Feb. 7, 2006
WACO, Texas -
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Game 21:
#12/11 Baylor (16-4, 6-3) vs. Nebraska (12-8, 4-5)
Feb. 8, 2006 • 7 p.m. (CST)
Ferrell Center (10,284)
Waco, Texas
RADIO
Baylor/ISP Sports Network
KRZI/ESPN 1660 AM - Waco
KMKI 620 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
GAME SPONSOR...
Wednesday's game sponsor, Terminix.
BAYLOR VS. NEBRASKA...
The reigning NCAA champion Baylor Lady Bears, currently ranked No. 12 in the AP listing and No. 11 in the Coaches poll, enter the game versus the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a 16-4 record and a 6-3 Big 12 mark overall, tied for second in the conference with Texas A&M and Missouri. Nebraska is 12-8 on the season and 4-5 in Big 12 action. Baylor, winners of 51 of its last 59 games, plays its next two and four of its last six Big 12 games away from home. BU's three Big 12 losses have been by a combined total of eight points, two of which came on the road (Missouri & Texas Tech).
Baylor's Sophia Young, national player of the year candidate and Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, leads Baylor in both scoring and rebounding at 20.7 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. The Kodak All-American is No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring and ranks No. 3 in rebounding. Sophomore point guard Angela Tisdale ranks second on the squad in scoring at 13.9 an outing. Junior forward Abiola Wabara ranks second among Lady Bears in rebounding at 6.3 a game and averages 9.1 points.
Nebraska junior guard Kiera Hardy leads the Huskers in scoring at 17.4 points a game while freshman forward Kelsey Griffin completes Nebraska's double-digit scorers at 14.5 a contest. Griffin, at 6-2, leads the Huskers in rebounding with 7.0 a contest.
Sophia Young NAMED TO BIG 12 10th ANNIVERSARY TEAM...
The Big 12 Conference announces its Women's Basketball 10th Anniversary Team, as selected by a combined media panel and on-line fan poll. In order to be eligible for consideration, candidates must have been an All-Big 12 First Team selection at least once in their careers.
Over 1,800 fans participated in on-line voting through the league's web site.
Big 12 Women's Basketball 10th Anniversary Team
Player - School - Years Played
Sophia Young - Baylor - 2002-Present
Angie Welle - Iowa State - 1998-02
Nicole Ohlde - Kansas State - 2000-04
Kendra Wecker - Kansas State - 2001-05
Stacey Dales - Oklahoma - 1997-02
BAYLOR QUICK HITS...
• Baylor's 30-game win streak equaled the 10th longest in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. BU is 51-8 over its last 59 games.
• All three of Baylor's Big 12 losses have come by a combined total of eight points (at Missouri-3, at Texas Tech-2, vs. Oklahoma-3).
• In non-conference games, Baylor maintained a .298 (48-161) shooting percentage from 3-point range but in Big 12 action it is shooting 40.0 (48-120) percent. In free throws, the squad shot .656 (187-285) in non-conference play but is 109-of-150 (.727) in league action.
• 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 2,158 points, 1,185 rebounds, 273 assists and 282 steals.
• Young needs 176 points and 39 rebounds to become the Big 12's all-time scorer and rebounder.
• Young is now the No. 2 scorer in Baylor history with 2,158 points, the highest point total since the sport came under NCAA sponsorship in 1981-82.
• 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 79-11 (.878) in the Ferrell Center.
• Prior to BU's Jan. 21 loss to Oklahoma, the Lady Bears had 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 114-11 (.912) under Mulkey-Robertson when scoring 70 or more points, including 72-3 (.960) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.
• Since coming to BU, Mulkey-Robertson has posted the highest win total (147) and winning percentage (.778) among Big 12 Conference programs.
• Young has produced double-digit scoring in 117 of 126 career games and 66 consecutive.
• Young has 54 career double-doubles to her credit, tying Angie Welle (Iowa State, 1999-02) for the Big 12 record.
• Five players, including all four Lady Bear freshmen, earned grade point averages of 3.0 or above for the fall semester (Sophia Young, Tricia Abbott, Rachel Allison, Jessica Morrow, Jhasmin Player). Young posted a 4.0 mark.
• Baylor's 50-point win over Kansas was its largest ever in a Big 12 game and its biggest since a 53-point win over Sam Houston State in 2003-04.
• Sophia Young has produced 19 double-doubles in 37 career games against ranked (AP) teams.
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. 11 in the most recent coaches poll after debuting at No 7 in the preseason poll. The AP poll's Feb. 6 ranking lists Baylor at No. 12 dropping two spots after a loss at No. 3 LSU. Baylor has now been ranked in a school-record 43 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. 15 in the AP poll since March 15, 2004, a stretch of 30 consecutive weekly polls.
THE COACHES...
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her sixth season and owns a 147-42 head coaching record which equates to a .778 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 2003 WNIT finals. In 2005, the Lady Bears claimed Baylor's and the Big 12's first NCAA basketball championship. Mulkey-Robertson is 4-1 versus Nebraska, 2-0 in games played in the Ferrell Center.
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 - 16-4
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.
Connie Yori is in her fourth season as the Husker's head coach and owns a 56-54 record while on the Lincoln campus. Yori is 251-194 in 16 seasons along the sidelines as a head coach. She is 1-2 versus Baylor, 0-1 in Waco.
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Baylor and Nebraska will meet for the 11th time when the two teams square off on Wednesday evening. Baylor leads the series 6-4 and has triumphed in four of the last five meetings. BU has won three of the four contests played in Waco. Kim Mulkey-Robertson is 4-1 against Nebraska.
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 86-67 in regular season Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey-Robertson's five-plus years, Baylor is 59-30 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.
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 - 6-3
BAYLOR'S ALL-TIME BIG 12 RECORD...
Home - 55-22
Away - 31-45
Baylor's Big 12 record under Mulkey-Robertson:
Home - 36-9
Away - 23-21
BETTER IN BIG 12 GAMES...
The Lady Bears have improved their three-point and free throw shooting since beginning Big 12 play. In non-conference games, Baylor maintained a .298 (48-161) shooting percentage from 3-point range but in Big 12 action it is shooting 40.0 (48-120) percent, draining at least five treys in each of its six league wins compared to a total of seven in its three losses. In free throws, the squad shot .656 (187-285) in non-conference play but is 109-of-150 (.727) in league action.
BY THE NARROWEST OF MARGINS...
All three of Baylor's Big 12 losses this season have come by a combined total of eight points. It dropped a three-point decision at Missouri (64-61), lost by two (64-62) at Texas Tech and lost to Oklahoma by three, 73-70, in Waco. All three losses have come on the last play of the game.
STELLAR BAYLOR DEFENSE...
Baylor has continued to play stellar defense this season as evidenced by the following:
-Lady Bears held Oklahoma State to 26 points, fewest ever in any Big 12 Conference game.
-Oklahoma State's 26 points are the fewest by a current Division I program against Baylor since TCU tallied 25 in 1975-76.
-BU held Texas to 48 points, fewest Baylor has ever allowed the Lady Longhorns in the 68-game series.
-During a two-game stretch (Texas A&M & Oklahoma) Baylor blocked 18 shots including seven by Abiola Wabara and six by Sophia Young.
-Baylor is 9-0 on season when holding its foe to 59 or fewer points and has won 85 straight games when holding its opponent to 59 or fewer since a 58-56 loss to Oklahoma State in Waco during the 1998-99 season. Mulkey-Robertson's teams are 79-0 all-told when holding their opponent to 59 or fewer points.
-BU ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring, scoring margin and field goal percentage defense.
-Opponents are hitting just .366 from field versus Baylor this season, 35.0 percent in Big 12 play.
-Over the last four seasons BU has held the opponent to under .500 from the field in 123 of 125 games. In fact, in Coach Mulkey-Robertson's 189-game tenure, Baylor has allowed a team to shoot .500 from the field in just eight games. LSU shot 51.7 (30-58) percent against Baylor in the 2004-05 season opener, since then, Baylor held opponents to under .500 shooting in 53 straight games before the Lady Tigers shot .500 (34-68) on Jan. 30.
