Nov. 24, 2007
WACO, Texas - #13/12 Baylor (4-0) vs. #12/14 California (4-0)
Sunday, Nov. 25 - 2 p.m.
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
OVER THE AIRWAVES
TV: Fox Sports Network
Kevin Eschenfelder (Play-by-play)
Debbie Antonelli (Color Analyst)
Webcast: www.BaylorBears.com
Radio:
1660 AM - KRZX - Waco
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip off.
Radio Talent:
Rick May (Play-by-play)
Lori Fogleman (Color analyst)
BAYLOR HOSTS CALIFORNIA
Two teams, both ranked among the nation's top 15, meet in the Ferrell Center in a nationally televised game on Sunday. No. 12 California and No. 13 Baylor each enter the contest with perfect 4-0 marks.
Sophomore post Danielle Wilson heads the Kim Mulkey-coached Baylor squad at 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game, while Ashley Walker leads Joanne Boyle's Cal Bears with 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds a contest.
TELEVISED CONTEST
Baylor will make its first of 10 television appearance this season as Fox Sports Network (FSN) will broadcast Sunday's game on a national basis. Veteran telecasters Kevin Eschenfelder and Debbie Antonelli will handle play-by-play and color analyst duties, respectively.
The following FSN regions will carry the game live: Arizona, Bay Area, Detroit, Florida, Midwest (non-St. Louis), New York, North, Wisconsin, Northwest, Ohio (non-Cavs), Pittsburgh, Rocky Mountain, South, Southwest, West, Comcast Chicago, Comcast New England and Comcast Philadelphia.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
IN THE POLLS
13 - Associated Press
12 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS
20 Angela Tisdale-Sr., G, 5-7 - 13.0 ppg, 2.0 apg
15 Jhasmin Player-Jr., G, 5-10 - 14.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg
3 Jessica Morrow-Jr., G, 6-0 - 8.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
14 Rachel Allison-Jr., F, 6-0 - 11.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg
11 Danielle Wilson-So., P, 6-3 -15.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg
TOP RESERVES
1 Jessika Bradley-So., F, 6-3 - 11.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg
5 Melissa Jones-Fr., G, 5-10 - 5.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
21 Kelli Griffin-Fr., G, 5-8, 4.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg
LADY BEAR LEADERS
With four games under their belt, the Lady Bears boast five players averaging double-digit scoring. Leading the way is sophomore Danielle Wilson with 15.5 points a game, the 6-3 post also is the team's leader in rebounding at 8.5 an outing. Jhasmin Player ranks second with 14.8 points a game, including a career-high 29 against Saint Mary's. In the same contest, the junior guard tied a school record, hitting 13-of-13 from the free throw line. The team's lone senior, point guard Angela Tisdale, follows with 13.0 a contest while Rachel Allison, a junior forward/post, averages 11.8 points an outing. Another sophomore post, Jessika Bradley, accounts for 11.3 a game.
Freshman guard Melissa Jones ranks behind Wilson in rebounding at 6.3 a game while Bradley hauls down 6.0 a contest.
Wilson and Bradley, two of the team's top shot blockers in their rookie campaign last season, are continuing to show why they form one of the nation's top shot-blocking tandems. Four games into the season, the duo has combined for 16 rejections, 10 by Wilson and six by Bradley. Baylor led NCAA Division I last season in blocks per game with 7.2. So far this season the Lady Bears are averaging 5.8 a contest.
The Lady Bears have out-scored their opponents by an average of 42.8 points a game and haul down 18 more rebounds a contest. Baylor is averaging 87.2 points and 46 rebounds an outing.
BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- BU is 89-18 (.832) since the start of the 2004-05 season with 15 of the 18 setbacks coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. Baylor's last 13 losses have come to ranked opponents.
- Baylor is 147-13 (.919) under Coach Mulkey when scoring 70 or more points, including 90-3 (.968) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.
- Danielle Wilson has blocked at least one shot in 36 of 38 career games, including 4 or more 11 times and 3 or more on 15 occasions.
- Angela Tisdale has been named by the WNBA Player Personnel Department one the 2008 WNBA Draft's top 20 prospects.
BAYLOR IN THE RANKINGS
After beginning the season ranked No. 15 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Preseason Polls, Baylor has now moved up two spots in the AP poll, checking in at No. 13, and has jumped three positions in the Coaches' Poll to No. 12.
Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 70 straight regular-season AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24.
HOME SWEET HOME
In Kim Mulkey's eight seasons along the Ferrell Center sidelines, her teams have posted some impressive numbers in the venue. The Lady Bears have maintained a 102-14 (.879) Ferrell Center record during that time span.
2000-01 - 12-2
2001-02 - 15-2
2002-03 - 17-4
2003-04 - 12-2
2004-05 - 14-0
2005-06 - 12-1
2006-07 - 16-3
2007-08 - 4-0
CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
Cal comes into Sunday's matchup with a 4-0 mark after posting victories at Fresno State (83-79), UC Riverside (65-49) and TCU (74-55) and a home win against New Mexico (52-44). Head coach Joanne Boyle is in her third year at Cal and began the season at 41-21. She came to Cal from Richmond where she led the Spiders to a 67-29 mark in three seasons.
The Golden Bears' roster numbers the same as Baylor's, 10 players, however, they lost one of their returning starters when 6-3 junior Devanei Hampton underwent knee surgery on Nov. 9. She is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Like the Lady Bears, Cal lists only one senior on it's roster, Krista Foster, along with four juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
The Golden Bears are led on the season by junior center Ashley Walker's 22.3 points and 15.3 rebounds a game. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a sophomore guard, follows with 11.0 points an outing.
CAL PROBABLE STARTERS
2 Natasha Vital - So., G, 5-8 - 7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
10 Lauren Greif - So., G, 5-10 - 8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
21 Alexis Gray-Lawson - So., G, 5-8 - 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
22 Rama N'diaye - So., F, 6-5, 9.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg
44 Ashley Walker - Jr., C, 6-1 - 21.5 ppg, 13.0 rpg
SERIES RECORD
Sunday's contest marks the third meeting between Baylor and the California Bears and the first since the 2005-06 season. The series, which is tied 1-1, has always been played on a neutral court. The two teams first met on Feb. 26, 1981 in Amarillo, Texas, at the WNIT and Cal posted an 82-72 victory.
Most recently Baylor registered a 75-58 triumph over Cal on Nov. 26, 2005 in the Caribbean Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
LAST MEETING
In the two team's most recent meeting, Nov. 26, 2005, Baylor posted a 75-58 triumph over Cal in the Caribbean Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Four current Baylor players, Angela Tisdale, Jessica Morrow, Rachel Allison and Jhasmin Player, and two active Cal players, Ashley Walker and Alexis Gray-Lawson, saw action in the contest.
VERSUS THE PACIFIC 10
Head coach Kim Mulkey is 10-0 versus Pacific-10 teams since her arrival at Baylor. Her teams have played six Pac-10 schools and will also add Stanford (Dec. 16) to the list this season. She is 4-0 against UCLA, 2-0 against Washington and owns single-game victories over Arizona State, Washington State, Oregon and Cal.
The Lady Bear program leads the series with Pacific-10, 13-8. All told, Baylor will play three Pac-10 schools this season and is 1-0 against Oregon (Dec. 12), 1-1 versus Cal and 1-0 against Stanford (Dec. 16).
