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Dec. 17, 2002
WACO, Texas -
UP NEXT...
Baylor (8-1) vs. UCLA (4-3)
Thurs., Dec. 19 - 9 p.m. (CST)
Pauley Pavilion (12,650)
Los Angeles, Calif.
COMING UP...
Only three games, one on the road and two at home, remain on the Lady Bears' non-conference schedule. Baylor will travel to southern California for a game with UCLA (Dec. 19) and will host Mercer (Dec. 28) and North Texas (Dec. 30).
THE LADY BEARS...
The Lady Bears bring a 8-1 record into the game against UCLA after dominating UT-Pan American (89-40) on Mon., Dec. 16 in Waco. After shooting 51.7 percent from the floor on Monday night, the Lady Bears have shot better than 50 percent in four of their six home games.
On the season the Lady Bears are shooting an impressive 51.0 percent (291-571) from the floor and are 44.7 percent (46-103) from 3-point range.
In addition, Baylor has blocked 79 shots on the season for an average of 8.8 a game. Through nine games last season the Lady Bears had blocked only 45 shots.
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) leads the Lady Bears in scoring with 20.4 points a game. Three others are averaging in double-digits as well. Sophomore post Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas/Little Cypress/Mauriceville HS) averages 11.2 a game. Freshman Sophia Young (St. Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Academy, Shreveport, La.) follows closely with 10.3 an outing and junior guard Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) scores 10.0 a contest.
Young, a 6-0 freshman, is the Lady Bears' leading rebounder grabbing 9.1 a game. Steffanie Blackmon is close behind with 8.0 an outing.
Chelsea Whitaker (Dallas/Skyline HS) leads the squad in assists with 6.67 a game. Stratton ranks in second with 4.67 a contest.
Hamerly, a 6-5 sophomore, has blocked 30 shots so far this season, far outdistancing her 16 of last year. She averages 3.33 rejections a game. In fact, Steffanie Blackmon was Baylor's top shot blocker last season and she registered 38 for the season. Hamerly, with just nine games under her belt, already has 30 blocks.
Steffanie Blackmon scored a career-high 30 points against Southeastern Louisiana. She is the first Baylor player this season to hit the 30-point mark. In addition, Chelsea Whitaker hauled down a career-high and team-high eight rebounds against Southeastern Louisiana. She narrowly missed a triple-double against the Lady Lions with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Sophia Young recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Grambling. In addition, Steffanie Blackmon produced her fourth 20-plus point production of the season against the Lady Tigers.
Freshman guard Ebony Jackson (Arlington/Sam Houston HS) came off the bench and had a career night, scoring a season/career high 17 points to lead the Lady Bears against UT-Pan American. She bested her previous high of six points by halftime, when she already had 10 points. She also set a season/career high with five steals, the most by a Baylor player this year.
THE OPPONENT...
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins will be playing just their second home game of the season when they take on the Lady Bears in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are 4-3 on the season and 1-0 at home. They have posted victories over Sacramento State (106-43), Northwestern State (82-74), UNLV (72-64) and St. Mary's College (72-60) and have suffered losses to Hawaii (70-66), Georgia (91-83) and Pepperdine (88-67).
Fifth-year senior Michelle Greco, a 5-9 guard, leads the Bruins in scoring with 19.1 a game. Also checking in with double figures is 5-8 freshman guard Nikki Blue with 14.0 a game and 6-2 freshman forward Julia Pitts at 11.1. Pitts leads UCLA in rebounding with 6.4 a game while Blue is right behind her at 5.4.
THE COACHES...
In just her third season as Baylor's head coach, Kim Mulkey-Robertson has led the Lady Bears to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, a final national ranking of No. 7 last season and a second place finish in the highly-competitive Big 12 Conference. The 2000 inductee to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame has a career record of 56-16 in her two-plus seasons at Baylor.
UCLA's Kathy Olivier (UNLV, 1982) is in her 10th season as the Bruins' head coach and her 17th season overall on the Westwood campus. She is 134-131 in her tenure with the Bruins.
SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor vs. UCLA - The series is tied at 2-2. The two teams have alternated winning.
LAST MEETING...
Dec. 16, 2002 in Waco - Baylor posted a 92-59 victory over the Bruins in Waco last season. Jessika Stratton is the only returning Lady Bear to post double digit scoring in that game for Baylor. She contributed 10. For the Bruins, returnees Whitney Jones and Jalina Bradley posted 14 and 12 points, respectively. UCLA was without Michelle Greco who sat out last season as a medical redshirt (recurring concussions).
