March 9, 2005
Kansas City, Mo. -
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Game 29
March 10 - 6:00 p.m. (CST)
Big 12 Tournament Semifinals
#6/6 Baylor (25-3) vs. #14/14 Texas Tech (22-6)
Municipal Auditorium • Kansas City, Mo.
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
FSN Southwest - (national broadcast)
Kevin Eschenfelder - play-by-play
Debbie Antonelli - color analyst
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT...
Baylor is 4-3 in first round games, 2-3 in quarterfinal games, 1-1 in semifinal games and 0-1 in the finals. The Lady Bears are 8-8 all-told in Big 12 Tournament games, including 7-4 under head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson. BU has won its first Big 12 Tournament game in each of Mulkey-Robertson's first four seasons.
#6/6 BAYLOR VS. #14/14 TEXAS TECH...
The 6th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament with a victory over Missouri on Wednesday. Baylor is now 25-3 on the season and finished league 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.
• All three of Baylor's semifinal appearances have come since Kim Mulkey-Robertson's arrival.
• BU has shot 50 percent or better in 10 of 28 games this season.
• BU has shot 50 percent or higher in six games.
• Today's game marks just the second game the Lady Bears have played on Thursday this season, both are against Texas Tech (March 3), they are 1-0 on Thursdays.
• Baylor will try to become 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 12-game win streak ranks fourth-nationally. The streak is the second double-digit win streak of the year for the Lady Bears.
• 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 25-3 overall record is the school's best mark after 28 games since the NCAA began sponsoring the sport and second only to a 25-2 start to the 1975-76 season. That team opened at 28-2 and finished at 31-6. Previously, BU was 23-4 in 2001-02 on its way to a 27-6 finish. BU's 25 wins is the eighth-most in school history.
• In Big 12 Tournament games (six games), Sophia Young averages 21.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. She shoots 57.3 percent from the floor and 87.0 percent from the free throw line and has nine assists, four blocks and 15 steals to her credit.
• Steffanie Blackmon became the program's first Academic All-American when she was named to the ESPN The Magazine-CoSIDA third team.
• Steffanie Blackmon has been selected to play i n WBCA All-Star game. She joins former Lady Bears Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom in participating in the event.
• Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young are two of 17 on the final Wooden Award list.
• Point guard Chelsea Whitaker earned her first Big 12 Player of the Week nod with her 16-point, 8-assist, 2-block performance against Texas Tech. Baylor players took player of the week honors a Big 12-high five times this season.
• Baylor comes into the game having won 25 of its last 27 games and 12 straight.
National Player of the Year candidates Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with Young averaging 17.4 points and 9.4 rebounds and Blackmon right behind with 16.0 points and 8.3 rebounds. Young is No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding and No. 4 in scoring, while Blackmon is sixth in both scoring and rebounding.
Fourteenth-ranked Texas Tech is 22-6 on the season and has won five if its last six games. The Lady Raiders' lone loss during that span was to Baylor in Waco. The advanced to the semifinals by posting a 61-59 win over Iowa State.
THE SERIES RECORD...
The March 10 Baylor-Texas Tech contest marks the 60th meeting between the two squads. Texas Tech owns a 45-14 series lead. The Lady Bears have won the last three games between the two schools, two this season and a win in the 2004 Big 12 quarterfinals.
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 6-6 versus Texas Tech.
