April 5, 2005

In their 2005 National Championship run, the Baylor women's basketball team overcame two other No. 1 seeds in tight games before facing first-seeded Michigan State. In their first Final Four appearance, the Lady Bears finished the job with a 84-62 victory over the Spartans.

Led by spectacular backcourt play and superb outside shooting from Emily Niemann, the Lady Bears took a commanding 19-point first half lead and never looked back.

Coach Kim Mulkey became the first woman to win a national championship as a player and coach. "What a team I get to coach!" Mulkey said after the game. "It wasn't the coaching; it's these guys taking me for a tremendous ride."

All-American forward Sophia Young took control for Baylor and finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Senior center Steffanie Blackmon also scored 22 points in a dominating effort as Baylor out-rebounded the Spartans 45-22.

"She doesn't accept anything but the best from her players," Blackmon said. "She's just hard on you, but it pays off, 'cause hey, we're here and we won the big thing right now."

Niemann came off the bench on fire as she knocked down five 3-pointers in the first half. She would finish the game with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.

"I think (Niemann) was the whole key to this game," Michigan State coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "If you take 51 off the floor, it was a different game. She was definitely the X-factor."

The Spartans threatened to make a comeback in the first half, breaking down Baylor's lead to nine points with time running down. But Niemann sent Baylor into the locker rooms with the momentum and a 12-point lead as she drained a deep three with nine seconds remaining.

Niemann's hot shooting opened up the paint for the Baylor posts. Point guard Chelsea Whitaker distributed the ball efficiently finishing with six assists, five rebounds, and only one turnover, while guard Chameka Scott added seven points, four rebounds, and three assists. Reserve guard Latoya Wyatt, who only played two minutes in Baylor's win over LSU, finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Following the game, Sophia Young was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while teammates Blackmon and Niemann were named to the Final Four All-Tournament team.

Written by Luke Blount, media relations student assistant