April 6, 2005

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - She came to the United States six years ago from a tiny Caribbean island, intent on refining her very ordinary basketball skills. Sophia Young didn't have much of a game back then.

But, oh, just look at her now.

Young finished off an emotional month of personal reunions by scoring 26 points to lead upstart Baylor to its first national championship with an 84-62 win over Michigan State on Tuesday night.

The junior with the beaming smile and feathery touch was named the Final Four's most outstanding player, an award she probably didn't even know existed while growing up in St. Vincent, West Indies.

As her mother, who saw her play at the college level for the first time last month, watched from the stands, Young had the biggest game of her life. She went 10-of-19 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and added four assists in 36 dazzling minutes as the Lady Bears finished off an unexpected NCAA title run.

"She's so graceful," Spartans coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "She's a beautiful student-athlete, the way she moves. She's a great player. That kid's an All-American."

With reggae roots.

Young's trip to the top was anything but conventional.

Although a sprinter, she was drawn to basketball and came to the U.S. as a foreign-exchange student. She played as a high school sophomore before Louisiana state rules forced her to sit as a junior.

She was discovered by Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson during a summer league game and accepted a scholarship to attend the school. But there were tough times in Waco, Texas, as she struggled with homesickness.

Young stuck it out, though, and as she and her teammates hoisted Baylor's first NCAA basketball trophy over their heads, she felt as if every second of effort was worth the trouble.

"This makes everything worthwhile," she said. "I feel like I'm living my dream. I don't know what kind of player I'll be. Hopefully, I'll develop into a better player."

It would be tough for her to top what she did in leading Baylor's surge to a championship.

In six tournament games, the 21-year-old averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds. She used her superior quickness and jumping ability to beat Michigan State's beefier frontline players to balls as Baylor posted a 45-22 advantage on the boards.

"She was camping out on the block and we were not doing anything about it," Michigan State forward Liz Shimek said.

There was more battling going on in the crowd than in the lane as Young's family - her mother, Annie Christopher, and her father and brother - waved St. Vincent flags and danced with joy.

Afterward, Young, too, was ready to party.

"All night," she said. "We don't have anything to worry about anymore."