Lady Bears Open Big 12 Conference Play
1/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 6, 2003
WACO, Texas -
UP NEXT ...
Baylor (11-1, 0-0) vs. Missouri (6-5, 0-0)
Wed., Jan. 8 - 7 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center (12,284)- Waco, Texas
COMING UP...
For the sixth time in seven seasons the Lady Bears will open the Big 12 Conference season at home when they host the Missouri Tigers on Wed., Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. in both teams' league opener.
Baylor brings an 11-1 record and a seven game winning streak into the contest while the Missouri Tigers are 6-5. The Tigers are coming off a 72-62 home victory on Sunday over the Saint Louis Billikens.
THE LADY BEARS...
Despite having a young squad, the Lady Bears are posting some impressive numbers.
As of Jan 6, 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 .444. Kansas State is Baylor's nearest competitor at .415. The Lady Bears also top the conference statistics in rebounding offense (44.9), assists (23.83) and assist/turnover ratio (1.49).
Baylor has five players that play 22 or more minutes a game shooting .500 or over for the season. Steffanie Blackmon leads at .583 followed by Melanie Hamerly (.561), Sophia Young (.551), Chelsea Whitaker (.528) and Stasha Richards (.500). In fact, Baylor's starting lineup's shooting percentage is 54.3 percent: Blackmon, Richards, Hamerly, Whitaker and Stratton (.480).
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) leads the Lady Bears and ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 in scoring with 20.3 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 11.4 while sophomore post Melanie Hamerly (Orange, Texas/Little Cypress/Mauriceville HS) follows closely with 11.3 an outing and junior guard Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) scores 10.8 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 8.4 an outing.
Chelsea Whitaker (Dallas/Skyline HS) leads the squad in assists with 5.75 a game. Stratton ranks in second with 5.33 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 12 games behind her, already has 34 blocks.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 SEASON OPENERS...
Baylor is 2-4 in Big 12 season openers. This season's league season opener will be Baylor's sixth season opener in the Ferrell Center in seven Big 12 campaigns. The Lady Bears are 2-3 at home in Big 12 season openers.
1996-97 Lost to #10 Texas Tech, 75-58 - Waco 1997-98 Defeated Kansas, 65-59 - Waco 1998-99 Lost to #8 Texas Tech, 51-49 - Waco 1999-00 Lost to Texas A&M, 62-59 - Waco 2000-01 Defeated Oklahoma State, 81-69 - Waco 2001-02 Lost to Kansas State, 75-69 - Manhattan, Kan.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 GAMES...
Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference the Lady Bears are 48-48 in league play. In Kim Mulkey-Robertson's two seasons as Baylor's head coach her teams have posted a 21-11 mark.
THE OPPONENT...
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers enter the game with a 6-5 record after posting a 72-62 home victory over Saint Louis University on Sunday afternoon. Junior forward Evan Unrau led Missouri in that game earning her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Tigers' other victories came over Southwest Missouri (68-52), Bradley (77-76), McNeese State (74-53), Northern Iowa (89-77) and IUPUI (73-45). Their five losses have come against SMU (72-70), UL-Lafayette (67-59), Austin Peay (66-53), Illinois (79-67) and Iowa (87-65).
The Tigers' projected starting lineup is a veteran one with four juniors and a senior. Junior forward Evan Unrau leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 15.1 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. She is followed by senior guard Kerensa Barr's 11.5 points a game. Junior forward Melanie Fisher ranks second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 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 58-16 in her two-plus seasons at Baylor.
Missouri's Cindy Stein (Illinois, 1984) is in her fifth season has the Tigers' head coach. She owns a career record of 73-57 at Mizzou. She is 138-82 in eight seasons as a head coach, spending three seasons as Emporia State's head coach prior to taking the reins at Missouri.
SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor vs. Missouri - Baylor leads the series 6-3 and leads 3-1 in games played in Waco. The Lady Bears have won the last two contests. The two teams have met seven times since the inception of the Big 12. Baylor owns a 5-2 margin in those seven games.
LAST MEETING...
Baylor posted an 80-58 victory in Tigers' Hearnes Center last season. In that contest Missouri's Evan Unrau posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Kerensa Barr scored 18 points and Tracy Lozier tallied nine points. For Baylor, returnees Steffanie Blackmon had 11 points and nine rebounds, Jessika Stratton scored nine points and Stasha Richards added six.
