You Think Men's Sports is Tough....Women's hoops star punches opponent in the face

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)

The Baylor star who created buzz with her above-the-rim dunks is likely to face discipline after punching an opposing player in the face.

Officials ejected Brittney Griner after the freshman punched Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle in No. 14 Baylor's 69-60 win over the Lady Raiders on Wednesday night.

Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said she'll deal with Griner. But Baylor and the Big 12 Conference likely will consider their own punishments as the team prepares for Sunday's season finale against Missouri.

"There's no place for that in sports," Mulkey said. "It was ugly for women's basketball. It was ugly that coaches were on the court, that benches cleared, and I will take care of that with my team."

Baylor was up 55-39 when Barncastle fouled Griner while guarding her under the Lady Bears basket. As the Tech player was moving away and untangling her arm from Griner, the Baylor standout swung and landed a punch with her right hand on Barncastle's face.

Griner had scored 21 points when she was ejected with 9:01 to play.

Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry said Barncastle has an appointment in the morning to determine the extent of her injury.

"We're all in shock right now," she said. "It's very unfortunate. It's very sad. My only concern is Jordan Barncastle."

Barncastle was not available to the media following the game.

She, Curry and several other Lady Raiders gathered in the arena's broadcast room after Curry finished with reporters' questions to view the incident. The replay showed Griner taking an off-balance, roundhouse swing at Barncastle's face a few seconds after officials called her for a foul on Griner.

Tech (17-12, 5-10 Big 12) trailed 51-31 with 11:19 remaining but used a 14-5 run after the punch to pull within 60-55 with 3:01 left. Baylor hit 8 of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win, the fifth straight for the Lady Bears (22-7, 8-6).

Jordan Murphree scored 16 points to lead Texas Tech, which was outrebounded 42-26.

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Was that really a women on the Black team that threw the Punch...Kind of Looked Like Noah from the Bulls!

G. MONEY said:

Was that really a women on the Black team that threw the Punch...Kind of Looked Like Noah from the Bulls!

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not such a big deal - i can see how a punch would be thrown there, with arms flailing around in the heat of the moment you may think you're defending yourself when you're actually throwing the first blow.

Agreed, didn't look like a fair fight with that man punching that poor girl.

The only thing that could get me to watch womens basketball is if they played topless. a fight just isn't gonna do it for me. Topless fighting, OK

TheDopeman said:

The only thing that could get me to watch womens basketball is if they played topless. a fight just isn't gonna do it for me. Topless fighting, OK

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Athletic, lanky chicks generally don't have great racks.

Jake T. said:

Athletic, lanky chicks generally don't have great racks.

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right, but i'd still watch it. some of the girls have alright racks for being itty bitty.. Damn my mind always seems to be in the gutter

Those TTech girls have a mouth on em. I wanted to punch a few when I was in school out there.

G. MONEY said:

Was that really a women on the Black team that threw the Punch...Kind of Looked Like Noah from the Bulls!

Click to expand...

:lolBIG:

The picture on yahoo is a close up of her face which makes her look really pretty and effeminate. But once I saw the clip, I was just like DAMN I hope her basketball celebrity helps her get at least something.

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Griner out 2 games for punch

DALLAS -- Brittney Griner, the dunking freshman sensation for Baylor (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP), has been suspended for two games after throwing a punch that broke an opposing player's nose in a Big 12 game.
Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said in a statement issued late Thursday that Griner will be suspended for one game in addition to a one-game suspension mandated by NCAA rules.

"I am very disappointed in the incident which happened during our basketball game last night at Texas Tech," Mulkey said.

"I don't believe this incident should define Brittney Griner -- either as a person or as a player. Anyone who has been around her knows that she's a great kid. ... I believe she will learn from this mistake and will become a better person moving forward."

Griner was automatically suspended for Baylor's next contest, Sunday's game against No. 18 Texas in Waco. Mulkey's additional one-game suspension will force Griner to miss Baylor's Big 12 Championship tournament opener on March 11 or 12.

"Due to the severity of the act, it is appropriate that Ms. Griner is suspended for an additional game," said Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe in a statement. "Therefore, I have accepted Baylor's action and commend athletics director Ian McCaw and head coach Kim Mulkey for taking a strong stance to support good sportsmanship."

The Big 12 tournament is next week in Kansas City, Mo., and Baylor is all but guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament the following week.
In the written statement from Baylor, Griner apologized to "the Lady Raider team, my teammates and coaches, the fans and the game of women's basketball."

"I let my emotions get the best of me and I am deeply sorry for my actions. I am committed to doing a better job of maintaining my composure in the future," she said. "I will grow from this and I am dedicated to setting an example to others of how to learn from personal mistakes."

The 19-year-old Griner is one of the most talked-about women's college players in years. The Houston native was an Internet sensation in high school with her incredible dunks and earlier this season she became only the second player to dunk more than once in a women's college game during a 99-18 rout of Texas State. Candace Parker of Tennessee was the first.

She was tentative at first, but has become one of the most dominant frontcourt players in the country and gets the most attention from opposing teams. On Wednesday night, she punched Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle in the face after the two players tangled in the second half of Baylor's 69-60 win in Lubbock.

The 6-foot-8 Griner and Barncastle were battling for position near the lane before Barncastle spun around and sent Griner lunging toward the baseline. As a foul was called on Barncastle, Griner straightened up and took two steps toward her before throwing a roundhouse punch with her right hand.

Players had to be separated in the scrum that ensued, and Baylor's Morghan Medlock was given a technical foul.

Barncastle stayed in long enough to shoot four technical free throws but didn't play again. Video showed her on the bench with gauze in her right nostril, smiling while describing the play to teammates by simulating a punch.

Barncastle's father and former high school coach, Doug Barncastle, said his daughter's nose was broken and declined further comment. Texas Tech spokeswoman Tammi Hoffman said Barncastle would be evaluated daily and it wasn't clear when she would be cleared to play.

Griner is averaging 19 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.1 blocks -- second nationally -- per game. She has season highs of 34 points and 21 rebounds, while recording 11 blocks in three different games. She already holds the Big 12 single-season blocks record.

2 games for a punch at Baylor???? What a joke!!!!!!

What do you have to do to get a good sized suspension? Kill someone? Oops ... it's already been done at Baylor ....

... now I see why Baylor has become a shit school ... it's on that downward spiral.

Looks like they made up afterwards:

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