Feb. 8, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 21
Feb. 9 - 7:00 p.m. (CST)
#7/9 Baylor (17-3, 7-2) at Oklahoma (12-8, 4-5)
Lloyd Noble Arena (12,000) • Norman, Okla.
RADIO
92.9 FM Waco
820 AM - WBAP - Dallas
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip.
TELEVISION
Waco's Time Warner Cable Channel 15
Sooner Sports Network
INTERNET FEEDS
Audio - live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com
#7/9 BAYLOR VS. OKLAHOMA...
The 7th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 17-3 on the season and 7-2 in league action, will travel to Norman, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at the Lloyd Noble Arena. The Sooners come into the contest with a 12-8 overall record and are 4-5 in Big 12 Conference action.
Baylor comes into the game having won 17 of its last 19 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, and posted its first win in Lubbock since 1982 with a 52-49 victory on Saturday.
Baylor is off to its best-ever Big 12 start at 7-2. The Lady Bears posted a 6-3 record over their first nine league games in 2002. BU's 17-3 overall record matches the school's best mark after 20 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport. BU was also 17-3 in 2001-02.
National Player of the Year candidates Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with Young averaging 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 15.8 points and 8.1 rebounds. Young leads the Big 12 Conference is 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 (10.9) and No. 3 in scoring (19.3).
The Oklahoma Sooners enter the game having lost three of their last four Big 12 contests. The Sooners are 12-8 on the season and 4-5 in Big 12 Conference action. Oklahoma's league losses have come at the hands of Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas (OT), Iowa State and Nebraska. Their league wins have come over Texas A&M (twice), Oklahoma State and Kansas. The Sooners are 7-2 in games played at Lloyd Noble Arena on the season and 2-2 in Big 12 games played in Norman.
Two Sooners are scoring in double figures on the season. Sophomore forward Leah Rush leads the team in scoring with 14.7 a game while senior guard Dionnah Jackson ranks second in scoring at 14.2 and leads the Sooners in rebounding at 8.7 a game. Jackson dishes out a team-high 6.05 assists and leads the team in blocks (23) and steals (46). Rush ranks second on the team in rebounding at 6.7 a contest.
THE SERIES RECORD...
The Feb. 9 meeting between Baylor and Oklahoma marks the 22nd contest between the two schools. Oklahoma leads the series 14-7 and had won 11 straight games before Baylor's sweep of the Sooners last season and its 10-point win (78-68) in Waco earlier this season.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 3-7 versus Oklahoma.
THE LAST MEETING...
Baylor and Oklahoma met earlier this season (Jan. 16) in Waco and the Lady Bears posted a 78-68 victory for their third straight win over the Sooners. After Oklahoma held a 37-36 halftime lead, Baylor outscored the Sooners 42-31 in the second half to secure the win.
Five Baylor players registered double figures in the game led by Emily Niemann's 16 points. Abiola Wabara and Steffanie Blackmon each scored 14 and Sophia Young and Chameka Scott tallied 11 apiece. Blackmon led all rebounders with nine and Niemann added a season-high seven. For the Sooners, Leah Rush and Lauren Shoush were the only players in double figures with 26 and 11, respectively.
