Dec. 14, 2005
WACO, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
#5/5 Baylor (8-0) vs. Army (4-4)
Dec. 17, 2005 • 2 p.m. (CST)
Christl Arena (5,043) • West Point, N.Y.
RADIO
Baylor/ISP Sports Network
KRZI/ESPN 1660 AM
John Morris - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR VS. ARMY...
The Baylor Lady Bears, currently ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches polls, enter the contest at Army with an 8-0 record and an NCAA Division I-best and school record 28-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, Washington and McNeese State. Baylor is 8-0 for the first time since 2001-02, the third time under head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson and the fifth time in school history.
Baylor's trip to West Point, N. Y., marks its fourth road trip of the season after jaunts to Lubbock, Texas (State Farm Tip Off Classic), Indiana and Cancun, Mexico. The game at Army puts Baylor's 18-game road win streak on the line. The Lady Bears' last road loss came at Texas on Jan. 22, 2005, which was also its last loss on any court.
Senior forward Sophia Young, national player of the year candidate, leads Baylor in both scoring and rebounding at 20.8 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. Sophomore point guard Angela Tisdale, currently sitting out a three-game suspension, ranks second on the squad in scoring at 15.7 an outing. Junior forward Abiola Wabara completes BU's double-digit season scoring trio at 12.0 a contest and she ranks second among Lady Bears in rebounding at 6.6 a game.
The Army Black Knights come into Saturday's game with a 4-4 season record and well-rested after a nine-day break. The Cadets, playing their fifth home game, have posted wins over Coast Guard (103-51), Cal State Fullerton (80-79), Albany (72-60) and Central Connecticut State (65-63). Their four losses have come against St. John's (74-55), Manhattan (72-65), Cornell (64-61) and Princeton (73-52).
28-GAME WIN STREAK...
The Lady Bears enter the Army contest sporting the nation's longest win streak, a school-record 28-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 28 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), Texas A&M-CC (92-64), California (75-58), Marshall (74-47), Washington (81-74) and McNeese State (72-36).
THE OPPONENT...
The Army Black Knights come into Saturday's game with a 4-4 season record and well-rested after a nine-day break. The Cadets, playing their fifth home game, have posted wins over Coast Guard (103-51), Cal State Fullerton (80-79), Albany (72-60) and Central Connecticut State (65-63). Their four losses have come against St. John's (74-55), Manhattan (72-65), Cornell (64-61) and Princeton (73-52).
The Cadets' starting lineup features one senior, two juniors and two sophomores. Sophomore Cara Enright, a 5-10 guard who leads the Patriot League in scoring, leads the team in scoring and rebounding, popping in 17 points and hauling down 5.3 boards a game. Erin Begonia, a 5-7 junior guard, ranks second in scoring at 9.1 a game and dishes out a team-high 3.0 assists a contest.
THE COACHES...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her sixth season and owns a 139-38 head coaching record which equates to a .785 winning percentage. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her first five years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition every year, four times to the NCAA Tournament and to the finals of the WNIT. In 2005, the Lady Bears claimed Baylor's and the Big 12's first NCAA basketball championship.
Maggie Dixon is in her first season as Army's head coach after serving five seasons as an assistant at DePaul. Dixon, a 1999 graduate of the University of San Diego, joined Doug Bruno's staff at DePaul in 2000 as director of basketball operations and moved into an assistant coaching position during the summer of 2001. Prior to taking over the reins at Army, she was the Blue Demons' recruiting coordinator and Bruno's top assistant.
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor and Army have met on one previous occasions. Baylor leads the series 1-0 by virtue of an 83-47 triumph in Waco on Dec. 29, 1995.
BAYLOR VERSUS THE PATRIOT LEAGUE ...
Baylor holds a 2-1 series advantage versus teams from the Patriot League. Baylor posted an 80-56 victory over Bucknell on March 15, 2002 (first round of the NCAA Tournament) and triumphed over Army in 1995 (see above). The Lady Bears' lone loss to a Patriot League opponent came on Jan. 1, 1993, when they dropped an 81-71 decision to Navy as part of the Central Florida Holiday Classic in Orlando.
