Jan. 20, 2006
WACO, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Game 15:
#8/8 Baylor (13-2, 3-2) vs. #17/17 Oklahoma (14-4, 4-0)
Jan. 21, 2006 • 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
RADIO
Baylor/ISP Sports Network
KRZI/ESPN-1660 AM
WBAP-820 AM - Dallas
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
Video (All-Access) - live video stream at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION
Time Warner Cable - Channel 15
Oklahoma produced broadcast
GAME SPONSOR...
Saturday's game sponsor, Alltel.
BAYLOR VS. OKLAHOMA...
The Baylor Lady Bears, currently ranked No. 8 in both the latest AP and the Coaches polls and reigning NCAA and Big 12 Conference champions, enter the game versus the Oklahoma Sooners with a 13-2 overall record and a 3-2 Big 12 mark. Baylor enters the contest winners of 48 of its last 54 games. This marks the third straight season the Lady Bears have started off league play at 3-2. In 2003-04 the Lady Bears finished with a 10-6 Big 12 record while in 2004-05 they posted a 14-2 mark. The 17th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners enter the contest with a 14-4 season record and a league-leading 4-0 mark.
Saturday's game matches the league's top two offensive teams, the Sooners rank No. 1 in scoring offense (77.0 ppg) while the Lady Bears check in at No. 2 (74.5 ppg). In addition, the Big 12's top scorers and rebounders square off in BU's Sophia Young and OU's Courtney Paris. Young, a 6-1 senior forward, leads the league in scoring at 21.1 ppg and sits at No. 3 in rebounding at 10.2 a game while Paris, a 6-4 freshman center, is No. 2 in scoring (20.7 ppg) and leads the league in rebounding at 15.0 an outing.
Young, national player of the year candidate and Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, leads Baylor in both scoring and rebounding at 21.2 points and 10.2 rebounds a game. The Kodak All-American, who is No. 1 in the Big 12 in scoring and ranks No. 3 in rebounding, recently produced a pair of double-doubles to raise her career total to 52, good for No. 2 on the conference chart. Sophomore point guard Angela Tisdale ranks second on the squad in scoring at 13.3 an outing. Junior forward Abiola Wabara completes BU's double-digit season scoring trio at 10.0 a contest and she ranks second among Lady Bears in rebounding at 6.6 a game.
Oklahoma, whose starting lineup lists four juniors and a freshman, is led by Courtney Paris' 20.7 points and 15.0 rebounds a game. Junior forward Leah Rush averages 11.4 points a game and junior guard Erin Higgins manages 10.0 an outing. Ashley Paris, Courtney's twin sister, ranks second on the team in rebounding at 6.8 a game.
BAYLOR QUICK HITS...
• Baylor's 30-game win streak equaled the 10th longest in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. BU is 48-6 over its last 54 games.
• Sophia Young is on track to join an elite group who have tallied 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals in their NCAA Division I career, as she currently has 2,062 points, 1,140 rebounds, 265 assists and 271 steals.
• Young needs 272 points and 84 rebounds to become the Big 12's all-time scorer and rebounder.
• Young is now the No. 2 scorer in Baylor history with 2,062 points, the highest point total since the sport came under NCAA sponsorship.
• Jordan Davis has missed only six free throws throughout her career (72-78, .923). Prior to missing her first free throw of the season at Texas Tech, she had drained 23 consecutive free throws.
• Kim Mulkey-Robertson's teams are 78-10 (.886) in the Ferrell Center.
• The Lady Bears have won 25 straight home games.
• In non-conference games, Baylor sports a 17-game home win streak and is 43-2 (.956) in the Ferrell Center under Mulkey-Robertson's tutelage. Baylor has registered 42 straight wins in regular-season non-conference home games.
• Baylor is 111-10 under Mulkey-Robertson when scoring 70 or more points, including 70-3 when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.
• Since coming to BU, Mulkey-Robertson has posted the highest win total (144) and winning percentage (.783) among Big 12 Conference programs.
• Young has produced double-digit scoring in 112 of 121 games and 61 consecutive.
• Young has 52 career double-doubles to her credit.
BAYLOR IN THE POLLS...
Baylor finished last season ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The Lady Bears, defending NCAA champions, are currently ranked No. 8 in the most recent coaches poll after debuting at No 7 in the preseason poll. The AP poll's Jan. 16 ranking lists Baylor at No. 8 dropping three spots after Sunday's loss at Texas Tech. Baylor has now been ranked in a school-record 40 straight AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24. The Lady Bears have not been ranked lower than No. 9 since Nov. 30, 2004.
THE COACHES...
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her sixth season and owns a 144-40 head coaching record which equates to a .782 winning percentage. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her first five years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition every year, four times to the NCAA Tournament and to the finals of the 2003 WNIT. In 2005, the Lady Bears claimed Baylor's and the Big 12's first NCAA basketball championship. Mulkey-Robertson is 4-7 versus Oklahoma, 2-3 in Waco.
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 - 33-3 - NCAA Champions
2005-06 - 13-2
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.
Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale is 187-112 in her 10th year as a head coach, all of which have come at Oklahoma. Coach Coale is 11-8 versus Baylor throughout her coaching career at Oklahoma, 5-4 in Waco.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 GAMES...
The 2005-06 season marks the 10th year of competition for women's basketball in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor has a record of 83-66 in regular season Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's five-plus years, Baylor is 56-29 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. In 2004-05 the Lady Bears claimed their first-ever Big 12 Conference championship, winning both the regular season and tournament titles.
BU is 3-2 after its first five Big 12 games for third straight season in Coach Mulkey-Robertson's six years at the helm.
BAYLOR'S BIG 12 RECORD BY YEAR...
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 14-2
2005-06 - 3-2
BAYLOR'S ALL-TIME BIG 12 RECORD...
Home - 54-21
Away - 29-45
Baylor's Big 12 record under Mulkey-Robertson:
Home - 35-8
Away - 21-21
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor and Oklahoma will meet for the 23rd time when the two teams square off on Saturday evening. Oklahoma leads the series, 14-8, but Baylor has won the last four contests between the two schools. Oklahoma's last victory over BU (78-64) came on Feb. 12, 2003, in Norman. The Sooners also recorded their last win in Waco during that same season with a 65-64 triumph on Jan. 26, 2003.
The series seems to run in streaks: Oklahoma began the series by winning three straight, then Baylor prevailed in the next four, the Sooners reeled off 11 straight victories before BU claimed wins in the last four contests.
COMMON OPPONENTS THIS SEASON...
Baylor and Oklahoma have faced three common opponents this season. Both squads posted victories over UCLA (BU, 93-85; 83-78) and Oklahoma State (BU, 57-26; OU, 85-51). Baylor lost at Texas Tech (64-62) while Oklahoma posted a home win over the Lady Raiders (63-57) on Wednesday night.
