Oct. 25, 2007

WACO, Texas - The Baylor Lady Bear basketball team, with four starters returning off last season's 26-8 squad, is ranked among the nation's top 25 in four national preseason polls. According to Athlon Sports, the Lady Bears are No. 13 while Lindy's lists them at No. 14, they are No. 15 in Women's Basketball Magazine and are ranked No. 17 by Street & Smith's.

"Any preseason recognition is welcomed. We keep it in perspective, however, and hope that we are being recognized throughout the year," said head coach Kim Mulkey.

Baylor finished the 2006-07 season ranked No. 19 on the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. In addition to four starters returning, the Lady Bears return eight letterwinners while two newcomers join the program.

As the lone senior on the team, Tisdale (Austin, Texas/Del Valle HS), the squad's 5-7 point guard, is the Lady Bears' top returning scorer at 10.8 points a game. Two other returning starters, Rachel Allison (Jonesboro, Ark./Jonesboro HS) and Jhasmin Player (Bay City, Texas/Bay City HS), gained valuable experience this past summer when they represented the United States and Athletes in Action as members of the William Jones Cup Team. Joining Tisdale, Allison and Player as a returning starter is junior guard Jessica Morrow (Humble, Texas/Humble HS) who ranked third on the squad in scoring with 9.6 a contest a year ago.

Danielle Wilson (Bay Shore, N.Y./St. John the Baptist HS), a 6-3 post, registered a team-record 86 blocks as a rookie and Baylor led the NCAA in blocked shots.

Tisdale is the team's top returning scorer at 10.8 a game while Morrow chimed in with 9.6 an outing and Wilson chipped in 8.4 a contest. In addition, Wilson set a school record for season blocks (86) which ranked No. 20 nationally. After Wilson, Player and Allison registered 7.5 and 7.2 points, respectively on the season while Allison ranked No. 2 on the squad in rebounding with 6.1 a contest. Another freshman, Jessika Bradley, made an impact as well. Bradley (Sacramento, Calif./Sacramento HS), a 6-3 forward, tallied 3.2 points and rejected an impressive 26 shots. Two more freshmen, Kaitlin Oberg (Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and Haylee Abbe (Waco, Texas/Robinson HS), both gained valuable court time which should enable them to achieve more success in the upcoming season.

Hoping to contribute significantly in their rookie season will be two newcomers, Melissa Jones (Thornton, Colo./Legacy HS) and Kelli Griffin (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook HS). Jones, a 5-10 guard, garnered Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Girls High School Athlete of the Year honors to go along with Colorado Girl's Player of the Year and Gatorade's Colorado Girls' Basketball Player of the Year kudos. She averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5.8 steals, 4.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game as a senior. Griffin, a 5-8 guard, was sidelined her senior season while rehabilitating a knee injury. She scored 14.5 points, grabbed 4.7 rebounds, dished out 4.7 assists and registered 3.8 steals as a junior.

2007-08 ATHLON SPORTS PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut
2. LSU
3. Tennessee
4. Rutgers
5. Maryland
6. Georgia
7. Stanford
8. Cal
9. Texas A&M
10. North Carolina
11. Duke
12. Arizona State
13. Baylor
14. West Virginia
15. Oklahoma
16. Texas
17. DePaul
18. Ohio State
19. Auburn
20. Wisconsin
21. Pittsburgh
22. Florida State
23. Michigan State
24. George Washington
25. Louisville

2007-08 LINDY'S PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee
2. Connecticut
3. Rutgers
4. Maryland
5. LSU
6. Oklahoma
7. North Carolina
8. Duke
9. Texas A&M
10. Stanford
11. Arizona State
12. Georgia
13. George Washington
14. Baylor
15. Cal
16. Florida State
17. Michigan State
18. Pittsburgh
19. Notre Dame
20. Texas
21. Louisville
22. Middle Tennessee
23. Oklahoma State
24. West Virginia
25. Purdue

2007-08 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAGAZINE PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut
2. Tennessee
3. LSU
4. Maryland
5. Rutgers
6. Georgia
7. Texas A&M
8. Stanford
9. North Carolina
10. Duke
11. Cal
12. West Virginia
13. Arizona State
14. Oklahoma
15. Baylor
16. Texas
17. Auburn
18. DePaul
19. Ohio State
20. Wisconsin
21. Pittsburgh
22. Florida State
23. Michigan State
24. Louisville
25. George Washington

2007-08 STREET & SMITH'S PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee
2. Connecticut
3. Maryland
4. Rutgers
5. Oklahoma
6. North Carolina
7. Duke
8. Georgia
9. Ohio State
10. Stanford
11. George Washington
12. LSU
13. Middle Tennessee
14. Texas A&M
15. Cal
16. Arizona State
17. Baylor
18. Vanderbilt
19. Michigan State
20. Xavier
21. North Carolina State
22. Florida State
23. Notre Dame
24. Texas
25. Pittsburgh