a quick learner — literally.

“She’s so much faster than most girls,” Donnell said. “Plus she’s got the will to win. We’ve got a full court with two goals in our backyard, and you could see that in her even playing games out there with her brother and sister.”

Hayden chose Baylor over Texas Tech, Missouri, Louisville and South Carolina.

She joins a highly touted Baylor recruiting haul that could end up as the No. 1-ranked class in the nation, with three pledges from top-100 nationally-ranked prospects.

Besides Hayden, it includes 6-8 center Brittany Griner of Aldine Nimitz, the nation’s consensus top-ranked player, 6-2 forward Mariah Chandler of Atlanta, 6-0 wing Jordan Madden of Little Rock, Ark., and 6-1 forward Shanay Washington of Del Valle.