Football and volleyball wins, plus Lady Bear’s dunk, highlight successful weekend
When your school can rake in a road conference win for football, a road win over a ranked opponent for volleyball, and the first of what’s sure to be many dunks for a freshman Lady Bear, I think it qualifies as an exciting Saturday.
Football made waves Saturday afternoon, as the Bears upset Missouri 40-32 in Columbia, thanks in large part to freshman quarterback Nick Florence’s program-record 427 yards passing (video highlights here from Baylor Athletics’ Facebook page). As you may remember, Florence (named Monday the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week) began the year as the Bears’ third-string QB; anyone who doubts the program’s talent level has improved should try to think back to the last time Baylor had such depth. Baylor needs to win two of its last three games to earn a bowl appearance; the Bears host Texas this Saturday (11 a.m., FSN), then play at Texas A&M next week before wrapping up the regular season Nov. 28 vs. Texas Tech at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington (tickets still available).
Not to be outmatched, the 20th-ranked Baylor volleyball team pulled out a tight match in College Station Saturday night, defeating No. 23 Texas A&M for the program’s first road win over a ranked opponent since 1999. The Bears are now 20-6 on the season (their most wins since ’99) and poised to return to the NCAA Tournament later this month.
That same evening, in the No. 4-ranked Lady Bears’ exhibition against Incarnate Word, 6-8 freshman Brittney Griner put down an emphatic dunk (video highlights here) during a 25 point, 11 rebound, 5 block performance that earned a simple ESPN headline: “Griner dunks for Baylor.” She’ll need to repeat the performance in a regular season game to officially become the seventh woman to dunk at the college level, but the 6,262 fans in attendance for the exhibition were rewarded with seeing her first game-action dunk in a Baylor uniform. Given her abilities, there will be many, many more over the next four years — and that’s just one part of her overall game, as the Associated Press noted in this feature.
Sic ’em, Baylor athletics!