Feb. 15, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 23
Feb. 16 - 7:00 p.m. (CST)
#7/8 Baylor (19-3, 9-2) vs. Missouri (9-13, 3-8)
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
Video (BearCast) - live video stream at BaylorBears.com
#7/8 BAYLOR VS. MISSOURI...
The 7th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 19-3 on the season and 9-2 in league action, put their 14-game home win streak on the line when they play their second straight home game, hosting the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the Ferrell Center. The Tigers come into the contest with a 9-13 overall record and are 3-8 in Big 12 Conference action. The game is the first of four straight contests versus Big 12 North teams.
• Baylor has won 14 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 have a chance to win seven straight league games for the first time in school history. BU posted six straight league wins to close out its 2001-02 league slate and currently rides a six-game win streak. • BU needs one more victory to claim the program's fifth straight 20-win season, sixth 20-win season since the NCAA began sponsoring women's basketball in 1981-82 and 11th in school history.
• Baylor is off to its best-ever Big 12 start at 9-2. The Lady Bears posted a 6-4 record over their first 10 league games in 2002 and 2004. BU's 19-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 22 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport and second only to a 20-2 start to the 1975-76 season. That team opened at 28-2 and finished at 31-6. Previously, BU was 18-4 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish.
The Lady Bears enter the contest atop the Big 12 standings at 9-2 with a one-game lead over Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Texas, all of whom sit at 8-3.
Baylor comes into the game having won 19 of its last 21 games and six straight. 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, narrowly defeated Oklahoma (73-72) in Norman a week ago tonight and drubbed Oklahoma State 87-51 in Waco on Saturday.
National Player of the Year candidates Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with Young averaging 17.9 points and 9.5 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 15.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. Young is No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding and ranks No. 3 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 (19.9).
The Missouri Tigers enter the game on a two-game win streak having defeated Colorado (58-55) and Texas A&M (63-46). The first of the two wins broke an eight-game losing streak for the Tigers. Missouri is 9-13 on the season and 3-8 in Big 12 Conference action.
Center Christelle N'Garsanet, a 6-3 junior, leads the Tigers in both scoring and rebounding with 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. In addition, she is among the league's top six shot blockers with 33 on the season. Junior guard LaToya Bond averages 12.0 points and 4.7 rebounds while Tiffany Brooks, a 5-11 sophomore guard, completes the Tigers' double-digit scorers with 11.9 an outing.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey-Robertson...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson owns a 117-38 head coaching record which equates to a .755 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 every season, three times to the NCAA Tournament and to the 2003 WNIT finals. In 2004, the Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Mulkey-Robertson gained her 100th victory with a 66-49 win at Mississippi State on Nov. 23. She achieved the milestone in four seasons and three games (136 games).
Baylor year-by-year under Mulkey-Robertson:
2000-01 - 21-9 - NCAA, lost in first round (Arkansas)
2001-02 - 27-6 - NCAA, lost in second round (Drake)
2002-03 - 24-11 - WNIT, lost in finals (Auburn)
2003-04 - 26-9 - NCAA, lost in Sweet 16 (Tennessee)
2004-05 - 19-3 - Highest preseason ranking in school history (No. 8); highest ranking in program history (No. 2).
Mulkey-Robertson was named Baylor's fourth head coach on April 4, 2000. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame that same year. She was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in June of 2003.
Since taking over the Lady Bear program five years ago, Mulkey-Robertson has posted the best win total among Big 12 programs:
Baylor - 117-38
Oklahoma - 116-41
Texas Tech - 115-38
Texas - 115-41
Kansas State - 108-40
Colorado - 100-48
Iowa State - 96-49
Missouri - 79-44
Nebraska - 67-73
Oklahoma State - 55-84
Texas A&M - 56-78
Kansas - 48-79
*Baylor, Colorado, Texas Tech and Texas are the only Big 12 teams to win 20 or more games in each of the past four seasons (since 2000-01).
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 75-64 in Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's four years, Baylor is 48-27 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. The Lady Bears have won 21 of their last 29 regular season league games, including six straight.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 9-2
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 16 Baylor-Missouri contest marks the 12th meeting between the two squads with the Lady Bears holding an 8-3 series lead. Baylor owns a four-game win streak over the Tigers and leads the series 4-1 in games played at the Ferrell Center. Since the beginning of Big 12 competition, BU has won seven of the nine contests between the two schools. Missouri's lone win in Waco came on Jan. 2, 1990 by a score of 68-56.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 4-1 versus Missouri.
THE LAST MEETING...
Baylor posted an 83-59 win in Columbia, Mo., over the Missouri Tigers last season paced by Steffanie Blackmon's 22-point performance. Baylor hauled down an impressive 56 rebounds, the second-highest team total of the season, behind Sophia Young's 13 boards. Emily Niemann added 15 points for Baylor and Chameka Scott scored 11, behind 4-of-5 shooting. Baylor held the Tigers to 2-of-10 (.200) from 3-point range while shooting 6-of-13 (.462) on its end.
