Nov. 19, 2001
#14/16 Baylor Lady Bears (2-0) vs. UT-Arlington (1-1)
Tues., Nov. 20, 7:00 p.m.
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
Sun., Nov. 25, 3:00 p.m.
Baylor vs. Denver University
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
Radio - KLRK - FM 92.9 - Rick May (play-by-play) and Lori Scott Fogleman (color analysis). Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to game time.
Internet - www.GoBaylorBears.com
THE UNVEILING...
The Lady Bears will unveil their NCAA Tournament banner in pregame ceremonies on Tuesday. The banner will be the first NCAA banner to hang in the Ferrell Center for the Lady Bear basketball program.
THIS MARKS...
Tuesday's game marks the Lady Bears' home opener and is the first of three straight home games. Baylor will host Denver University on Sun., Nov. 25 and Sam Houston State on Tues., No. 27. In fact, four of their next five games are in the friendly confines of the Ferell Center.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor is ranked No. 14 by the Associated Press and No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Two games into the season the Lady Bears are led by seniors Danielle Crockrom (Houston/North Shore HS), Sheila Lambert (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth HS), sophomore Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) and freshman Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS). All four players are scoring in double figures. Crockrom leads the way with 19.0 while Lambert checks in at 18.0, Stratton 13.0 and Blackmon 10.0. Crockrom hasn't lost a beat from last season when she averaged a double-double. She has hauled down an average of 11.5 rebounds a game in two games. Blackmon is second of the squad with 8.5 a game, sophomore Chanelle Fox (Houston/Westfield HS) follows with 7.5 and senior Brooke McCormack checks in at 7.0.
THE COACHES...
Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her second year as a head coach after guiding the Lady Bears to a 21-9 record and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament in her inaugural season. The Lady Bears enjoyed tremendous improvement last season over Baylor's 7-20 record of 1999-2000. Her career record is 23-9.
UT-Arlington's second year head coach Donna Capps owns a career record of 7-22.
IN THE POLLS...
The Baylor Lady Bears basketball team has been ranked in both major top 25 polls, the Associated Press' (AP) poll and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' poll.
After receiving numerous preseason top 25 rankings, the Lady Bears are ranked No. 14 by the AP and No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. This is the highest-ever ranking in the major polls by the Lady Bears.
Baylor, 21-9 last season, ended the 2000-2001 campaign ranked No. 23 in the AP's final poll but were not ranked at season's end by the coaches. Baylor has appeared only one other time in the coaches poll, they were No. 22 for one week (Jan. 29) last season. The Lady Bears were ranked for eight weeks in the AP Poll last season, their highest being No. 23.
SELLOUT 2002...
The Sellout 2002 campaign is an effort to fill the Ferrell Center for the men's Big 12 opener against Iowa State Jan. 5, and the women's Jan. 12 contest vs. Oklahoma. Oklahoma's women have won back-to-back Big 12 championships as have Iowa State's men's team. Both games will be televised live on FOX Sports Net Southwest.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS...
Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon was impressive in her collegiate debut registering a double-double in the Lady Bears' season opener against North Texas. The 6-2 post racked up 14 points and 12 rebounds in her debut. She followed that performance with six points and five rebounds against Nevada.
Freshman post Kelly Sords (Austin/Westlake HS) had eight points against North Texas then scored nine points and hauled down six rebounds in 14 minutes against Nevada.
ADDING TO THE COLLECTION...
For the second time in as many seasons the Lady Bears added to their trophy collection. They won the Boston University tournament last year then defeated tournament host Nevada to win the Nevada Bell Classic last weekend. Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom were named to the all-tournament team and Lambert also took home MVP honors.
SERIES RECORD...
Baylor leads the series with UT-Arlington 16-3. The Lady Bears have a five game winning streak going against the Mavericks. The two squads last met on Dec. 12, 1999 in Waco when the Lady Bears won 69-48. The Mavericks' last victory over Baylor was on Nov. 28, 1988 in Arlington when they posted a 78-72 victory.
THE OPPOSITION...
UT-ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
UT-Arlington enters the game with a 1-1 record after dropping their season opener in the Central Florida Tournament. Central Florida defeated the Mavericks 69-55 and then UTA defeated Bethune-Cookman 66-56 in the consolation game. The Mavericks have two players averaging double figure scoring. Freshman forward Rola Ogunoye is scoring 12.5 a game while junior Moriah Johnson, a McLennan CC transfer, scores 11.5 a contest. Ogunoye, a 6-0 forward, is also the team leader in rebounding with 8.0 a game.
PRESEASON HONORS...
Seniors Danielle Crockrom and Sheila Lambert have hauled in the preseason honors. Not only are they on the Naismith Award watch list which honors the top collegiate player but they have each been named to several preseason all-America squads and were voted by both the media and Big 12 coaches as first-team All-Big 12.
PROBABLE STARTERS...
#14/16 Baylor (2-0)
G - #31 Sheila Lambert - (5-7, Sr., Seattle, Wash./Grayson CC) 18.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.5 apg
G - #10 Jessika Stratton - (5-9, So., Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) 13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg
G - #5 Chanelle Fox - (5-11, Fr., Houston/Westfield HS) 8.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg
F - #34 Danielle Crockrom - (6-2, Jr., Houston/North Shore HS) 19.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg
P - #55 Brooke McCormack - (6-2, Sr., Melbourne, Australia/Grayson CC) 4.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
UT-Arlington (1-1)
G - #22 Chronda Reagan - (5-9, Fr., Lancaster/Lancaster HS) 8.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg
G - #30 KeKe Strambler - (5-7, Jr., Midland/Central Arizona College) 3.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
F - #15 LaKeisa Richardson - (5-10, Jr., Garland/Cloud County CC) 8.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg
F - #33 Rola Ogunoye - (6-0, Fr., Cedar Hill/Cedar Hill HS) 12.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg
F - #44 Moriah Johnson - (5-10, Jr., Hutchins/McLennan CC) 11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
