Dec. 11, 2007
WACO, Texas - #10/10 Baylor (6-0) vs. Oregon (5-3)
Wednesday, Dec. 12 - 7:00 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
LADY BEAR "CARE BEAR" DRIVE
The Lady Bears will hold the second annual Lady Bear "Care Bear" drive when Oregon visits the Ferrell Center on Dec. 12. With the donation of a toy bear, fans will receive a $5 discount on individual tickets. The Lady Bears will give the donated bears to deserving children at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco on Thursday, Dec. 13.
UP NEXT FOR THE LADY BEARS
After a 12-day break for final exams, the Lady Bears get back on the court when they host the University of Oregon on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center.
Baylor, ranked No. 10 in both major polls, enters the game at 6-0 while Oregon is 5-3 coming off its most recent game, a 65-56 neutral court win over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in Portland, Oregon.
OVER THE AIRWAVES
TV: None
Webcast: www.baylorbers.com
Radio: 1660 AM - KRZI - Waco
Broadcast begins 30 minutes prior to tip off.
Radio Talent:
Rick May (Play-by-play)
Lori Fogleman (Color analyst)
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
IN THE POLLS
10 - Associated Press
10 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS
20 Angela Tisdale-Sr., G, 5-7 - 14.3 ppg, 2.8 apg
15 Jhasmin Player-Jr., G, 5-10 - 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg
3 Jessica Morrow-Jr., G, 6-0 - 9.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
14 Rachel Allison-Jr., F, 6-0 - 12.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg
11 Danielle Wilson-So., P, 6-3 -14.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg
TOP RESERVES
1 Jessika Bradley-So., F, 6-3 - 8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
5 Melissa Jones-Fr., G, 5-10 - 4.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg
21 Kelli Griffin-Fr., G, 5-8, 3.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg
LADY BEAR LEADERS
With six games under their belt, the Lady Bears boast four of five starters averaging double-digit scoring, including three with 14.0 or more a contest. Leading the way is junior guard Jhasmin Player with 14.5 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 squad's lone senior, point guard Angela Tisdale, follows with 14.3 a contest while Danielle Wilson ranks third with 14.0 points a game, and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds an outing. Rachel Allison, a junior forward/post, averages 12.2 points an outing.
In addition to Wilson, four other players manage 5.5 or more rebounds an outing. Allison ranks behind Wilson in rebounding at 6.0 a game while freshman guard Melissa Jones and sophomore post Jessika Bradley each manage 5.7 a game followed by Players' 5.5.
BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- Baylor ranks in the top three in NCAA Division I statistics in seven categories: No. 1 in rebound margin (17.7) and winning percentage (1.000); No. 2 in scoring margin (35.7), field goal percentage (.52.5), field goal percentage defense (.31.0); No. 3 in scoring offense (83.2) and scoring defense (47.5).
- BU is 91-18 (.835) 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 148-13 (.919) under Coach Mulkey when scoring 70 or more points, including 91-3 (.968) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.
- Danielle Wilson has blocked at least one shot in 37 of 40 career games, including 4 or more 12 times and 3 or more on 16 occasions.
- Angela Tisdale has been named by the WNBA Player Personnel Department one the 2008 WNBA Draft's top 20 prospects.
- Angela Tisdale has 403 career assists and needs just 55 to claim the top spot on BU's career chart from Chelsea Whitaker (457, 2002-05).
- Jhasmin Players' 13-of-13 effort from the free throw line against Saint Mary's ranks No. 1 in the Big 12.
- Sophomore posts Danielle Wilson (16) and Jessika Bradley (9) have combined for 25 of the team's 34 season blocks.
- Baylor has outscored its opponents by an average of 35.7 points a game and haul down 17.7 more rebounds a contest.
- Baylor led NCAA Division I last season in blocks per game with 7.2. So far this season the Lady Bears are averaging 5.7 a contest.
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 to No. 10 in both polls. This marks Baylor's first top 10 AP ranking since the Jan. 8 poll last season when they were listed at No. 9.
Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 73 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 103-14 (.880) 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 - 5-0
THE OPPONENT - OREGON DUCKS
The Oregon Ducks enter Wednesday's game with a 5-3 record, including a 2-2 mark outside of Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks have posted wins over San Jose State (67-32), Marquette (57-56), Coppin State (64-51), Long Beach State (66-45) and UC Santa Barbara (65-56) and have lost to South Dakota State (67-60), New Mexico (65-46) and Portland (78-74).
Bev Smith is in her seventh season as the Ducks' head coach and owns a career record of 105-86.
The Ducks have one player who averages double-digit scoring but seven of their 11 players score 6.1 or more points a game. Leading the way is 5-6 sophomore guard Taylor Lilley with 11.0 an outing. Three players haul down five or more rebounds a game. Kaela Chapdelaine, a 5-10 senior guard, leads the team with 6.0 while 6-4 freshman center Ellyce Ironmonger follows closely with 6.0 a contest. Another freshman, 6-5 forward Nicole Canepa, manages to corral five boards a game.
OREGON PROBABLE STARTERS
1 Taylor Lilley - So., G, 5-6 - 11.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
3 Tamika Nurse - Jr., G, 5-8 - 6.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg
5 Ellyce Ironmonger - Fr., C, 6-4 - 8.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg
11 Kaela Chapdelaine - Sr., G, 5-10, 9.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg
54 Nicole Canepa - Fr., F, 6-5 - 9.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
SERIES RECORD
Wednesday's contest marks the second meeting between Baylor and the Oregon Ducks. Baylor owns a 1-0 series lead after its 69-46 triumph in Seattle on March 21, 2005 in second-round NCAA Tournament action.
LAST MEETING
In the only previous meeting between Baylor and Oregon, March 2, 2005, Baylor posted a 69-46 triumph in Seattle in second-round NCAA Tournament action.
Only two players, Baylor's Angela Tisdale and Oregon's Kaela Chapdelaine, played in that game.
After defeating Oregon in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the Lady Bears went on to win the NCAA championship defeating No. 12 Minnesota (Sweet 16), No. 4 North Carolina (Elite Eight), No. 2 LSU (semifinals) and No. 6 Michigan State (finals).
VERSUS THE PACIFIC 10
Head coach Kim Mulkey is 11-0 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 both Washington and Cal and owns single-game victories over Arizona State, Washington State and Oregon.
The Lady Bear program leads the series with the Pacific-10, 14-8. All told, Baylor will play three Pac-10 schools this season and is 1-0 against Oregon, 2-1 versus Cal and 1-0 against Stanford (Dec. 16).
