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Dec. 4, 2001
Hawai'i Tesoro Invitational
#9/13 Baylor Lady Bears (7-0) vs. Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (4-1)
Fri., Dec. 7, 11:00 p.m. (Central Time)
Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Baylor vs. Illinois-Chicago Flames (5-0)
Sat., Dec. 8, 11:00 p.m. (Central Time)
Honolulu, Hawai'i
COMING UP...
The three teams competing in the Tesoro Invitational in Honolulu, Hawai'i have a combined record of 16-1 for the season. Baylor and Illinois-Chicago (UCI) each come in undefeated with the Lady Bears at 7-0 and UIC at 5-0. Hawai'i is 4-1 so far this season.
SEEMS LIKE HOME...
Playing in Hawai'i's Stan Sheriff Center (SSC) should remind the Lady Bears of home. The SSC is a duplicate of Baylor's Ferrell Center. When considering a new arena, Hawai'i officials traveled to the mainland and toured many facilities. They liked what they saw in the Ferrell Center and decided to pattern their new arena after it.
PEARL HARBOR CONNECTION...
Baylor starter Jessika Stratton's grandfather (Don Stratton) was aboard the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941. He is in Hawai'i at the present time participating in anniversary activities. This week will be the first time Mr. Stratton has seen his granddaughter play collegiate basketball.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor moved up three spots in the AP Poll, vaulting to No. 9 this week after starting the season ranked No. 14. They also jumped a spot to No. 13 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.
Seven games into the season the Lady Bears are led by seniors Sheila Lambert (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth HS), Danielle Crockrom (Houston/North Shore HS) and freshman Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) . All three players are scoring in double figures. Lambert leads the way with 18.0, while Crockrom averages 16.9 and Blackmon manages 10.0 a contest. Crockrom hasn't lost a beat from last season when she averaged a double-double for the season. She has hauled down an average of 11.3 rebounds a game in seven games. Blackmon follows at 5.9 boards a contest and sophomore Chanelle Fox (Houston/Westfield HS) averages 5.6.
MORE BALANCE AND DEPTH...
After relying mainly on Shelia Lambert and Danielle Crockrom last season (they accounted for 56 percent of last season's points) the Lady Bears now have more balance and depth to their roster. Several returnees gained valuable experience last season and have shown marked improvement, resulting in more playing time and production this season. Also, the freshmen, especially Steffanie Blackmon, Kelly Sords and Jordan Davis, have seen considerable floor time with favorable results. In fact, those three freshmen are averaging around 15 minutes a game.
THE OPPOSITION...
University of Hawai'i
The Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine are 4-1 on the season with victories over Washington State (65-50), Portland State (68-55), Wyoming (69-61) and Oklahoma State (72-62) and a loss to Stanford (71-60). All five games have been on their home court, the Stan Sheriff Center. They were 18-4 on their home court last season. Three players are averaging in double figures. Natasja Allen, a 6-2 junior forward, averages 15.0 a game, while Christen Roper (6-5, junior center) scores 12.4 and Janka Gabrielova (5-6, senior guard) manages 11.6. Roper and Allen lead the way on the boards with 8.6 and 7.6 a game, respectively.
Illinois-Chicago(UIC)
The UCI Flames come into the game with an undefeated record at 5-0. This matches the program's best start since the 1995-96 season when they also streaked out to a 5-0 start. They have posted victories over Alcorn State (92-51), St. John's (65-52), Air Force (77-66), Columbia (92-87 ot) and Wright State (60-59). Three players score in double figures for the Flames, while two more are just under that mark. Szuzsa Tarnai leads the team at 14.0, LeKesha Williams follows with 11.8 and Stesha Rhodes checks in at 11.4. Josie Cole scored 9.8 a game and Jaysie Chambers comes off the bench with 9.6 a game. Rhodes leads the squad in rebounding with 5.6 a game.
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 28-9.
Hawai'i's Vince Goo is in his 15th season as the Wahine head coach. He is 291-125 in his 15 years there. Despite a 26-8 record last season, the Wahine narrowly missed being selected for the NCAA Tournament. They posted three victories in the WNIT to make to the final four, before falling in the semifinals to New Mexico on the Lobos' home court 68-43.
Illinois-Chicago's Tim Eatman is in his fourth season as the Flame's head coach. He is 34-56 at UIC and 70-78 in six seasons as a head coach. Prior to coming to UIC he was an assistant at Kansas (96-98), Iowa (93-95), Houston (92-93) and Mississippi State (90-92). He was a head coach at Talladega College, is alma mater, from 1988-90.
FAMILIAR FACES...
UIC coach Tim Eatman and player Jaysie Chambers and Baylor guard Jessika Stratton were all part of an Athletes in Action team that toured the Czech Republic this past summer. Eatman was the team's head coach and Stratton and Chambers were members of the team.
UIC's Stesha Rhoades has connections to three from Baylor. Before transferring to UIC, she played at Grayson CC for current Baylor assistant coach Bill Brock. Sheila Lambert and Brooke McCormack were also on that team.
SERIES RECORD...
Hawai'i-Baylor - The two schools have met only one other time with Hawai'i coming out the winner. The Wahine won on Nov. 25, 1995 in Honolulu, 71-57.
Illinois-Chicago-Baylor - This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
