Women's Hoops Game Preview
12/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Dec. 27, 2002
WACO, Texas -
UP NEXT...
Baylor (9-1) vs. Mercer University (0-7)
Sat., Dec. 28 - 7 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
Baylor vs. North Texas (4-4)
Mon., Dec. 30 - 6 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
COMING UP...
Only two games, both at home, remain on the Lady Bears' non-conference schedule. Baylor will host Mercer (Dec. 28) and North Texas (Dec. 30) prior to their Big 12 Conference opener against Missouri on Wed., Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.
TWO FOR ONE...
The game against North Texas will be a Baylor/North Texas men's and women's doubleheader. The Lady Bears take on the Lady Eagles at 6 p.m. followed by the Bears and the Eagles at 8 p.m.
Fans who attend the Lady Bear game will receive free admission to the Bears' game that immediately follows the women's game.
THE LADY BEARS...
The Lady Bears bring a 9-1 record into the game after posting an impressive come-from-behind road victory over UCLA 89-77. Baylor trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half. They tied the game with 10:33 left then took the lead for good at the 10:16 mark. They eventually extended the lead to 13 before posting a 12-point victory. The Lady Bears shot over 50 percent (58.1) for the seventh time this season and out-rebounded the Bruins 45-26 in the victory. Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young each hauled down 13 rebounds which matched UCLA's team total in rebounding (26). Baylor had six players score in double figures for the third time this season.
On the season the Lady Bears are shooting a league leading and impressive 51.7 percent (327-633) from the floor and are 46.2 percent (54-117) from 3-point range.
In addition, Baylor has blocked 82 shots on the season for an average of 8.2 a game. Through 10 games last season the Lady Bears had blocked only 52 shots.
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) leads the Lady Bears in scoring with 20.6 points a game. Three others are averaging in double-digits as well. Sophomore post Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas/Little Cypress/Mauriceville HS) averages 10.7 a game. Freshman Sophia Young (St. Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Academy, Shreveport, La.) follows closely with 10.5 an outing and junior guard Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) scores 10.2 a contest.
Young, a 6-1 freshman, is the Lady Bears' leading rebounder grabbing 9.5 a game. Steffanie Blackmon is close behind with 8.4 an outing. Both players posted double-doubles against UCLA. Blackmon has 23 points and 13 rebounds and Young scored 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Chelsea Whitaker (Dallas/Skyline HS) leads the squad in assists with 6.50 a game. Stratton ranks in second with 4.50 a contest.
Hamerly, a 6-5 sophomore, has blocked 31 shots so far this season, far outdistancing her 16 of last year. She averages 3.1 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 10 games under her belt, already has 31 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.
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...
Mercer University Bears The Mercer University Bears, at 0-7, are winless under first year head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols. They have suffered losses to: Lipscomb (70-58 & 79-52), Michigan State (81-62), Tennessee State (79-65), Georgia Tech (96-50), Southern Illinois (62-59) and Long Beach State (77-68).
Lee Lee Cannon, a 5-8 junior guard who just became eligible at the semester break, has averaged 14.0 points and 21.5 minutes a game in the two games she's played in. The only other Bear scoring in double figures is 5-9 senior guard April Dyer with 13.6 a game. Dyer also leads Mercer in rebounding with 6.0 a game.
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 57-16 in her two-plus seasons at Baylor.
Mercer's Brenda Welch-Nichols (Sam Houston State, 1987) was named the program's seventh head coach on April 23, 2002. This is her first head coaching stint at the Division I level. Prior to coming to Mercer, Welch-Nichols was an assistant coach at the University of South Alabama.
SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor vs. Mercer - Baylor leads the series 1-0. The Lady Bears posted a 71-53 victory over Mercer on Nov. 28, 1998 in Tampa, Fla., as part of the South Florida Tournament.
