Feb. 22, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 25
Feb. 23 - 7:00 p.m. (CST)
#6/8 Baylor (21-3, 11-2) at Kansas (12-12, 5-8)
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) • Lawrence, Kan.
RADIO
92.9 FM Waco
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
TELEVISION
Time Warner Cable Channel 15 (KU Metro Sports Broadcast)
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
#6/8 BAYLOR AT KANSAS...
The 6th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 21-3 on the season and 11-2 in league action, will hit the road for two games after playing three home games. Baylor travels to the University of Kansas for a game on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at historic Allen Fieldhouse then heads to Boulder, Colo., to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Feb. 26. Kansas comes into the contest with a 12-12 overall record and is 5-8 in Big 12 Conference action. The game is the third of four straight contests versus Big 12 North teams for the Lady Bears.
• Baylor has won 16 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 seventh-best nationally. The Lady Bears are 13-0 in the Ferrell Center this season.
• The Lady Bears have won eight straight league games for the first time in school history. BU posted six straight league wins to close out its 2001-02 league slate.
• Baylor's current eight-game win streak ranks 14th-nationally.
• 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 Feb. 16.
• Baylor is off to its best-ever Big 12 start at 11-2. The Lady Bears posted a 9-4 record over their first 13 league games in 2002. BU's 21-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 24 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport and second only to a 22-2 start to the 1975-76 season. That team opened at 28-2 and finished at 31-6. Previously, BU was 20-4 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish.
The Lady Bears enter the contest atop the Big 12 standings at 11-2 with a one-game lead over Texas Tech and Texas, both of whom sit at 10-3.
Baylor comes into the game having won 21 of its last 23 games and eight 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, drubbed Oklahoma State 87-51 in Waco, beat Missouri 74-57 and posted a five-point win (82-77) over 19th-ranked Iowa State.
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 9.3 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 16.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Young is No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding and No. 4 in scoring, while Blackmon is sixth in both. In league games only, Young ranks No. 2 in rebounding (9.8) and No. 4 in scoring (19.0).
The Kansas Jayhawks will be playing their fourth straight Big 12 home game when they take on the Lady Bears on Wednesday. The Jayhawks are coming off a 67-53 victory over Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. In that contest, junior Erica Hallman led all scorers with 22 points and connected on 5-of-10 from 3-point range. She also dished out six assists. Junior Kaylee Brown added 14 points, senior Aquanita Burras chipped in 10 points and junior Crystal Kemp notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
On the season the Jayhawks are led by Kemp's 14.0 points and 8.8 rebounds. Hallman is the only other KU player to average double-digits in scoring with 12.8 a game.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey-Robertson...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson owns a 119-38 head coaching record which equates to a .758 winning percentage in her fifth season along the Lady Bear sideline. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her five 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 - 21-3 - 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 - 119-38
Oklahoma - 118-41
Texas Tech - 117-38
Texas - 117-41
Kansas State - 109-41
Colorado - 100-50
Iowa State - 97-50
Missouri - 79-46
Nebraska - 68-74
Oklahoma State - 55-86
Texas A&M - 56-80
Kansas - 49-80
*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 77-64 in Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's five years, Baylor is 50-27 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. The Lady Bears have won 23 of their last 31 regular season league games, including eight straight.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 11-2
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 23 Baylor-Kansas contest marks the 14th meeting between the two squads, Baylor leads the series 7-6. Baylor has won the last five meetings between the two schools by an average of 14.8 points per game. Kansas holds the series lead, 3-2, in games played in Lawrence, however, Baylor has won the last two games in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas' last victory over Baylor came in Waco on Jan. 19, 2000 by a score of 81-67.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 5-0 versus Kansas.
THE LAST MEETING...
Kansas and Baylor met twice last season, once in Waco and in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at Dallas. Baylor posted an 85-66 win in Waco and was victorious in Dallas, 86-71. In Waco, Sophia Young, Steffanie Blackmon and Jessika Stratton combined for 64 of Baylor's 85 points. Blackmon tallied 23, Stratton, 21 and Young scored 20. In Dallas, Blackmon (19), Emily Niemann (19), Young (18) and Stratton (16) led the Lady Bears while Young and Chelsea Whitaker each hauled down 10 rebounds.
For the Jayhawks in Waco, Aquanita Burras led with a 21-point, 8-rebound performance and Crystal Kemp added 20 points and six boards. In the Big 12 Tournament, Kemp produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Burras contributed 14 and Erica Hallman scored 11.
BALANCED SCORING...
The Lady Bears have achieved balanced scoring this season. In 18 of Baylor's 24 games in 2004-05 at least three players have scored in double figures. At least four players have hit the double-digit scoring mark in eight games and five players have scored in twin figures in two games (Florida and Oklahoma).
