March 17, 2002
GAME: No. 7 Drake (24-7) vs. No. 2 Baylor (27-5).
REGIONAL: East Regional, Second Round.
TIME: Sunday, 7:36 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Ferrell Center, Waco, Tex.
Winning its first-ever NCAA tournament game was quite an accomplishment for Baylor.
But the Lady Bears are far from satisfied.
Baylor hopes to resume its newfound postseason success as it takes on Drake in an East Regional second-round encounter Sunday that will send the winner to the Sweet Sixteen.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson led the Bears to their first NCAA tournament appearance last year, but her team was sent home early, suffering a 68-59 first-round loss to Arkansas.
The Bears did not experience another letdown on Friday, coasting to an 80-56 rout of 15th-seeded Bucknell before a crowd of 9,844 fans on their home floor.
Steffanie Blackmon had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Sheila Lambert added 17 points for the Bears, who have won 19 consecutive non-conference games at the Ferrell Center.
Lambert, a senior, indicated that she won't be satisfied until that streak reaches 20 with a victory over Drake on Sunday.
"I didn't come into this thinking about what happened last year," said Lambert. "That game we just played (Friday) is over and it's time to move on to the next game. So yeah, Drake will definitely be on my mind."
Mulkey-Robertson admitted that the Bears did not reveal their entire arsenal against Bucknell, opting instead to hold back some of their more complex schemes for the second round.
"The less offense you can show in a game like that, the harder you are to scout," said Mulkey-Robertson. "So that's probably why it looked ugly. But I shouldn't say it wasn't pretty. We won by 20-something points."
Drake posted its first NCAA tournament win since 1995 with an easy 87-69 triumph over Syracuse on Friday.
Maureen Head scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting as the Bulldogs posted their 12th win in 13 games overall. Head helped the Bulldogs to a blistering 57 percent shooting performance, including an 8 of 15 performance from 3-point range.
Like Mulkey-Robertson, Drake coach Lisa Stone has orchestrated quite a turnaround during her two-year tenure at the school. The Bulldogs boast a 47-14 mark with Stone at the helm while the Bears are 48-14 under Mulkey-Robertson.
Only one of the coaches will be able to boast about a Sweet Sixteen berth after Sunday.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Drake - F Head (7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg), F Erin Richards (11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg), C Carla Bennett (15.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg), G Stephanie Schmitz (13.1 ppg, 4.8 apg), G Jayme Anderson (12.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg). Baylor - F Danielle Crockrom (17.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg), F Stasha Richards (3.4 ppg, 2.1 apg), C Brooke McCormack (5.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G Nicole Collins (3.7 ppg, 3.6 apg), G Lambert (19.9 ppg, 6.1 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Drake - At-large bid, Missouri Valley Conference, defeated Syracuse 87-69, first round. Baylor - At-large bid, Big 12 Conference, defeated Bucknell 80-56, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Drake - 5-8, 9 years. Baylor - 1-1, 2 years.
