Before 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner can score for Baylor, the ball has usually already been in the hands of freshman point guard Odyssey Sims.
Although Sims is about a foot shorter than the sophomore standout known for her blocks and dunks, coach Kim Mulkey quickly points out a similarity Baylor's top two scorers share.
''Just like Brittney Griner, she was a No. 1 player in her class coming out of high school,'' Mulkey said. ''She realizes she's going to get everybody's best shot, she realizes how good players are that are older than her and how important it is to stay focused.''
Sims was a four-year starter at Irving MacArthur, a high school only a few miles from the NBA arena where she will start for top-seeded Baylor (33-2) against Wisconsin-Green Bay (34-1) on Sunday night.
The Phoenix, who have won 25 games in a row, have never previously advanced to the round of 16. Baylor has gotten this far six times in eight years and went to the Final Four last season.
Although Sims and the Lady Bears are only about 100 miles from their Waco campus, the Phoenix are a long way from home. But perhaps there's still some good karma in the Dallas area, where nearly two months ago the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl.
''We're OK with being compared to them,'' said Kayla Tetschlag, Green Bay's leading scorer. ''They came in here with a lot of fight and with a lot of heart and got it done. So being in the city where it all happened, I think that's a great thing for us.''
Despite tearing her right ACL last season, the speedy left-handed Sims quickly rose to a starting role when two-year senior guard Kelli Griffin quit a week before the season opener and Shanay Washington, a 32-game starter as a freshman, tore her left ACL in practice just five games into the season.
Sims is averaging 13.3 points with three assists a game. The Big 12 freshman of the year scored 37 points with nine 3-pointers at Oklahoma last month and made the game-winning basket of an 82-81 victory.
''How confident we all are having Odyssey as our point guard, we don't even look at her as a freshman,'' said starting guard Melissa Jones, the only senior who plays significant minutes for Baylor. ''She just has so much composure.''
Griner had 30 points and eight blocks in Tuesday night's 82-68 win over West Virginia, even after sitting the final 9:20 of the first half with two fouls. When Baylor had the ball for the first time after halftime, she was under the basket when she locked eyes with Sims. Next came a lob pass and an easy layup.
''When I see her coming up the floor, I just try to see which way she's going, and sometimes we lock eyes and she just gives me that look or I'll give her a look like (we're) going to do something right here special,'' said Griner, who averages 22.6 points.
That was one of four assists for Sims in that game, when she scored 13 points and had a season-high seven turnovers.
''The seven turnovers, I don't dwell on that. It's just the nature of the position that she plays,'' said Mulkey, who won two national championships playing point guard at Louisiana Tech. ''I thought for the most part she handled herself the same way she's handled herself all year.''
Fifth-seeded Green Bay advanced with a 65-56 win Tuesday night over Michigan State, a team Baylor beat by 26 points earlier this season and by 22 in the 2005 national championship game.
In preparing to face Griner, Tetschlag was taking jumpers in practice over 6-2 teammate Katie Bushman, who also held a foot-long piece of foam from her outstretched arm.
''The biggest thing our coaches have been telling us is to go up into her,'' Tetschlag said. ''Don't block the shot for her, is a quote we've been hearing from our coaches.''
Coach Matt Bollant also has been telling the Phoenix to be themselves and not to forget the other Baylor players.
''It starts with Sims and your ability to contest her,'' Bollant said. ''They're so athletic. When they get by off the dribble and you have to help, Griner just scoops things up, so they get layups and they get offensive rebounds.''
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