Brittney Griner 'full of emotion' as Baylor retires No. 42 - ESPN

WACO, Texas — Brittney Griner's No. 42 jersey was retired by Baylor on Sunday, when the two-time AP national player of the year and career blocks leader attended a Bears home game for the first time since her senior season 11 years ago. The standout center even did an impromptu slam dunk.

Griner was part of Baylor's 40-0 national championship team as a junior during the 2011-12 season, the first of her consecutive AP player of the year awards. Her final home games were when the Bears won in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at the Ferrell Center on campus in March 2013, including three dunks in her last game there, before losing the following weekend to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

The jersey was raised to the rafters in the new Foster Pavilion, where Baylor began playing last month. The ceremony before a game against Texas Tech included video highlights from her career. Griner was visibly touched by the reaction from the Baylor fans, waving at them and patting her heart though she didn't address the crowd.

«Just full of emotion,» Griner said during an in-game interview on the ESPN broadcast. «As soon as [the jersey] started to go up, that's when I started to break.»

Griner said it meant everything to be honored and appreciated by the school that she gave so much to during her time there. She completed her Baylor degree in 2019.

When Baylor students were taking part in a halftime contest to dunk like Griner, she came onto the court and delighted the crowd with a one-handed dunk of her own.

Baylor won the game 61-32.

In 148 games over four seasons with Baylor, the 6-foot-8 center averaged 22.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 blocked shots. Griner's 3,283 total points are a Big 12 record and fifth on the NCAA career