NCAA Basketball Season Continues As ‘Almighty Dollar’ Outperforms Health

Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, who returned on Saturday for the first time since December 19, said she is feeling well after experiencing COVID-19. However, when asked if she is worried about the end of the season due to a pandemic, she did not say a word.

“The answer is this: the season will go on. It’s called the Almighty Dollar,” Mulkey said after Lady Bears lost 75-71 to Iowa in Waco, Texas, ending the longest running home win in Division I. feminine. basketball in 61 games. “The NCAA must have the all-powerful dollar in the men’s tournament. The all-powerful dollar is more important than the health and well-being of me, the players, or anyone else.

“A conference does that, a conference does that. CDC says that. Everyone is confused. I’m confused. I’m an awkward coach. I understand, COVID is real. I had – come talk to me someday But I don’t know … all the calls and the procedures, that will continue and make it unusual, uncomfortable for every program. We are no different at Baylor. “

Mulkey contracted COVID-19 on Christmas Day after contacting a family member who gave positive results. Missed the latest game no. 6 of Baylor, January 2 at TCU, then joined the training team on January 4 after several negative tests.

But after a positive test from that day’s test, the entire Baylor program went into a hiatus on Jan. 5, canceling Lady Bears’ non-conference clash with UConn on Jan. 7 and postponing the Big 12 games against Kansas (Jan. 10) and Kansas. (January 13). Baylor, 8-2, lost guard DiJonai Carrington and striker Caitlin Bickle on Saturday as those players are still in quarantine.

The rest of the Baylor players left the break on Friday and had their first training session in two weeks with Mulkey on the day of the game. She gave the Cyclones full credit for ending the Lady Bears series, saying Baylor could probably beat some opponents with that little training, but not the state of Iowa.

“That team has three points that reveal us – that team has an excellent coach,” she said. “It was the perfect time for what you saw happening.”

Saturday was only the second time the Cyclones won at Waco; The first was in 1997, in the inaugural season of Big 12. Mulkey praised Cyclones star Ashley Joens (27 points, 12 rebounds) and coach Bill Fennelly, who also defeated Baylor 57-56 in March. passed to Ames, Iowa. In that game, Joens hit the winning free throw and ended the Big 12 winning streak of the regular season of the 58 Lady Bears games.

Baylor’s loss on Saturday meant that the two longest winning active wins on the women’s basketball court ended in the same week. The Iowa women, who finished second behind Baylor in 42 straight victories, lost in overtime on Wednesday to Ohio State.

It was a huge victory for Iowa State (9-4) against the team that has won or shared the last 10 titles of the Big 12 regular season and has three NCAA championships. Joens, a junior goalkeeper / striker, is the Big 12’s top scorer at 24.6 points per game. That victory of the 1997 cyclone in Waco came before she was born.

“It feels great when you can get such a victory,” Joens said. “Everyone did their job, everyone did it. Knowing we can compete at the highest level with these types of teams gives us some confidence in the rest of the season.”