March 31, 2003

Box Score?|? Notes

WACO, Texas - Behind a strong second half performance and 19 points and 14 rebounds from freshman forward Sophia Young, the Lady Bears defeated the Colorado State Rams 78-69 to advance to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Finals. Baylor will host Auburn in the championship game at 8 p.m. (CST) Friday, April 4 at the Ferrell Center.

The first half was close, but the Rams held the advantage for the majority of the period, leading by as many as eight, 25-17, with 7:41 remaining in the period. Colorado State held a slight 33-31 lead at the half, but the momentum turned early in the second period.

Just 1:38 into the second half, the Ram's Shannon Strecker was called for a foul on a rebound and put-back play by Steffanie Blackmon. The CSU bench was charged with a technical after the play, putting veteran guard Jessica Stratton on the line to shoot the bonus free throws. She nailed them both giving the Lady Bears a 36-35 lead, their first since holding a 4-2 advantage at the 18:53 mark of the first period. The Lady Bears never looked back from there, leading by as many as 15 points, 65-50, with 6:54 remaining.

The freshmen shined for the Lady Bears. Young recorded her 16th double-double of the season while Ebony Jackson also recorded a career-high 19 points. Stratton and Blackmon each added 15 for the Lady Bears.

Ashley Augspurger led the Rams with 15 points, and Jasai Ferrucho added 14. Strecker (11) and Joy Jenkins (10) also scored in double-figures for Colorado State.

Baylor started the second half with a 19-6 run to take the lead for good. The Rams pulled within seven at 68-61 with 2:24 to play, but the comeback bid fell short. The Lady Bears recorded 22 second-half rebounds and only committed four turnovers in the period to turn the game around.

Colorado State finishes the season with a record of 21-13. The Lady Bears improve to 24-10, advancing to the WNIT finals for the second time in the past six years.