Feb. 11, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 22
Feb. 12 - 1:06 p.m. (CST)
#7/8 Baylor (18-3, 8-2) vs. Oklahoma State (7-13, 2-8)
Ferrell Center (10,284) • Waco, Texas
RADIO
92.9 FM Waco
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
TELEVISION
FSNSW
Kevin Eschenfelder - Play-by-play
Debbie Antonelli - Color analyst
#7/8 BAYLOR VS. OKLAHOMA STATE...
The 7th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 18-3 on the season and 8-2 in league action, put their 13-game home win streak on the line when they host the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Ferrell Center in a nationally-televised contest. The Cowgirls come into the contest with a 7-13 overall record and are 2-8 in Big 12 Conference action.
Baylor has won 13 straight at home since the Texas Tech loss a year ago (Feb. 8), the Big 12's longest active homecourt win streak and tied for the 10th-best nationally.
The Lady Bears enter the contest atop the Big 12 standings, locked in a four-way tie for first with Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas Tech. All four teams sport identical 8-2 league marks.
Baylor comes into the game having won 18 of its last 20 games. After opening the season with a 71-70 loss to then-No. 3 and currently No. 1 LSU, Baylor posted consecutive wins over Indiana (60-47), Mississippi State (66-49), Sam Houston State (84-53), Rice (77-65), Jackson State (73-56), East Carolina (80-59), back-to-back Big Ten champion Penn State (91-70), Washington (74-58), Florida (89-62), Montana State (92-47), Texas A&M (64-50) and No. 7 Texas (63-60) before falling at Nebraska 103-99 in triple overtime. The Lady Bears got back on the winning track by defeating the University of Oklahoma (78-68) in Waco on Sunday, Jan. 16 but fell to Texas (69-55) in Austin on Jan. 22. Most recently, Baylor posted a 74-52 victory in Waco over Texas A&M, eeked out a 67-65 win at Oklahoma State, downed No. 15 Kansas State, 72-62, posted its first win in Lubbock since 1982 with a 52-49 victory last Saturday and narrowly defeated Oklahoma (73-72) in Norman on Wednesday.
Baylor is off to its best-ever Big 12 start at 8-2. The Lady Bears posted a 6-4 record over their first 10 league games in 2002 and 2004. BU's 18-3 overall record matches the school's best mark after 21 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport. BU was also 18-3 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish.
National Player of the Year candidates Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with Young averaging 17.6 points and 9.5 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 15.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. Young is No. 3 the Big 12 Conference in rebounding and ranks No. 4 in scoring, while Blackmon is seventh in both. In league games only, Young is the only player averaging a double-double. She ranks No. 1 in rebounding (10.2) and No. 3 in scoring (19.5).
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls enter the game having lost eight of their last 10 Big 12 contests. The Cowgirls are 7-13 on the season and 2-8 in Big 12 Conference action. However, three of OSU's four most recent games have been decided by three points or less, a 67-65 loss to Baylor, a 73-71 loss to Nebraska and a 57-54 victory over Kansas. OSU is winless on the road this season at 0-7.
Guard Nina Stone, a 5-7 senior, leads the Cowgirls in both scoring and rebounding with 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Taleesha Condor, a 6-0 freshman forward, ranks second in both categories with 10.7 points and 5.1 boards an outing.
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. The Lady Bears have steadily risen in the polls and achieved their highest-ever position, No. 2, Jan. 10. After posting two victories last week over No. 15 Kansas State and No. 12 Texas Tech, Baylor moved up to No. 7 in the Feb. 7 poll. Another historic milestone was reached by the Lady Bears as they received 12 first-place votes in the Jan. 10 AP poll. It was the first time Baylor received any first-place votes. Fourteen straight weeks and 14 total weeks in the top 10 are both continuing school records. The previous high was 11 which was achieved in the 2001-02 season. 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. In the Jan. 10 poll, Baylor jumped up two spots to No. 3 and is currently ranked No.8 by the coaches.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 ACTION...
The 2004-05 season marks the ninth year of competition for women's basketball in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor has a record of 74-64 in Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's four years, Baylor is 47-27 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. The Lady Bears have won 20 of their last 28 regular season league games.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 8-2
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 12 Baylor-Oklahoma State contest marks the 21th meeting between the two squads. With its two victories last season and one in Stilwater on Jan. 29, Baylor extended its series lead to 13-7. Baylor has won eight of the last 10 games between the two schools including four straight. Prior to the beginning of Big 12 competition in 1997, Baylor had played the Cowgirls once, an 82-71 win in Waco during the 1974-75 season. In games played in the Ferrell Center Baylor leads the series 9-1. OSU's lone Waco win came on Feb. 6, 1999, 58-56.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 7-2 versus Oklahoma State.
The Cowgirls' last victory over Baylor came on Feb. 19, 2003 in Stillwater when Oklahoma State prevailed 64-55. Baylor won by scores of 76-61 and 70-60 last season and 67-65 this season.
THE LAST MEETING...
Steffanie Blackmon made good on her chance to lift Baylor to victory. Blackmon was fouled under the basket with 0.9 seconds remaining and made both shots from the foul line as No. 7 Baylor fended off Oklahoma State 67-65 on Saturday, Jan. 29 in Stillwater. The Cowgirls' ensuing inbounds pass went out of bounds and Baylor ran out the final few ticks.
Emily Niemann led Baylor players in scoring with 19 points, including 15 from 3-point range. Sophia Young added 16 and Blackmon sorec 13 and hauled a game-high nine rebounds in the winning effort. Nine Stone went 7-of-13 from the floor to lead the Cowgirls with 20 points. She was the only OSU player to register double figures in the contest.
