Lady Bears join Baylor men in the Sweet 16

The fourth-seeded Baylor Lady Bears followed the men’s lead, punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 last night with a 49-33 win over No. 5 seed Georgetown. Freshman Brittney Griner blocked an NCAA tournament record 14 shots to headline a stiff Baylor defensive effort; in fact, Griner blocked more shots (14) than the Hoyas made all night (12). Griner also set a new NCAA single-season record for blocks and now has 199 on the year.

With one day left to play in the ladies’ second round, just four schools have both their men’s and women’s teams in the Sweet 16 — and they’re all names you’ll recognize: Duke, Kentucky, Tennessee and Baylor. In head coach Kim Mulkey’s decade leading the Lady Bears, Baylor has certainly made a name for itself in the women’s game, now having made five Sweet 16 appearances in the last seven years, including the 2005 national championship. The men are moving their way towards similar status, now with three straight 20-plus win seasons and three straight postseason appearances.

The Lady Bears now face a rematch with No. 1 seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16; the two teams will square off Saturday in Memphis (time TBA). As you may remember, Baylor and Tennessee — both preseason top-10 teams — opened the season against one another back in November, with the Lady Vols pulling out a narrow 74-65 win in Knoxville. Is this Baylor’s chance to return the favor? We’ll find out!

Sic ’em, Lady Bears!