Dec. 17, 2003
WACO, Texas -
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San Juan Shootout
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Mario Morales Coliseum - Guyanabo
Baylor (7-1) vs. UPR-Mayaguez
Saturday, Dec. 20 - 12 pm (CST)
Baylor vs. Eastern Michigan (5-1)
Sunday, Dec. 21 - 3 pm (CST)
Baylor vs. North Carolina State (5-3)
Monday, Dec. 22 - 3 pm (CST)
LADY BEARS VS. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD...
The Baylor Lady Bears hit the road for the third time this season to participate in the San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Joining the Lady Bears in the tournament are host UPR-Mayaguez, Eastern Michigan and North Carolina State.
GAINING GROUND IN THE POLLS...
In the latest Associated Press (AP) Poll, the Lady Bears received 37 votes, losing two votes after losing at No. 7 Penn State. They are four spots out of the top 25. The last time Baylor was listed in the AP Top 25 was at the end of the 2001-02 season when they were No. 7. Baylor received 14 votes in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
THE LADY BEARS...
The Lady Bears rebounded after their first loss of the season after posting a 6-0 mark to begin the 2003-04 campaign. They suffered a 74-63 defeat at the hands of seventh-ranked Penn State on the Lady Lions' home court, the Bryce Jordan Center then returned home to defeat Southeastern Louisiana 79-46. Baylor has also posted victories over Mississippi State (88-45), Nicholls State (93-44), Washington State (76-39), Pacific (88-51), Eastern Kentucky (96-75) and Rice (79-55).
Three players are averaging in double figures for Baylor. With a career-high 27 points against Washington State, sophomore post Sophia Young moved into the lead for the Lady Bears in scoring and rebounding average. Young followed that game with the 19th double-double of her career with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance against Pacific and produced another double-double against Eastern Kentucky (21p, 11r). She is averaging 18.0 points and 8.8 rebounds an outing. Steffanie Blackmon, a junior post, ranks second in both categories with 16.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. Freshman forward Emily Niemann is averaging 11.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a contest.
Baylor is outscoring their opponents by 29.1 points a game and are shooting .503 (258-513) on the season. The Lady Bears are holding their opponents to just 53.6 points a game and a .327 (150-459) shooting average. Baylor has shot .500 or above in six of the eight games this season.
THE COACHES...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, in her fourth season, has a 79-27 head coaching record which equates out to a .745 winning percentage. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition all three seasons, twice to the NCAA Tournament and to the finals of the WNIT last year.
Mulkey-Robertson's record (41-2) in regular season non-conference games by year is:
2000-01 - 11-0
2001-02 - 12-0
2002-03 - 11-1 (lost at Montana State, 75-66)
2003-04 - 7-1 (lost at Penn State, 74-63)
UPR-Mayaguez - no information available.
Eastern Michigan - Suzy Merchant is in her fifth season as Eastern Michigan's head coach and her in her ninth season as a head coach. Her record as the Eagles' head coach is 82-67 and she is 135-96 overall. Prior to taking over the reins at Eastern Michigan, Merchant spent three seasons as Saginaw Valley's head coach.
North Carolina State - The Wolfpack's head coach Kay Yow has amassed an overall record of 640-288 in her 32 years at Elon College and NC State. Yow has a record of 581-269 while coaching the Wolfpack women for 29 seasons. She is currently ranks as the fifth winningest active Division I women's basketball coach. Yow was selected for enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, June 5, 2002. She was also inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS...
Eastern Michigan - The Eagles are 5-1 on the season with wins over Lamar, Mercer, Butler, Florida International and Northwestern. Their lone loss came at the hands of Michigan State. Three players are scoring in double figures for Eastern Michigan. Sophomore forward Nikki Knapp leads the team at 15.8 points a game while junior guard Ryan Coleman scores 12.5 an outing. Erika Ford, a 5-8 guard, manages 11.2 a contest. Coleman and freshman forward Sarah Van Metre lead the team in rebounding at 8.0 a game apiece.
NC State - The Wolfpack Women enter the tournament with a 4-3 record. Their losses have come against Texas, Oregon and Georgia while they have posted victories over Loyola Marymount, Sacramento State, East Carolina and Indiana. Senior center Kaayla Chones is the only player averaging double-digit scoring at 15.7 a game. She also is the team's top rebounder with 6.0 a game.
THE SERIES RECORDS...
This will be the first meeting between Baylor and all three teams.
