March 7, 2002
KANSAS CITY - Big 12 Tournament
Municipal Auditorium - Kansas City, Mo.
Semifinals, March 7
Game 9: Oklahoma vs. Kansas State, 6 p.m. [FSN]
Game 10: Game 7 Winner Baylor vs. Game 8 Winner, 8:30 p.m. [FSN]
Championship, March 9
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 6 p.m. [FSN]
Semifinals, March 7
#7/#7 Baylor Lady Bears (25-4, 12-4) vs. #11 Iowa State (23-7, 9-7)
Thurs., Mar. 7, 8:30 p.m. Fox Sports Network
COMING UP...
The Lady Bears, currently 25-4, 12-4, have won 12 of their last 13 games which includes recent victories over #15 Texas Tech, Texas A&M, #18 Texas, #11 Colorado, Oklahoma State and #11 Iowa State and #17 Texas Tech. They are winners of seven straight games.
* Baylor has never before advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
* Baylor has won seven straight games. Last loss was Feb. 5 at Oklahoma (69-60).
* After starting off league play at 1-3, Baylor has won 12 of their last 13 games.
* Sheila Lambert, in only two seasons, can move into the No. 3 spot on Baylor's career assist list with just three more assists. She currently has 360.
* Lambert needs just five assists to break her single season assist mark of 182, set last season.
* Danielle Crockrom needs only two more points to move into No. 3 in career scoring at Baylor. She has 1,720 points.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor, 25-4, 14-4, after posting seven straight wins, moved up one spot in the Associated Press Poll, they are now No. 7 in the AP poll. The Lady Bears started the season ranked No. 14. Baylor also moved up one to No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. The No. 7 ranking in the AP poll ties the program's high and this is the highest ranked Baylor's been ranked by the coaches.
Twenty-nine games into the season the Lady Bears are led by all-American candidates seniors Sheila Lambert (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth HS) and Danielle Crockrom (Houston/North Shore HS). Lambert leads the way with 20.2 points per game, while Crockrom follows at 17.3. Crockrom leads the team in rebounding at 9.2 an outing. Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) follows with 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT...
With the victory over Texas Tech, the Lady Bears are now 3-5 in Big 12 Tournament games. This was the first time Baylor has received a first round bye and will be the first time they've advanced to the semifinals. Prior to this season's No. 2 seed, the highest the Lady Bears had ever been seeded was No. 6 (1998 & 2001).
1997 - defeated Oklahoma State, 68-62, lost to Kansas 66-54
1998 - lost to Kansas State 71-66 OT
1999 - lost to Missouri 60-55
2000 - lost to Nebraska 82-61
2001 - defeated Kansas State 60-44, lost to Iowa State 73-48
2002 - defeated Texas Tech 75-60
THE OPPOSITION...
No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State, 21-6 and 9-6, has won seven of their last nine games, including a 58-56 thriller over No. 10 Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones suffered a 95-91 loss in Ames to Baylor on Feb. 27.
Angie Welle, a 6-4 senior post, leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 20.5 and 11.1, respectively. Junior guard Lindsey Wilson ranks second in scoring at 19.4 a game. Senior guard Tracy Gahan completes the Cyclones' double figure scoring with 14.6 a game. She also pulls down 7.4 rebounds a game.
THE COACHES...
Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her second year as a head coach after guiding the Lady Bears to a 21-9 record and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament in her inaugural season. The Lady Bears enjoyed tremendous improvement last season over Baylor's 7-20 record of 1999-2000. Her career record is 46-13 (.780).
Iowa State is coached by Bill Fennelly. He is in his seventh season as the Cyclones' head coach. Fennelly is 161-57 (.739) in his seven seasons at Iowa State and is 327-110 (.748) in 14 years as a head coach.
SERIES RECORD...
This will be the eighth meeting between the two schools, all games have come since the formation of the Big 12. Iowa State leads the series, 4-3, and is 1-0 in neutral court games.
