Lady Bears claim No. 1 spot in AP poll for first time ever

As President Ken Starr wrote in his New Year’s letter to the Baylor family, for BU athletics, 2010 was truly the “year of the bear.” But, this being the new year and all, it seems appropriate that the Lady Bear basketball team would open 2011 with a new feat: claiming the No. 1 spot in the latest Associated Press poll.

After sitting at No. 2 all season, head coach Kim Mulkey’s squad ascended to No. 1 when UConn — who had topped the polls since Feb. 2008 — finally saw its record winning streak end at 90. The Lady Bears nearly ended that streak back in November, losing by just one to the Huskies on the road. That loss is Baylor’s only defeat on the season; the Lady Bears are 13-1 overall, including four wins over ranked opponents — beating Michigan State (now ranked 11th), Notre Dame (currently 13th), Tennessee (now No. 5) and Syracuse (now 23rd) — in which Baylor averaged a 20.5-point margin of victory.

The Lady Bears are the first Baylor program ever to gain the top spot in an AP poll; men’s basketball’s high is No. 9, reached earlier this season, while football reached No. 3 for two consecutive weeks in 1953. Of course, Baylor has reached No. 1 in other polls; women’s basketball was ranked No. 1 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll of 2005 after winning the national title. Both men’s and women’s tennis have topped the ITA rankings on numerous occasions, and equestrian sat atop the Women’s Intercollegiate Equestrian National Coaches Poll in February 2009.

Women’s basketball will defend their top ranking (in both polls, having also moved into No. 1 in the coaches poll this week) as they open Big 12 Conference play this weekend. Baylor hosts No. 17 Iowa State on Saturday at 11 a.m.; if you can’t make it out to the Ferrell Center, the game will also be televised on Fox Sports Net.

Sic ’em, Lady Bears!