Nov. 25, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 5:
#5/5 Baylor (4-0) vs. California (4-1)
Nov. 26, 2005 • 1:30 p.m.
Game 6:
#5/5 Baylor (4-0) vs. Marshall (2-1)
Nov. 27, 2005 • 1:30 p.m.
Caribbean Classic • Riviera Maya, Mexico
Aventura Spa Palace Resort
THE CARIBBEAN CLASSIC...
The Baylor Lady Bears have traveled south of the border to take part in the 2005 Caribbean Classic in Riviera Maya, Mexico where it will take on the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (CST). Baylor will then face the Marshall Thundering Herd on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (CST).
The Caribbean Classic was originally scheduled to be held in Cancun, but damage caused by Hurricane Wilma pushed the event 40 miles south to Riviera Maya. All games will be held at the Aventura Spa Palace Resort. Arizona State, North Carolina, TCU and Mississippi State are also participating in the Caribbean Classic.
Baylor's games with California and Marshall will be the second meeting with each team. The Lady Bears, 4-0, come into the contest riding an NCAA Division I-best 24-game win streak, while the Cal Golden Bears sport a 4-1 record after defeating Marshall on Thanksgiving evening, 62-53. Marshall enters the contest with a 2-1 record after the Cal game. The Lady Bears are seeking their fifth 5-0 start in head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson's six seasons at Baylor.
Caribbean Classic Schedule
Thursday - Nov. 24
Cal 62, Marshall 53
Friday - Nov. 25
Arizona State vs. North Carolina - 1:30 p.m.
TCU vs. Mississippi State - 4 p.m.
Saturday - Nov. 26
Baylor vs. Cal - 1:30 p.m.
North Carolina vs. TCU - 4 p.m.
Mississippi State vs. Arizona State - 7 p.m.
Sunday - Nov. 27
Marshall vs. Baylor - 1:30 p.m.
10-DAY WHIRLWIND...
Beginning with the Nov. 18 contest with UCLA, the Lady Bears will play five games, one-half of their pre-Big 12 Conference schedule, in a 10-day span. Immediately after last Friday (Nov. 18) night's game against UCLA (93-85), the Lady Bears boarded a charter plane to travel to Bloomington, Ind., to play a Saturday game at Indiana (w, 74-62). Baylor then returned home to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday (Nov. 22) and posted a 92-64 win. Early the next morning the team departed Waco to fly to Riviera Maya, Mexico, to participate in the Cancun Classic over the Thanksgiving holidays. While in Mexico, the Lady Bears will take on California and Marshall.
24-GAME WIN STREAK...
The Lady Bears enter the Cal contest sporting the nation's longest win streak, a school-record 24-game string. Baylor's last loss came on Jan. 22, 2005, in Austin, Texas when the Texas Longhorns handed the Lady Bears a 69-55 loss. Baylor would then go on to reel off 20 straight wins in 2005, including victories over three No.1 NCAA Tournament seeds, North Carolina, LSU and Michigan State, to claim its first national title. The Lady Bears extended the win streak to 24 games by defeating Georgia in their season opener, 84-72, as part of the State Farm Tip-Off Classic, UCLA (93-85), Indiana (74-62) and Texas A&M-CC (92-64).
THE OPPONENTS...
California raised its season record to 4-1 with a 62-53 win over Marshall in the opening game of the Caribbean Classic on Thanksgiving evening. Freshman guard Jene Morris scored a career-high 19 points in to lead the Bears. Senior forward Renee Wright tallied the second double-double of her career with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance and freshman Ashley Walker added 12 points.
In cumulative statistics prior to the Marshall game, Walker led the team in scoring at 16.5 a contest while Morris followed with 10.7, Alexis Gray-Lawson averaged 10.5 and Devanei Hampton managed 10.3. Wright is the team's leading rebounder with 9.8 a game followed by Hampton's 6.7.
The loss to Cal dropped the Marshall Thundering Herd's record to 2-1 on the season. After trailing Cal 26-24 at halftime, Marshall began the second half on an 11-3 run to take the lead. The Bears answered with an 11-1 run of their own to reclaim the lead and cruise to victory. Senior center Mudupe Ishola led Marshall with 16 points.
On the season Ishola leads the Herd in scoring and rebounding at 16.5 points and 9.0 boards a game. She is followed by senior guard Sikeetha Shepard-Hall's 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds and outing.
THE COACHES...
Cal is under the direction of first-year head coach Joanne Boyle, who directed the Richmond Spiders (2002-05) to three consecutive 20-plus win seasons and three postseason appearances, before accepting the job in Berkeley. She compiled a 67-29 record with the Spiders, including last season's NCAA berth. Prior to Richmond, the Philadelphia native spent nine years at Duke as an assistant coach. Her career record now stands at 71-30.
Marshall's Royce Chadwick, in his 22nd season as a head coach, is a familiar name among Texas women's basketball circles. Prior to taking over head coaching duties at Marshall, Chadwick led a highly-successful Stephen F. Austin program and before that was at Sam Houston State. Chadwick claims 460 wins against 191 losses for a .707 career winning percentage. His15-year NCAA Division I record stands at 273-144.
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor has played Cal and Marshall once each. Cal defeated BU on Feb. 2, 1981, 81-72, as part of the National Women's Invitational Tournament (Amarillo, Texas).
Baylor and Marshall haven't faced each other since the 1989-90 season when the Thundering Herd posted an 82-71 win on Dec. 2, 1989. That game, in Cookeville, Tenn., was part of the Tennessee Tech-hosted Golden Eagle Classic.
BAYLOR VERSUS THE PAC-10, CONFERENCE USA...
Baylor will play three games against Pac-10 schools this season - UCLA, California and Washington. Baylor extended its series record lead over Pac-10 schools to 10-8, including eight straight wins, with its 93-85 win over UCLA on Nov. 18. BU head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 8-0 versus Pac-10 schools.
Marshall, a former member of the Mid-American Conference, moved to the revamped Conference USA in 2005-06. Marshall, Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and UTEP joined East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane and UAB to form the new 12-member conference.
Baylor is 52-76 versus Conference USA teams.
