Dec. 11, 2005
WACO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Game 8:
#5/5 Baylor (7-0) vs. McNeese State (3-4)
Dec. 13, 2005 • 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) • Waco, Texas
RADIO
Baylor/ISP Sports Network
KRZI/ESPN 1660 AM
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 (All-Access) - live video stream at BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR VS. MCNEESE STATE...
The Baylor Lady Bears, currently ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches polls, enter the contest with McNeese State with a 7-0 record and an NCAA Division I-best and school record 27-game win streak. En route to its perfect 2005-06 mark, Baylor has posted wins over No. 8 Georgia, UCLA, Indiana, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, California, Marshall and Washington.
The McNeese State Cowgirls come to Waco with a 3-4 mark and are fresh off a Saturday win at Jackson State. Valencia LeBlanc's layup with seven seconds left gave McNeese State a 53-52 victory over Jackson State. McNeese had to come back after letting an 11-point halftime lead slip away. McNeese led 31-22 at the half and held a 40-27 lead with 14:50 left in the game.
Jackson State went on a 17-1 run to take a 43-42 lead with eight minutes left in the game. Jackson State extended its lead to 48-44 with 5:00 left. McNeese went on a 6-4 run and a three-pointer by Regina Spivey cut the lead to 52-51 with :44 seconds left in the game. After a missed three-pointer by Jackson State's Angel Liddell, the Cowgirls came down and that's when Courtney Hollins found LeBlanc under the basket for the eventual game winning basket.
Spivey led the Cowgirls with 14 points and LeBlanc and Shamika Stewart added 10, respectively. Stewart led all players with nine rebounds.
THE COACHES...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her sixth season and owns a 138-38 head coaching record which equates to a .784 winning percentage. She has produced 20-win seasons in her each of her first five years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition, four times to the NCAA Tournament and to the finals of the WNIT, every year. In 2005, the Lady Bears claimed Baylor's and the Big 12's first NCAA basketball championship.
Carol Sensley is in her fifth season as the head coach of the McNeese State women's basketball team. She has guided Cowgirls to back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament appearances with a sixth place conference finish 1st season with an 8-8 SLC record. Sensley has compiled a McNeese State record of 39-78. Previously, she served as an assistant coach at Mississippi for two years (1999-2001) and was an assistant at McNeese State for five seasons (1994-99).
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor and McNeese State have met on 10 previous occasions. McNeese State holds a 6-4 series lead but Baylor has won the last two, most recently a 71-41 triumph in Waco on Nov. 20, 1999.
BAYLOR VERSUS THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE ...
Baylor will play two games against Southland Conference schools this season - McNeese State and Sam Houston State. Baylor owns a 65-35 record over Southland Conference schools. McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin are the only Southland Conference schools to own a series lead over Baylor.
BAYLOR'S RECRUITING CLASS TABBED NO. 1...
According to the All-Star Girls Report (ASGR), the Baylor Lady Bear women's basketball program ranks No. 1 in recent recruiting rankings. In addition, the Lady Bears sit at No. 4 in Scout.com's listing behind Southern California, Purdue and Stanford and are ranked No. 9 in Blue Star Basketball's report.
Baylor signed five (Jessika Bradley, Latara Darrett, Whitney Jones, Kaitlin Oberg, Danielle Wilson) in the early signing period (see page 10 for signee bios). In addition, the Lady Bears will add Florida transfer Bernice Mosby to the 2006-07 roster. The 6-1 senior forward is sitting out the 2005-06 season after averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds a game as a junior for the Gators.
ATTENDANCE RANKINGS...
In unofficial attendance rankings maintained by the University of Wisconsin, the Lady Bears currently rank No. 5 nationally with 7,416 fans a game. Ranking ahead of Baylor is Tennessee (12,201), Texas Tech (12,042), Connecticut (10,312) and New Mexico (8,698). Also, the Baylor-UCLA crowd of 9,065 currently ranks No. 11 in top single game attendance for the season.
Sophia Young CONSENSUS TOP FIVE PLAYER...
Sophia Young is a consensus top five player this season. She recently became Baylor basketball's first-ever AP Preseason All-American. In addition, Young has been named a top five player by numerous publications.
National Player of the Year candidate and senior tri-captain Sophia Young leads the Lady Bears in scoring (21.9 ppg), rebounding (11.6 rpg), minutes (32.9 mpg), offensive rebounds (21), defensive rebounds (60), field goals made (65) and attempted (113), while ranking No. 2 in field goal percentage (.575), assists (17), steals (11) and blocks (6) ... One of 30 top candidates for the 2005-06 Bayer Advantage ® Senior CLASS Award - the nation's premier tribute to college seniors ... Has scored in double figures in every game this season and 53 straight contests dating back to her sophomore campaign ... Netted a career-high tying 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against Georgia to post the first of her five double-doubles on year ... Also recorded double-doubles at Indiana (19 points and season-high 16 rebounds), vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-10), Cal (12-15) and Washington (24-10) ... Registered 26 points in a season-high 40 minutes against UCLA ... Ranks among Big 12's all-time leaders in double-doubles (No. 3, 49), rebounding (No. 4, 1,068), scoring (No. 8, 1,897) and steals (No. 9, 255) ... Surpassed the career 1,000-rebound mark with her 14-board effort against Georgia in the season-opener ... Stands No. 1 on Baylor's all-time field goal percentage (.548) and double-double (49, tied) lists, is No. 4 in rebounding (1,068), scoring (1,897) and games started (100), T-No. 6 in blocks (104) ... Has drawn 94 consecutive starts ... Scored in double figures in 104 of 113 career games with 34 performances of 20 or more points ... Also has 50 career double-digit rebound games to her credit ... In Baylor's school-record 27-game win string, she's averaged 20.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game ... Shot just 36.4 percent (4-for-11) at the foul line over season's first two games, but has hit 67.9 percent (19-of-28) the past five contests ... Named Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 25.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in BU's three season-opening wins over Georgia, UCLA and Indiana ... Played 30 or more minutes five times on year.
