Dec. 28, 2007

WACO, Texas - #10/10 Baylor (9-1) vs. Rice (7-5)

Sunday, Dec. 30 - 2 p.m. Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas

OVER THE AIRWAVES

TV: None

Webcast: www.baylorbears.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 AND RICE
The 10th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears and the Rice Owls meet for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the two teams face off in the Ferrell Center on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.

Baylor is 9-1 on the season, including a 7-0 Ferrell Center record.

Prior to traveling to Waco, the Owls, currently 7-5 on the season, play a Friday night game at Prairie View A&M.

LADY BEAR LEADERS
With 10 games under their belt, the Lady Bears boast all five starters averaging double-digit scoring. Leading the way is junior guard Jhasmin Player with 14.2 a contest while the squad's lone senior, point guard Angela Tisdale, manages 13.5 a game. Sophomore post Danielle Wilson follows with 13.2 a contest and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds an outing. Rachel Allison, a junior forward/post, averages 11.5 points, while junior guard/forward Jessica Morrow manages 11.4.

In addition to Wilson, three other players haul down 5.1 or more rebounds an outing. Allison ranks behind Wilson in rebounding at 7.0 a game while Player averages 5.9 and sophomore post Jessika Bradley manages 5.1.

BAYLOR LADY BEARS

IN THE POLLS
10 - Associated Press
10 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches

PROBABLE STARTERS
20 Angela Tisdale-Sr., G, 5-7 - 13.5 ppg, 2.9 apg
15 Jhasmin Player-Jr., G, 5-10 - 14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg
3 Jessica Morrow-Jr., G, 6-0 - 11.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
14 Rachel Allison-Jr., F, 6-0 - 11.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg
11 Danielle Wilson-So., P, 6-3 -13.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg

TOP RESERVES
1 Jessika Bradley-So., F, 6-3 - 6.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg
5 Melissa Jones-Fr., G, 5-10 - 4.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg
21 Kelli Griffin-Fr., G, 5-8, 2.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg

BAYLOR IN REGULAR SEASON, NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
In Coach Mulkey's eight seasons, the Lady Bears are 87-6 (.936) in regular season, non-conference games.

2000-01 - 11-0
2001-02 - 12-0
2002-03 - 11-1, lost at Montana State (75-66)
2003-04 - 12-1, lost at No. 7 Penn State (74-63)
2004-05 - 10-1, lost to No, 3 LSU (71-70), State Farm Tip Off Classic, Austin
2005-06 - 10-1, lost at No. 4 LSU (88-57)
2006-07 - 13-1, lost to No. 12 Purdue (69-55) at Waco (Preseason WNIT)
2007-08 - 9-1

Baylor's Ferrell Center record in regular season, non-conference games under Coach Mulkey is 55-1 (.982). During that eight-year time span, Baylor's lone Ferrell Center loss came against 12th-ranked Purdue on Nov. 19, 2006, in the Preseason WNIT championship game.

Danielle Wilson EARNS BIG 12 RECOGNITION
Danielle Wilson (Baylor) was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week while Dominic Seals (Texas Tech) was chosen Rookie of the Week by a media voting panel for games of Dec. 17-22. Wilson earned her third career honor after being named Rookie of the Week twice last season while Seals was recognized for the first time.

Wilson produced back-to-back double-doubles in Baylor's victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and St. John's. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native averaged 17.0 points and 12.0 rebounds over the two games in addition to blocking seven shots and shooting 56 percent (14-25) from the floor.

Against TAMU--CC, Wilson led all scorers and rebounders when she tallied 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds and added four blocks. In Baylor's road win over St. John's she notched her third double-double of the season with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance. She also added three blocks, two steals and two assists.

Wilson, the Big' 12's top shot blocker has rejected 34 this season and has registered 120 career blocks, moving the sophomore up to No. 4 on Baylor's career list.

BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- Baylor ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division I statistics in six categories: No. 4 in field goal percentage (.494), No. 5 in scoring margin (+28.1), No. 7 in both scoring offense (80.3) and rebound margin (+12.4), No. 8 in blocks per game (6.4) and No. 9 in field goal percentage defense (.328).

- Danielle Wilson's 3.40 blocks per game rank her No. 6 nationally.

- Baylor is the only team in the Big 12 (as of Dec. 26) to have five players ranked among the league's top-30 in scoring average (Player, Tisdale, Wilson, Morrow, Allison). In fact, no team beside Baylor has more than three players listed among the top 30.

- With 982 career points, Angela Tisdale needs just 18 to reach 1,000 points.

- The Lady Bears have shot 44.3 percent or higher in nine of 10 games this season and have posted a 52.6 percent or higher mark in four games.

- Baylor has shot 50 percent or higher from 3-point range in four games.

- BU is 94-19 (.832) since the start of the 2004-05 season with 16 of the 19 setbacks coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. Baylor's last 14 losses have come to ranked opponents.

- Baylor is 150-13 (.920) under Coach Mulkey when scoring 70 or more points, including 93-3 (.969) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.

- Bernice Mosby, who left school early in 2007 to play for the WNBA, received her Baylor degree on Dec. 15. Baylor boasts a 100% graduation rate by Lady Bears who have completed their athletic eligibility at BU since Coach Mulkey's arrival.

- Danielle Wilson has blocked at least one shot in 41 of 44 career games, including 4 or more 14 times and 3 or more on 19 occasions. Wilson's wing span is 82.25 inches, only 5 inches less than Mamadou Diene, the 7-foot center on the Baylor men's team.

- Wilson narrowly missed a triple-double when Baylor defeated Oregon. She hauled down 10 rebounds, rejected a school-record nine shots and scored nine points.

- Angela Tisdale has been named by the WNBA Player Personnel Department one of the 2008 WNBA Draft's top 20 prospects.

- Tisdale has 415 career assists and needs just 43 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 and Danielle Wilson's nine blocks against Oregon both rank No. 1 in the Big 12.

- Sophomore posts Danielle Wilson (34) and Jessika Bradley (13) have combined for 47 of the team's 70 season blocks.

- On the season, Baylor has outscored its opponents by an average of 27.5 points a game and hauled down 13.5 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 7.0 a contest.

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 105-14 (.882) 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 - 7-0

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 is now ranked No. 10 in both polls. Prior to the loss to then-fifth-ranked Stanford, Baylor was ranked No. 10 for three weeks. After dropping to No. 11 for one week, the Lady Bears are now back up to No. 10. Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 75 straight regular-season AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24.

THE OPPONENT
RICE OWLS
The Rice Owls, 7-5 on the season prior to a Friday night game at Prairie View A&M, are led by third-year head coach Greg Williams who sports a 50-38 record at Rice and a 251-175 mark in 15 seasons as a head coach.

A squad that lists three seniors, a junior and a sophomore in their starting lineup, the Owls currently have three players averaging double-digit scoring. Senior center Valeriya Berezhynska leads the way with 17.9 points and 8.9 rebounds followed by senior guard Kadie Riverin and junior guard Maudess Fulton's 12.5 points apiece. Senior forward Tiffany Loggins ranks second on the squad in rebounding with 5.5 an outing.

Rice, prior to its game at Prairie View A&M on Friday, has posted wins over Navy (63-52), North Texas (69-65), Winthrop (63-54 ot), Cal State Northridge (81-55), Arkansas Little-Rock (49-39), TCU (82-74) and Rider (66-65). The Owls five losses have come against UCLA (79-71), Clemson (62-59), Colorado (72-55), Furman (70-53) and Wake Forest (79-46).

RICE'S PROBABLE STARTERS
4 Kadie Riverin - Sr., G, 5-9 - 12.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg
10 Tara Watts - So., G, 5-9 - 6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg
15 Valeriya Berezhynska - Sr., C, 6-4 - 17.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg
21 Maudess Fulton - Jr., G, 5-10, 12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg
45 Tiffany Loggins - Sr., F, 6-0 - 5.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg

SERIES RECORD
This will be the 33rd meeting between the former Southwest Conference foes. Rice holds the series lead 17-15 however, Baylor owns a two-game win streak over the Owls. The series is tied 8-8 in games played in Waco.