Nov. 25, 2004
WACO, Texas -
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Game 4:
#9/12 Baylor (2-1) vs. Sam Houston St. (0-2)
Nov. 26, 2004 • 7:00 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) • Waco, Texas
RADIO
1660 AM - ESPN Radio
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
Video (BearCast) - live video stream at BaylorBears.com
#9/12 BAYLOR VS. SAM HOUSTON STATE...
Baylor will begin a two-game homestand as it hosts Sam Houston State on Friday, Nov. 26, followed by a Nov. 30 game against Rice in the Ferrell Center in Waco. Baylor, currently ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press' poll, No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll.
Baylor comes into the game at 2-1 after a 66-49 road win at Mississippi State while Sam Houston is 0-2 after losing road games to SMU (55-45) and TCU (88-63).
BAYLOR IN THE POLLS...
On Nov. 8 the Baylor Lady Bears achieved their highest preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll when they broke out of the gate at No. 8. Prior to that, Baylor's highest preseason ranking came in 1976-77 when it debuted at No. 13. In addition, the Lady Bears were ranked No. 8 in the season's first USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll, their highest-ever ranking by the coaches. Baylor remained at No. 8 in both polls for two weeks but slipped to No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the Coaches' poll this week.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey-Robertson...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson owns a 100-36 head coaching record which equates to a .735 winning percentage in her fifth season along the Lady Bear sideline. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her four years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition all four seasons, three times to the NCAA Tournament and to the WNIT finals. In 2004, the Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
DOUBLE TROUBLE...
The tandem of Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young in the paint has proven to be one of the most formidable inside duos in NCAA Division I. Last season the pair combined to average 32.3 points and 15.5 rebounds a game, which accounted for 39.7 percent of Baylor's scoring and rebounding. Over the past two seasons Blackmon has averaged 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds while Young has scored 15.5 a game and hauled down 9.3 boards over that same span. So far this season, the duo has scored 55.6 percent of the team's points, 109 of 196 points, registering double figures in all three games.
ONE YEAR OLDER...
Senior post Melanie Hamerly celebrated her 22nd birthday on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The next Lady Bear to celebrate a birthday will be Sophia Young, who will turn 21 on Dec. 15, the day the Lady Bears play at Washington.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT...
The Sam Houston State Bearkats are playing their third straight road game prior to hosting five home contests. The Bearkats are 0-2 after losing at SMU (55-45) and at TCU (88-63). Sam Houston State is led by junior forward Shauna Singleton's 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Sarah Hilton comes off the bench to score 10.0 a contest.
James "Wooly" Hatchell is in his second season as the Bearkats' head coach. He has a 7-23 career record after coming to the Huntsville campus from Rice where he served an an assistant coach for 10 seasons.
LAST MEETING...
Baylor and Sam Houston met last season in Waco (Jan. 2) with the Lady Bears posting a 100-47 win. Six players scored in double-digits for Baylor with former Lady Bear Jessika Stratton leading the way with 16. Sophia Young added 15, Emily Niemann scored 14, Chameka Scott tallied 12 and Chelsea Whitaker and Dionne Brown contributed 11 apiece. Baylor's .661 (41-62) shooting percentage ranks No. 2 all-time behind its .672 (39-58) effort versus Oklahoma on Feb. 1, 1998. Then-freshman Erica Parker led the Bearkats in scoring against Baylor with 12 points.
