Feb. 18, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 24
Feb. 19 - 2:00 p.m. (CST)
#7/8 Baylor (20-3, 10-2) vs. #19/18 Iowa State (19-4, 9-3)
Ferrell Center (10,284) • Waco, Texas
RADIO
1660 AM ESPN 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. #19/18 IOWA STATE...
The 7th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 20-3 on the season and 10-2 in league action, put their 15-game home win streak on the line when they play their third straight home game, hosting the 19th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Ferrell Center. The Cyclones come into the contest with a 19-4 overall record and are 9-3 in Big 12 Conference action. The game is the second of four straight contests versus Big 12 North teams for the Lady Bears.
The game features two of the Big 12's top offensive teams. Iowa State (78.6) and Baylor (74.5) rank No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, in scoring offense. ISU (.460) is No. 1 in field goal percentage and BU (.453) is No. 3. Baylor ranks ahead of the Cyclones in 3-point field goal percentage, checking in at No. 1 (.414) while Iowa State is No. 2 at .394. However, Iowa State averages 9.17 treys a game while the Lady Bears pop in 4.48 a contest.
• Baylor has won 15 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 won 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.
• BU claimed 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 with its victory over Missouri on Wednesday.
• Baylor is off to its best-ever Big 12 start at 10-2. The Lady Bears posted a 6-4 record over their first 10 league games in 2002 and 2004. BU's 20-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 23 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport and second only to a 21-2 start to the 1975-76 season. That team opened at 28-2 and finished at 31-6. Previously, BU was 19-4 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish.
The Lady Bears enter the contest atop the Big 12 standings at 10-2 with a one-game lead over Iowa State, Texas Tech and Texas, all of whom sit at 8-3.
Baylor comes into the game having won 20 of its last 22 games and seven 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 over the Lady Raiders, narrowly defeated Oklahoma (73-72) in Norman a week ago tonight, drubbed Oklahoma State 87-51 in Waco last Saturday and beat Missouri 74-57 on Wednesday.
National Player of the Year candidates Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with Young averaging 17.7 points and 9.3 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 16.0 points and 8.4 rebounds. Young is No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference in both rebounding and scoring, while Blackmon is sixth in both. In league games only, Young ranks No. 2 in rebounding (9.7) and No. 3 in scoring (19.3).
The Iowa State Cyclones enter the game tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 9-3 league mark and are 19-4 overall. They started league play with five straight wins before dropping a 74-52 decision at Kansas State. After reeling off three more wins, the Cyclones lost to Texas Tech and Nebraska. They are coming off a 90-65 win over Oklahoma State. The Cyclones are 5-4 on the road this season, 3-3 away from home in league play.
The Cyclones have very balanced scoring this season. Four of their five starters are averaging double-digit scoring and their fifth starter is just under the mark. Anne O'Neil, a 5-11 senior guard, leads the team with 16.8 points a game and shares rebounding honors with forward Katie Robinette at 6.7 each. Robinette ranks second on the squad in scoring with 14.6 points. Guard Megan Ronhovde manages 10.6 a game and guard Mary Fox scores 10.4 a contest. Just below the double-digit average is Lyndsey Medders at 9.5.
O'Neil, Ronhovde, Fox and Medders are lethal from 3-point range. The quartet combines for 189-of-442 from beyond the arc for a 42.8 shooting percentage.
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 76-64 in Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's four years, Baylor is 49-27 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. The Lady Bears have won 22 of their last 30 regular season league games, including seven straight.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 10-2
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 19 Baylor-Iowa State contest marks the 11th meeting between the two squads with the series tied at 5-5. Iowa State snapped a three-game Baylor win streak last season by defeating the Lady Bears 81-72 in Ames. BU owns a 3-1 series lead for games played in Waco and has won three straight versus the Cyclones in the Ferrell Center.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 4-2 versus Iowa State.
THE LAST MEETING...
Iowa State, unranked at the time, posted an 81-72 victory over the then-18th-ranked Lady Bears in Ames, Iowa last season. The Cyclones got 38 points off the bench, went 20-of-25 from the free throw line and hit 13-of-31 treys to claim the victory. For Baylor, Steffanie Blackmon posted a double-double with a 19-point, 11-rebound performance and Sophia Young narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Iowa State returnees Megan Fox, Anne O'Neil, Megan Ronhovde and Katie Robinette each scored in double figures with 22, 13, 11 and 11, respectively.
