Nov. 20, 2002
After qualifying for the NCAA Tournament her first two seasons at Baylor, Kim Mulkey-Robertson faces her third season having to replace four seniors, including All-Americans and WNBA draftees Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom, who accounted for 61 percent of last season's scoring and 54 percent of the rebounding and minutes played.
Mulkey-Robertson and her staff of Bill Brock, Jennifer Roberts and Johnny Derrick, begin their third season together with seven letterwinners returning off last season's 27-6 team. There will be many new faces to become familiar with this season as the roster sports seven new players.
"We will not look back, we will look forward . Although we will be young and inexperienced, each player has to accept the challenge of continuing to build this program," said Mulkey-Robertson. "When I think of the youth and inexperience we have, I think of two words - excitement and opportunity! These players will be exciting to watch and have an opportunity to play," she added.
Although they have numbers (7 returnees) on their side, the 2002-03 Lady Bears are short on experience. In effect, only one position returns a starter, the No. 3 spot. Chanelle Fox, a 5-11 junior, started 23 games before a torn ACL ended her season. The team's lone senior, Stasha Richards, assumed Fox' starting role the remainder of the season.
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon, a Dallas native, is expected to contribute heavily after posting impressive numbers her freshman season. The 6-2 post averaged 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds a game playing behind Crockrom last season. Despite not starting, Blackmon led the team in blocked shots with 38, ranked third on the squad in scoring and second in rebounding while playing 19.6 minutes a game. In addition, she posted the second-best shooting percentage on the team at 50.6 percent. After making a good impression her inaugural season, Blackmon was one of 16 finalists for a spot on the USA World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team.
Junior Jessika Stratton, a guard from Colorado Springs, Colo., saw the most floor action last season of all the returnees. She averaged 24.2 minutes a game, third on the team, while scoring 6.2 points a game. The coaching staff anticipates Stratton will build upon her previous two seasons. Which position she plays will depend upon how quickly the more inexperienced players and newcomers develop. Richards and Fox, both Houston natives, and Stratton, will be looked to to provide the necessary leadership for the newcomers. Richards will be looking to make her senior season her best season yet and Fox has been working hard to rehabilitate her knee after undergoing reconstructive surgery in early April.
Also returning for their sophomore seasons will be Jordan Davis, Melanie Hamerly and Tiffanie Blackmon. Davis, a 5-9 guard, averaged just over 10 minutes a game last season playing at both the point guard and off guard spot. The Celina, Texas native specializes from three-point range and posted the team's highest free throw percentage last season at 87.5 percent (14-of-16). Hamerly, a 6-5 post out of Orange, Texas, is the team's tallest player. She continued to work hard over the summer developing strength and agility and could be a force in the paint for the Lady Bears. Tiffanie Blackmon, a 6-0 post and twin sister of Steffanie, continues to progress and could see more court time this season.
Despite having six newcomers, two of the incoming players have some collegiate experience and will be looked upon to challenge immediately for starting roles. Dionne Brown hails from Georgetown, Texas and is a player familiar with Big 12 basketball. She transfers to Baylor from Texas Tech where she spent three semesters. She appeared in 26 Red Raider games as a freshman and started five of six games as a sophomore before transferring to Austin Community College. Brown, a junior, will add a presence in the paint for the Lady Bears. Sophomore point guard Chelsea Whitaker, redshirted last season after transferring from the University of Virginia where she appeared in 28 games as a freshman Cavalier. While sitting out last season, the 5-9 Dallas native, tore an ACL and underwent reconstructive surgery. She has had a year to rehabilitate the knee and could contend for the starting point guard slot.
Four freshmen, Ebony Jackson, Chameka Scott, Abiola Wabara and Sophia Young, bolster the Lady Bear lineup and complete the recruiting class. Jackson, a 5-5 point guard out of Arlington's Sam Houston High School averaged 24.6 points a game en route to earning District 8-5A Offensive Player of the Year honors. Scott comes to Baylor with impressive credentials both on the court and in the classroom. She averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds while playing all five positions at Houston area Clear Brook High School as a senior. She nabbed District 24-5A MVP honors despite missing part of the season after tearing her ACL and was twice named all-state and all-greater Houston. In addition, she was named TGCA Academic All-State. She underwent reconstructive surgery and is fully recovered. The 6-0 guard is expected to play at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Wabara, a late signee, travels the farthest to become a Lady Bear, the 6-0 forward hails from Parma, Italy. Young rounds out the freshman class. She is a native of St. Vincent, West Indies, but spent the last three seasons at Evangel Academy in Shreveport, La. An athletic 6-1 forward, Young was named all-state and District MVP while averaging 33 points and 26 rebounds a game as a senior. She earned several academic awards as well throughout her prep career.
Mulkey-Robertson and her staff have built a non-conference schedule that will prepare their inexperienced squad for the rigors of the Big 12. Non-conference road trips to Montana, California and Louisiana are sprinkled among eight home games. Then the Lady Bears will jump into 2003 and the second phase of their season, Big 12 Conference play.
