March 31, 2005
WACO, Texas -
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Game 35
April 3 - 6 p.m. (CDT)
#5/6 Baylor (31-3) vs. #2/4 LSU (33-2)
2005 NCAA Tournament
Final Four
RCA Dome • Indianapolis
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
TELEVISION
ESPN
Mike Patrick - play-by-play
Ann Meyers - color analyst
Doris Burke and Mark Jones - sideline
THE SCHEDULE
April 3 (Sunday) - 6 p.m. (CST)
Baylor (winner Tempe Regional) vs. LSU (winner Chattanooga Regional) - ESPN
Tennessee (winner Philadelphia Regional) vs. Michigan State (winner Kansas City Regional) - 30 minutes after conclusion of first game.
BAYLOR VS. LSU...
This marks the second meeting of the season between Baylor and LSU. The two squads squared off in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 14. LSU posted a 71-70 victory over the Lady Bears in the contest. Baylor trailed by 19 points (43-24) at halftime but poured in 46 second-half points to cut the deficit and had a chance to win on the game's final play.
Baylor is competing in its fourth NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history. All four NCAA Tournament appearances have come since Kim Mulkey-Robertson assumed the reins of the Lady Bear program. The fifth-ranked Lady Bears come into the contest riding a school record 18-game win streak and sporting a 31-3 record. The Lady Bears advanced to the Final Four by defeating top-seeded North Carolina, 72-63, in Tempe, Ariz., on Monday. Junior forward Sophia Young garnered Tempe Regional MOP honors and sophomore forward Abiola Wabara was named to the all-tournament team.
This season the Lady Bears won the program's first conference championship and also claimed the Big 12 Conference Tournament title. Junior forward Sophia Young was named the tournament's MVP and senior post Steffanie Blackmon was named to the all-tournament team.
Young leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while Blackmon averages 15.4 points and 8.1 boards a game. Both were named to The Associated Press All-American team recently. Young was a second team selection while Blackmon garnered third team honors, as Baylor and LSU were the only two schools with two players on the three honor teams.
The second-ranked LSU Lady Tigers enter the contest as winners of 19 of their last 20 games and sport a 33-2 record. They advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the second straight season by posting a 79-72 victory over No. 2 seed Duke on Monday. The Lady Tigers suffered their last loss on March 6 when they dropped a 67-65 contest to Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Tournament title game.
LSU is led by junior All-American forward Seimone Augustus' 20.1 points a game. Freshman center Sylvia Fowles comes off the bench to score 11.8 a game and leads the team in rebounding with 8.9 an outing. Senior point guard Temeka Johnson averages 10.3 points and a team-leading 7.7 assists a contest.
THE COACHES...
Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson, a Louisiana native, is in her fifth season as a head coach and owns a 129-38 (.773) career record. In 2005 she guided the Lady Bears to the program's first-ever Big 12 regular season and tournament championship. Under her guidance, Baylor is making its fourth NCAA Tournament trip and its second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, first Elite Eight trip and first Final Four stop.
LSU's Pokey Chatman is in her first season at LSU and sports a 33-2 (.943) career record. When former Lady Tiger head coach Sue Gunter fell ill last season, Chatman stepped in and led LSU to a 15-5 record and the school's first Final Four appearance.
BAYLOR IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT...
Baylor is competing in its fourth NCAA Tournament and all four appearances have come since head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson assumed the program's helm. BU is 7-3 in NCAA Tournament games, 3-1 in first round games, 2-1 in second round games, 1-1 in the Sweet 16 and 1-0 in the Elite Eight.
2001- No. 8 seed - West Region - Durham, N.C. (Duke host)
First round - lost to No. 9 seed Arkansas (68-59)
2002- No. 2 seed - East Region - Waco, Texas (Baylor host)
First round - defeated No. 15 seed Bucknell (80-56)
Second round - lost to No. 7 seed Drake (76-72)
2004- No. 4 seed - Midwest Region - Albuquerque (New Mexico host)
First round - defeated No. 13 seed Loyola Marymount (71-60)
Second round - defeated No. 5 seed Florida (91-76)
Sweet 16 - lost to No. 1 Tennessee (71-69) (Oklahoma host)
2005 - No. 2 seed - Tempe Regional - Seattle (Washington host)
First round - defeated No. 15 seed Illinois State (91-70)
Second round - defeated No. 10 seed Oregon (69-46)
Sweet 16 - defeated No. 3 seed Minnesota (64-57) (Arizona State host)
Elite Eight - defeated No. 1 seed North Carolina (72-63)
BAYLOR BITS...
The 5th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four for the first time in school history with Monday's 72-63 victory over 4th-ranked North Carolina. Baylor, 2005 Big 12 champion, is now 31-3 on the season and finished Big 12 Conference play with a program-best 14-2 mark. The 2004-05 crown is Baylor's first-ever women's basketball conference title and its ninth Big 12 crown in school history overall. This season also marked the program's first conference tournament title.
• BU has shot 50 percent or better in 11 of 34 games this season and is 11-0 in those games.
• BU has shot 50 percent or higher from 3-point range in eight games, winning every contest.
• BU will be making its 18th television appearance on Sunday, its third on ESPN of the season.
• The Lady Bears are 15-2 this season in televised games.
• Baylor is the only team in the Big 12, men or women, to win 30 games this season.
• BU is the third Big 12 team in the last four years to participate in the Women's Final Four. Oklahoma played in the title game in 2002 and Texas made an appearance in 2003.
• Baylor is 9-2 versus ranked teams this season, with the two losses against LSU and Texas.
• In the 2005 NCAA Tournament (four games) Sophia Young is averaging 22.8 points and 8.0 rebounds. She is shooting 55.6 percent (35-63) from the floor, 84.0 percent (21-25) from the free throw line and has 10 assists and 10 steals. Her 22.8 scoring average ranks her No. 2 behind Rutgers' Cappie Pondexter's 24.0 mark in NCAA Tournament games. In addition, Young ranks No. 8 in steals and No. 11 in rebounds.
• Baylor has tied its single season 3-pointers made record with 155, as the 2003-04 squad also scored 155. The Lady Bears are on track to register the program's highest 3-point percentage, as they are currently shooting 40.9 percent, the 2003-04 squad holds the season record at 38.8 percent.
• Baylor became the sixth team to win both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles in the same season. Texas Tech swept both crowns in 1997-98 and 1998-99, while Iowa State accomplished that feat in 1999-2000. Oklahoma accomplished both in 2001-02, as did Texas in 2002-03.
• The Lady Bears won 11 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 18-game win streak ranks No. 1 nationally. Prior to its loss to Michigan State on Tuesday, Stanford owned the longest win streak at 22 games. The streak is the second double-digit win string of the year for the Lady Bears, who earlier won 12 straight contests.
• With 18 straight victories, Baylor extends the program's win streak record. The 2000-01 squad, Mulkey-Robertson's first team at Baylor, previously held the record winning 13 consecutive games.
• With its win over Illinois State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Baylor established a new season win total (28) with Mulkey-Robertson as a head coach, the 2001-02 squad finished the season at 27-6.
• 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 14 Big 12 wins this season, Baylor broke its all-time conference wins mark. The Lady Bears finished the 2002 portion of their Big 12 slate at 12-4.
• BU's 31-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 34 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport.
• BU's 31 wins is tied for the third-most in school history: 33 wins in 1977-78; 32 in 1976-77; 31 in 1975-76.
• At 30 wins after its victory over Minnesota, BU has posted its most wins since the NCAA began sponsoring women's basketball and its highest total since recording 33 victories in 1977-78.
• Sophia Young and Steffanie were recently named AP All-Americans. Young is a second team honoree and Blackmon was named to the third team.
• Sophia Young was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's 10-member All-America team, Baylor's first honoree.
• Sophia Young was named MOP of the Tempe Regional, Abiola Wabara was named to the all-tournament team as well.
• Steffanie Blackmon became the program's first Academic All-American when she was named to the ESPN The Magazine-CoSIDA third team.
• Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young are two of 17 in the final Wooden Award list.
• Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young were named Kodak All-Region. If honored as Kodak All-Americans they will join former Baylor greats Suzie Snider Eppers (1977) and Sheila Lambert (2002) on the elite list.
• Baylor comes into the game having won 31 of its last 33 games and a school-record 18 straight.
• Baylor is 6-2 in games decided by five or fewer points after going 1-5 in such games a year ago.
• Jordan Davis has missed only five free throws in her BU career. She is 59-of-64 from the charity stripe for a 92.2 shooting percentage.
• Sophia Young averages 19.1 points and 10.7 rebounds in 11 games versus ranked opponents this season. She has recorded eight double-doubles in those 11 contests.
STEPPING IT UP IN THE NCAAS...
In Baylor's four NCAA Tournament games this season, five players are shooting 50 percent or higher from the floor. Junior Sophia Young is shooting 55.6 percent (35-63) and sophomore Abiola Wabara has hit 15-of-27 for 55.6 percent. Sophomore LaToya Wyatt has connected on 9-of-16 for 56.3 percent, senior Steffanie Blackmon maintains a shooting percentage of 53.8 percent, making 21-of-39 and senior Chelsea Whitaker has made half of her shots, 5-of-10. As a team, the Lady Bears have connected on 47.2 percent of their
OVER THE LAST SEVEN GAMES...
Over Baylor's last seven games which includes three Big 12 Tournament contests (Missouri, Texas Tech, Kansas State) and four NCAA Tournament games (Illinois State, Oregon, Minnesota, North Carolina), the Lady Bears have out-scored their opponents by an average of 13.2 points. Baylor has averaged 70.3 points while limiting its opponents to 57.1 points. The Lady Bears are shooting 45.9 percent from the field and holding their opponents to 37.6 percent in that stretch.
