Jan. 8, 2003

Box Score

WACO, Texas - Missouri led by as many as seven points early in the contest, but a 3-pointer by Stasha Richards with just under ten and a half minutes to play gave the Lady Bears their first lead of the night and a jumper by Sophia Young a minute later gave Baylor the lead for good as the Lady Bears downed the Missouri Tigers 71-65 tonight at the Ferrell Center. Baylor improves to 12-1, 1-0 in Big 12 play.

Freshman sensation Sophia Young had a stellar performance. In her first contest against a Big 12 opponent, Young scored a career-best 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor. She also snagged a team-best 10 rebounds to record her seventh double-double in 13 career games. Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon also scored 22 points and junior Jessika Stratton added 14 for the Lady Bears, who have had at least three players in double figures in every contest this season.

The Lady Bears held a 37-25 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 14 twice during the second half. The Tigers made a late run holding the Lady Bears without a field goal in the last 5:27 and managed to pull within five points, but it was not enough as Baylor hit the crucial free-throws down the stretch to hold off the comeback to emerge victorious.

Baylor was out-rebounded for the first time this season as Missouri grabbed 39 rebounds and the Lady Bears snagged 36 boards. Baylor doubled Missouri in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 48-to-24. The Lady Bear bench doubled the Tiger reserves outscoring them 26-13. The six-point victory was Baylor's first win of the season that was not by double-figures.

The Lady Bears travel to Texas Tech on Saturday (Jan. 11) and Texas (Jan. 18) before returning home to host Texas A&M on January 22.