Nov. 19, 2002
WACO, Texas -
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Women's Sports Foundation Tournament
Fri., Nov. 22
6 pm - Alcorn State vs. Southwest Texas
8 pm - Baylor vs. Princeton
Sat., Nov. 23
6 pm - Consolation
8 pm - Championship
COMING UP...
The Lady Bears will open their 2002-03 regular season by hosting the Women's Sports Foundation Tournament. Baylor, along with the Women's Sports Foundation and Basketball Travelers, Inc. will co-produce the event.
Funds raised at this event help support the Women's Sports Foundation's grants and awards programs that encourage girls and women's sports and fitness participation on both the grassroots and elite levels. These funds will also help the Foundation support research and programs that educate the public about the benefits of women's sports and fitness involvement.
Joining Baylor in the four-team tournament are Alcorn State, Princeton and Southwest Texas.
THE LADY BEARS...
The Lady Bears, after two lopsided exhibition victories, open the 2002-03 campaign by hosting the four-team Women's Sports Foundation Tournament.
Two sophomores, Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) and Jordan Davis (Celina/Celina HS), posted some outstanding number for the Lady Bears' two exhibition games. Blackmon, a 6-2 post, averaged 27.5 points and 11.0 rebounds over the two games. In addition, she blocked four shots and registered six steals. She was 15-of-18 from the charity stripe for 83.3 percent. Davis, a 5-9 guard, averaged 17.5 points and 4.0 steals a game. She was impressive from the floor percentagewise as well. She was 12-for-21 (.571) from the floor which included 7-of-12 (.583) from 3-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Junior Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo/.Coronado HS), playing at point guard this season, averaged 10.5 points a game but, more impressive was the fact that she committed no turnovers in either game. In addition, she averaged 8.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Stasha Richards (Houston/North Shore HS), the team's lone senior, ranked second on the team in rebounding for the two exhibition games. She hauled down 6.5 a game and scored 9.0 points a game.
NINE PLAYERS AVAILABLE FOR EXHIBITIONS...
The Lady Bears had only nine players available for the two exhibition games. Junior Chanelle Fox, freshman Sophia Young and freshman Abiola Wabara all were sidelines with injuries and junior Dionne Brown (Georgetown/Texas Tech) will not be able to play until Dec. 10th.
Fox (Houston/Westfield HS) underwent ACL reconstruction on April 1 of last season and had further arthroscopic surgery in October and is still listed as day-to-day. Young (St. Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Academy in Shreveport, La.) suffered a broken fourth metacarpal bone in her left hand in practice in mid-November. She has been fitted with a molded cast and is cleared to play. Wabara (Parma, Italy) underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right knee on November 1 and will be sidelined until at least January.
THE LADY BEARS IN SEASON OPENERS...
Baylor is 22-6 in season openers. They are 10-1 in season openers at home and are 4-1 in season openers in the Ferrell Center. Baylor's lone season opening home loss came at the hands of Southwest Texas State on Nov. 25, 1988 when the Bobcats defeated Baylor 88-76.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD...
ALCORN STATE
Alcorn State, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, was 15-12 last season and returns two starters for head coach Shirley Walker. Walker begins her 25th season at the helm of the Lady Brave program. Walker, at 398-262, needs just two victories to reach the 400 career-victory milestone. Key returnees for the Lady Braves include Candace Roberts, a 6-0 sophomore center, who averaged 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds as a freshman last season and 5-7 senior guard Zandra Hall who averaged 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds a contest in 2001-02.
The Lady Braves played two exhibition games prior to their season opener. They lost to TJ Sokol Hradec Kralove 76-53 and defeated the Mississippi Blossom 100-73.
This will not be Alcorn State's first trip to Waco. The Lady Braves participated in the 1995 Dr Pepper Lady Bear Holiday Tournament. Joining Baylor and Alcorn State in the tournament were Arkansas and Army.
PRINCETON
Princeton, coached by Richard Barron, returns four starters off a team that posted a 11-16 record last season where the Tigers finished 5-9 and in seventh place in the Ivy League. The 2002-03 season marks Barron's second season as Princeton's head coach. Key returnees for the Tigers are Allison Cahill (5-6, senior, guard) with 14.2 points and 4.4 rebounds and Maureen Lane (6-0, senior, forward) with 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds last season.
The Tigers played only one exhibition game, losing to the Houston Jaguars (a different squad that the one the Lady Bears played) 79-62. Lane and Cahill were the only two Tigers to score in double figures with 16 and 13 respectively.
SOUTHWEST TEXAS
Just traveling up I-35 for the tournament are the Southwest Texas Bobcats. Suzanne Fox heads into her sixth season as the Bobcats' head coach. Southwest Texas was 12-16 last season and returns four starters and 10 letterwinners off that squad. Tori Talbert and Alexis Marshall are two the the Bobcats' top returnees. Talbert, a 6-2 senior center, averaged a last season with 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. Marshall, a 5-6 senior guard, scored 8.1 points and hauled in 4.0 rebounds. Also, former Lady Bear Heather Burrow redshirted for the Bobcats last season and is eligible for the 2002-03 season.
The Bobcats used two exhibition contests as tuneups for the upcoming season. They defeated the Oklahoma Flyers 81-66 and Fort Hood 54-50. Talbert posted double-doubles in both contests with a 15-point, 13 rebound performance against the Flyers and 10 points and 12 boards versus Fort Hood.
SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor vs. Alcorn State - If the two teams meet, it will be the second meeting of the two schools. Baylor posted a 69-63 victory over Alcorn State on Dec. 30, 1997 in the consolation game of the Louisiana Tech Dial Classic in Ruston, La.
Baylor vs. Princeton - The two teams have met just once previously. The Lady Bears posted a 54-50 victory on Dec. 4, 1993 in the Southwest Conference/Ivy League Challenge in Philadelphia, Pa.
Baylor vs. Southwest Texas - Baylor leads the series 14-3. However, in the last four meetings, the two teams have split. The Lady Bears have won the last two games, the most recent of which was contested on Dec. 7, 1999 in San Marcos.
MULKEY'S TEAMS PROTECTING THE HOME COURT...
In Kim Mulkey-Robertson's two years as Baylor's head coach her teams are 25-4 in the Ferrell Center. Their only home losses have come against: Jan. 13, 2001 - lost to #17 Oklahoma (90-87) Feb. 7, 2001 - lost to #11 Texas Tech (67-56) Jan. 12, 2002 - lost to #3 Oklahoma (82-73) Mar. 17, 2002 - lost to Drake (76-72)
MULKEY'S TEAMS PERFECT IN REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE...
Under Mulkey-Robertson, the Lady Bears are 23-0 in regular season non-conference games.They have never lost a game in November or December under Mulkey-Robertson. In regular season non-conference games under Mulkey, Baylor is 13-0 at home, 5-0 on the road and 5-0 at neutral sites.
