Feb. 24, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 26
Feb. 26 - 8:00 p.m. (CST)
#6/8 Baylor (22-3, 12-2) at Colorado (8-17, 1-13)
Coors Special Events Center (11,064) • Boulder, Colo.
RADIO
1660 AM - ESPN - Waco
820 AM - WBAP - Dallas
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
TELEVISION
None
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
#6/8 BAYLOR AT COLORADO...
The 6th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 22-3 on the season and 12-2 in league action, travel to Boulder, Colo., to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Feb. 26. Colorado comes into the contest with an 8-17 overall record and is 1-13 in Big 12 Conference action. The game is the first of two Buff home games after a two-game road swing at Kansas State and Texas.
• 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 nine straight league games for the first time in school history. BU posted six straight league wins to close out its 2001-02 conference slate.
• Baylor's current nine-game win streak ranks 12th 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.
• With 12 Big 12 wins this season, Baylor has matched its all-time conference wins mark. The Lady Bears finished the 2002 portion of their Big 12 slate at 12-4.
• BU's 22-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 25 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport and second only to a 23-2 start to the 1975-76 season. That team opened at 28-2 and finished at 31-6. Previously, BU was 21-4 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish. BU's 22 wins is the ninth-most in school history.
The Lady Bears enter the contest atop the Big 12 standings at 12-2 with a one-game lead over Texas Tech and Texas, both of whom sit at 11-3. A win at Colorado would assure Baylor no less than a share of the Big 12 crown, the program's first-ever.
Baylor comes into the game having won 22 of its last 24 games and nine 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, posted a five-point win (82-77) over 19th-ranked Iowa State and defeated Kansas in Lawrence, 70-60.
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 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds. Young is No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference in both scoring and rebounding, while Blackmon is sixth in both. In league games only, Young ranks No. 2 in rebounding (9.7) and No. 4 in scoring (18.9).
The Colorado Buffaloes come into the game suffering through a 10-game losing streak. The Buffs are 8-17 overall and 1-13 in Big 12 Conference action. Colorado's lone league win came on the road against Missouri (56-51). The Buffs are 4-8 on the season at home and 0-6 in home conference games.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, Colorado head coach Ceal Barry announced her retirement, effective at the end of this season. Interim athletic director Jack Lengyel has named Barry to fill the vacant assistant athletic director for student services position.
On the season the Buffaloes are led by freshman forward Jackie McFarland's 10.1 points. Anna Nedovic, a 6-4 sophomore forward, leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 a game while McFarland isn't far behind with 6.2 an outing.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey-Robertson...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson owns a 120-38 head coaching record which equates to a .760 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 - 22-3 - 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 - 120-38
Oklahoma - 118-42
Texas Tech - 118-38
Texas - 118-41
Kansas State - 110-41
Colorado - 100-51
Iowa State - 98-50
Missouri - 79-47
Nebraska - 68-75
Oklahoma State - 55-87
Texas A&M - 57-80
Kansas - 50-80
*Baylor and Texas Tech are the only Big 12 teams to win 20 or more games in each of the past five 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 an all-time record of 78-64 in Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's five years, Baylor is 51-27 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. The Lady Bears have won 24 of their last 32 regular season league games, including nine straight.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 12-2
POST TANDEM ON MIDSEASON NAISMITH TROPHY LIST...
Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon are two of 30 players on the Naismith Trophy midseason list announced on Monday, Feb. 21. Young, a 6-1 junior forward, is averaging 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds for Baylor while Blackmon, a 6-2 post, scores 16.4 points and hauls down 8.3 boards a game.
The Naismith Trophy is one of the most prestigious national awards presented annually to the top male and female basketball players of the year. The Top 30 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season. The list was narrowed down from a preseason list of 50 candidates who were announced at the beginning of the season.
These mid-season top 30 candidates, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March when four finalists for the Naismith Trophy are announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors.
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 26 Baylor-Colorado contest marks the 13th meeting between the two squads, Colorado leads the series 8-4. Colorado has won the last two meetings between the two schools and holds the series lead, 5-1, in games played in Boulder. Baylor's lone win at Boulder came on Feb. 20, 1999 in a 62-52 triumph.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 1-3 versus Colorado.
THE LAST MEETING...
In last season's Big 12 opener for both schools, 14th-ranked Colorado posted a 69-59 win over 24th-ranked Baylor in Waco. Four Colorado players scored in double figures but just one of those, Veronica Johns-Richardson, is on this season's roster. She tallied 13 points in the winning effort. Baylor got double-digit scoring efforts from Steffanie Blackmon (15), Sophia Young (14) and Emily Niemann (14). Young chalked up a double-double with 11 rebounds.
