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Jan. 10, 2003
WACO, Texas -
UP NEXT...
Baylor (12-1, 1-0) vs. #8Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0)
Sat., Jan. 11 - 2 p.m. (CST)
United Spirit Arena (15,050) - Lubbock, Texas
COMING UP...
Baylor and #8Texas Tech both bring identical 12-1 records into the contest . The Lady Bears have an eight game winning streak going while Texas Tech has reeled off 12 straight victories after their season opening loss to Louisiana Tech. This will be Texas Tech's first Big 12 game at home after posting a 77-56 victory over Texas A&M in their Big 12 opener on Wednesday in College Station. Baylor will hit the road to Lubbock after posting a 71-65 victory over Missouri in Waco on Wednesday night.
This contest will match two teams that rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big 12 in four team categories:
FG pct. defense - Baylor No. 1 (.315) and Texas Tech No. 2 (.349)
Rebounding offense - TT No. 1 (44.6), BU No. 2 (44.2)
Blocked shots - TT No. 1 (8.08), BU No. 2 (7.62)
Assist/Turnover ratio - BU No. 1 (1.50), TT No. 2 (1.30)
THE LADY BEARS...
Despite having a young squad, the Lady Bears are posting some impressive numbers.
As of Jan 9, Baylor is leading the Big 12 in field goal percentage at .517, outdistancing No. 2 Kansas State at .504. The Lady Bears also lead the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at .448. Kansas State is Baylor's nearest competitor at .425. The Lady Bears also top the conference statistics in assists (23.38) and assist/turnover ratio (1.50).
Baylor has five players that play 20 or more minutes a game shooting .500 or over for the season. Sophia Young leads at .583 followed by Steffanie Blackmon (.563), Melanie Hamerly (.545), Chelsea Whitaker (.513) and Jessika Stratton (.500). In fact, Baylor's starting lineup's shooting percentage is 52.9 percent: Blackmon, Hamerly, Whitaker and Richards (.468).
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) leads the Lady Bears and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring with 20.4 points a game. Three others are averaging in double-digits as well. Freshman Sophia Young (St. Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Academy, Shreveport, La.) ranks second at 12.2 while junior guard Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) follows closely with 11.1 an outing and sophomore post Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas/Little Cypress/Mauriceville HS) scores 10.4 a contest.
Young, a 6-1 freshman, is the Lady Bears' leading rebounder grabbing 9.7 a game. Young ranks first in rebounding and steals and second in scoring and blocked shots among Big 12 Conference freshmen. Young also leads all Big 12 players in rebounding. Steffanie Blackmon is close behind Young with 8.2 an outing.
Chelsea Whitaker (Dallas/Skyline HS) leads the squad in assists with 5.77 a game. Stratton ranks in second with 5.15 a contest. Stratton dished out a career-high 13 assists against Mercer and Whitaker has had three games where she tallied nine assists.
Hamerly, a 6-5 sophomore, has blocked 34 shots so far this season, far outdistancing her 16 of last year. She averages 2.83 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 13 games behind her, already has 34 blocks.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 GAMES...
Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference the Lady Bears are 49-48 in league play. In Kim Mulkey-Robertson's two seasons as Baylor's head coach her teams have posted a 22-11 mark.
THE OPPONENT...
Texas Tech Lady Raiders
The Texas Tech Lady Raiders enter the game with a 12-1 season record and are 1-0 in the Big 12 after posting a 77-56 road victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday evening. Senior forward Plenette Pierson scored 25 points to lead the Lady Raiders over Texas A&M. Pierson missed her first two shots of the game. But with Tech holding a 7-6 lead, the senior forward scored the Red Raiders' next 10 points. Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) took a 41-21 lead at halftime, helped by Pierson's 17 points. The Lady Raiders lone loss this season came in their season opener when they lost to Louisiana Tech 85-76 in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. Since then they have reeled off 12 consecutive wins.
Three Lady Raiders are averaging in double figures in scoring. Plenette Pierson leads the way with 18.1 points. Junior guard Jia Perkins scores 16.6 an outing and sophomore center Cisti Greenwalt averages 10.8 a game. Pierson and Greenwalt ranks 1 and 2 on the squad in rebounding at 7.3 and 6.6, respectively.
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 60-16 in her two-plus seasons at Baylor.
Texas Tech's Marsha Sharp (Wayland Baptist, 1974) is in her 21st season has the Lady Raiders' head coach. She owns a career record of 491-154 at Texas Tech.
SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor vs. Texas Tech - Texas Tech leads the series 42-10. The Lady Raiders lead 21-2 in games played in Lubbock. Baylor's two victories in Lubbock came on Jan. 23, 1982 (66-65) and Jan. 22, 1977 (110-56). After losing to Texas Tech 39 straight times, the Lady Bears bested Texas Tech 2-1 in games played last season. The Lady Raiders took the first game in Lubbock (83-63) but Baylor rebounded and won the next two: 85-69 in Waco and 75-60 in the Big 12 Tournament. Prior to Baylor's Waco victory, the Lady Bears hadn't posted a win over Texas Tech since March 11, 1983.
