Dein erstes Forum » 20.Ammendola had nine kickoffs for an average of 6

ESTERO, Fla. -- Baylor was unquestionably the elite club in the eight-team Gulf Coast Showcase.And no, that symmetry wasnt lost on Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey.Each of the last three seasons has ended the same way for Baylor -- with a loss in the regional championship round in the NCAA Tournament, one game shy of getting back to the Final Four. So Mulkey went and made the schedule for this team as brutal as possible, with the hope that whatever lessons get learned now pay off at tourney time.Early returns are promising. The fifth-ranked Bears (7-1) topped No. 8 Ohio State 85-68 on Sunday to win the Gulf Coast title, capping a very difficult November slate for Mulkeys club. Baylor has already played four ranked opponents, three of them No. 9 or higher.Its what we need for late in the season, the playoffs in our Big 12 Conference, to be able to get past that Elite Eight, Mulkey said. Were tired of finishing in an Elite Eight. We present a schedule to them that makes them have to come from behind, makes them have to work for everything -- even if you get beat, theres so much to learn from that.And even with three big wins in southwest Florida this weekend, Mulkey and the Lady Bears think they learned plenty.Baylors three wins this weekend came by 42 over Kent State, 32 over No. 18 DePaul and 17 points on Sunday, and the reason why the margin over the Buckeyes was that close was the Lady Bears were 19 for 32 from the foul line. The Bears trailed for exactly 6 minutes, 16 seconds in the three matchups, and outrebounded their opponents 156-76 -- more than a 2-to-1 edge on the glass.Were good. We know were good. But how good are we? Mulkey said. The only way you can gauge that is go play other teams across the country that people think are good.The only loss so far was at UConn, a game where the Huskies revealed yet another national championship banner and played before a packed house. Baylor didnt succumb that night until the final minutes.Theres only one team this year thats going to go to Storrs when they drop a banner, and that was us, Mulkey said. We knew that going in and we need that. We need that environment, we need that type of setting.This weekend inside a minor-league hockey arena wasnt about environment or setting. The building held only a couple hundred fans or so for each game, and the chill from the ice below could be felt coming through the court.It was about the grind of playing three good teams in less than 72 hours, and Baylor came through with flying colors.Were looking to get that competition now so we can be ready at the end and embrace the moment, Lady Bears standout Kalani Brown said.Theres another big test coming next weekend when Baylor goes to Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Then before long, conference play will begin.Looking forward to it, said Lady Bears guard Kristy Wallace, the MVP of the Gulf Coast tournament. Its going to be a challenge. Itll be exciting.Last season, Baylor didnt face its third top-10 team until March 7. With this schedule, theres going to be no way Mulkey wonders if her team was properly battle-tested when this seasons NCAA Tournament rolls around.I know why we did it, Mulkey said. Were trying to get past the Elite Eight. Cheap MLB Jerseys China .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.nflwholesalejerseyscheapchina.com/ .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. NFL Wholesale Jerseys . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. STILLWATER, Okla. -- Often an overlooked aspect of the game, specials teams played a key role in Oklahoma States latest win.The Cowboys blocked three PAT attempts, with Vincent Taylor and Tre Flowers teaming up to return one of them for two points and shifting the momentum in their favor on the way to a 49-31 victory over Texas on Saturday.Our PAT blocks were a huge part of the game, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. (Defensive line coach) Joe Bob Clements is our coordinator of our PAT/field goal block and they had a nice plan to attack (Texas center Alex Anderson) and it worked out for us.Oklahoma State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) opened the game with a 14-0 lead, but DOnta Freeman had just scored on a 22-yard touchdown run to make it 14-13 late in the first quarter, with the game-tying PAT coming up. Taylor barreled over Anderson to block it, then scooped up the bouncing ball and raced downfield, eventually pitching it to Flowers, who took it into the end zone for two points.Instead of a 14-14 tie, OSU led 16-13.When they tied it up, or were in a position to tie it up with a PAT, and then you get a block and you get two points, it changes the momentum of the game and gets the crowd back into it, exciting the team, Gundy said. And then to do it two more times was really special.Darrion Daniels blocked the next Texas PAT attempt and then Taylor blocked a third straight extra point kick -- which Lenzy Pipkins almost ran back for another two points before being pushed out of bounds at the 20-yard-line. At that point, with 6:31 left in the second quarter, Texas led 25-23 but it could have been 28-21.On their next possession, the Longhorns lined up for a 46-yard field goal attempt, and perhaps anxious about yet another block, Trent Domingue missed it, hooking it wide left. Infused with more momentum and confidence, the Cowboys went on to score three consecutive touchdowns to take control of the game.Taylor also blocked a field goal attempt in the season-opening 61-7 win over Souutheastern Louisiana on Sept.dddddddddddd3, giving OSU a nation-best four blocked kicks.One of my goals I have written on my mirror is to get five blocked kicks, said Taylor, who has also excelled at defensive tackle, recording 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries so far this year. Im at three right now in the fifth game. If I can keep getting them, thats something we practice every day and it showed.Even beyond the blocked kicks, the Cowboys special team units are also receiving outstanding performances from punter Zach Sinor and kickoff specialist Matt Ammendola.Against Texas, Sinor delivered six punts for an average of 46.0 yards, with two ending up inside the 20. Overall for the season, Sinor has averaged 44.3 yards (ranking second in the Big 12 and 25th in the nation) on 22 punts, putting 14 inside the 20.Ammendola had nine kickoffs for an average of 64.8 yards, with two touchbacks, and the Longhorns never started a drive after a kickoff beyond their own 25-yard-line. On the year, Ammendola is averaging 63.1 yards on 32 total kickoffs, with 12 touchbacks.The Cowboys coverage units have also been strong, surrendering just 35 total return yards on punts and 17.1 yards per kickoff, ranking 16th in the country in that category.Were using a lot of young players, were trying to pace ourselves for conference play, and we have guys that are on special teams that are not really experienced and theyve done a nice job, Gundy said. Steve Hauser, whos taken over our special teams, has been really good, works hard at it, its important to him, and the players are buying in.Our kicking has been good. (Ammendola)s kickoffs this last game are the best theyve been, and Zach Sinors been great. Up to this point, weve been very fortunate that weve had good results on special teams.Oklahoma State faces Iowa State (1-4, 0-2) at home next Saturday. ' ' '