No. 8 Lady Bears Host No. 13 Aggies
1/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2008
WACO, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
#8/8 Baylor (13-1, 1-0) vs. #13/12 Texas A&M (12-3, 0-1)
Saturday, Jan. 12 - 12:30 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
BAYLOR AND TEXAS A&M
No. 8 Baylor puts its 10-game home win streak on the line when it hosts the 13th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 12:30 p.m.
Texas A&M is the last team to win in Waco, a 63-58 triumph in last year's home finale.
Baylor is 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 action while the defending Big 12 co-champion Texas A&M Aggies are 12-3 on the season which includes an 0-1 league mark.
Baylor is coming off a road win at Texas Tech (72-67) while the Aggies lost a home game to unranked Kansas State, 67-54. The loss snapped a 26-game home win streak for the Aggies.
Baylor seeks to start 2-0 in Big 12 play for the second straight year and just the fourth time in the league's 12-year history.
The contest marks Baylor's third game of the season against a ranked opponent. Baylor defeated then-No. 12 California (69-56) and lost at then-No. 5 Stanford (87-63).
BAYLOR Lady Bears
IN THE POLLS
8 - Associated Press
8 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS
G-3 Jessica Morrow - Jr., 6-0 - 11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
P-11 Danielle Wilson - So., 6-3 - 11.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg
G-15 Jhasmin Player - Jr., 5-10 - 13.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg
P-14 Rachel Allison - Jr., 6-1 - 13.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg
G-20 Angela Tisdale - Sr., 5-7 - 14.7 ppg, 2.6 apg
TOP RESERVES
P-1 Jessika Bradley - So., 6-3 - 5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg
G-5 Melissa Jones - Fr., 5-10 - 5.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg
G-21 Kelli Griffin - Fr., 5-8, 2.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg
TEXAS A&M Aggies
IN THE POLLS
13 - Associated Press
12 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS
G-3 Takia Starks - Jr., 5-8 - 17.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg
G-10 A'Quonesia Franklin - Sr., 5-3 - 7.7 ppg, 4.6 apg
C-12 La Toya Micheaux - Jr., 6-3 - 4.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
F-21 Morenike Atunrase - Sr., 5-10 - 10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F-55 Danielle Gant - Jr., F, 5-11 - 14.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg
TOP RESERVES
F-2 Damitria Buchanan - So., 6-2 - 4.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
F-24 Patrice Reado - Sr., 6-0, 8.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F-33 Ashlaa Horton - So., 6-0, 2.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg
HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey
When Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey accepted the position of women's basketball head coach at Baylor University, few could have predicted the dramatic and prestigious turn the program was about to take. In just seven years at Baylor, the former All-American and Olympic gold medalist has guided the Lady Bear basketball program to the pinnacle of women's basketball, the 2005 NCAA national championship, six NCAA Tournament appearances and seven 20-win seasons.
The 2005 national title was Baylor's first for a women's team sport and is the only basketball national title, men's or women's, in the Big 12 Conference's 11-year history.
In winning the 2005 title, Mulkey became the first person, man or woman, to win a basketball national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
En route to the NCAA championship, the Lady Bears won their first Big 12 Conference championship and were the league's tournament champion as well.
Mulkey has produced amazing results since taking over the reins of the program on April 4, 2000, averaging 26.1 wins a season. In her eight years at the program's helm, she has posted an impressive 196-54 (.784) record which ranks her No. 7 nationally in winning percentage.
Since taking over a squad that was just 7-20 the season prior to her arrival, Mulkey has guided the Lady Bears to seven postseason appearances, including six NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the WNIT finals. Mulkey's autobiography, "Won't Back Down," hit bookstores on Nov. 1, 2007.
LADY BEAR LEADERS
With 14 games under their belt, the Lady Bears boast all five regular starters averaging double-digit scoring. Leading the way is the squad's lone senior, point guard Angela Tisdale, with 14.7 a contest, while Rachel Allison, a junior forward/post, manages 13.6 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds a game. Junior guard Jhasmin Player follows with 13.2 a contest and sophomore post Danielle Wilson manages 11.9 points an outing. Junior guard/forward Jessica Morrow completes Baylor's double-digit scoring with 11.6.
In addition to Allison's 7.9 boards, four other players haul down 5.0 or more rebounds an outing. Wilson ranks behind Allison at 7.6 a game while Player averages 6.0, freshman Melissa Jones manages 5.3 and sophomore post Jessika Bradley snags 5.1.
BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- Baylor ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division I statistics in eight categories as of games through Jan. 6: No. 2 in both blocked shots (7.3) and field goal percentage defense (32.3), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.492), No. 4 in both scoring margin (+28.3) and rebounding margin (13.5), No. 7 in both scoring defense (51.3) and won-lost percentage (93.2) and No. 9 in scoring offense (80.1).
- Danielle Wilson's 3.33 blocks per game rank her No. 7 nationally.
- Baylor's 80 percent field goal percentage (20-of-25) in the first half against N.C. A&T was the best percentage in a half since the Lady Bears shot 82.1 percent (23-of-28) in the second half against Texas Tech on Feb. 9, 2000 in Waco.
- Baylor is the only team in the Big 12 (as of Jan. 10) to have five players ranked among the league's top-30 in scoring average (#9 Tisdale, #16 Allison, #17 Player, #25 Wilson, #27 Morrow).
- BU owns the top game high mark in the league in six categories this season: FG % (.604), FT made (42), FT attempts (58), rebounds (63), blocked shots (15), turnovers (30).
- The Lady Bears have shot 44.3 percent or higher in 11 of 14 games this season and have posted a 52.6 percent or higher mark in five games.
- Baylor has shot 50 percent or higher from 3-point range in five games.
- BU is 98-19 (.838) 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 154-13 (.922) under Coach Mulkey when scoring 70 or more points, including 95-3 (.969) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.
- Baylor is 11-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points, 8-0 when putting 80-plus 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 43 of 47 career games, including 4 or more 15 times and 3 or more on 20 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 422 career assists and needs just 36 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.
- The trio of Danielle Wilson (41), Jessika Bradley (20) and Jessica Morrow (17) have combined for 78 of the team's 99 season blocks.
- On the season, Baylor has outscored its opponents by an average of 26.6 points a game and hauled down 11.6 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 7.1 a contest to rank No. 2 nationally.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 GAMES
The 2007-08 season marks the 12th year of competition for women's basketball in the Big 12 Conference. Baylor has a record of 104-73 all-time in regular season Big 12 games. However, in Kim Mulkey's eight years, Baylor is 77-36 in Big 12 play and has never posted a losing conference record. In 2004-05 the Lady Bears claimed their first-ever Big 12 Conference championship, winning both the regular season and tournament titles.
2000-01 - 9-7
2001-02 - 12-4
2002-03 - 8-8
2003-04 - 10-6
2004-05 - 14-2
2005-06 - 12-4
2006-07 - 11-5
2007-08 - 1-0
BAYLOR QUICK STARTS UNDER Kim Mulkey
A win over Texas A&M would match the third-best start in school history behind a 19-1 beginning in 1975-76 and last year's 15-1 start. Baylor's 1977-78 team also started 14-1. The Lady Bears have started no worse than 12-1 in each of Kim Mulkey's seven seasons along the Baylor sideline. 2007-08 13-1
2006-07 15-1
2005-06 12-1
2004-05 12-1
2003-04 12-1
2002-03 12-1
2001-02 13-1
2000-01 13-1
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 achieved its highest AP ranking of the season, moving up to No. 8 this week 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 among the top 10. Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 77 straight regular-season AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The 13th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, 12-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference action, enter the contest winners of nine of their last 11 contests. The Aggies dropped their Big 12 opener, a 67-54 loss to Kansas State that snapped their 26-game home win streak.
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 493-216 in his 23rd year as a head coach. Prior to his arrival at Texas A&M, Blair spent eight seasons at Stephen F. Austin (210-43) and 10 years at Arkansas (198-120). In his four-plus seasons in College Station, Blair is 85-53. In addition, he spent five years at Louisiana Tech as a graduate assistant and assistant coach, during that time, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey was a player for the Lady Techsters. Coach Blair is 8-7 versus Baylor throughout his head coaching career, 2-4 while at Texas A&M.
Texas A&M is led in scoring by 5-8 junior guard Takia Starks' 17.4 points. Danielle Gant, a 5-11 junior guard/forward, is the team's second-leading scorer with 14.4 a contest and is the team's top rebounder at 7.1 an outing. Senior Morenike Atunrase, a 5-10 guard/forward, has seen action in only six games due to injury but is averaging 10.0 points a game.
SERIES RECORD
Baylor and Texas A&M will meet for the 74th time when the two teams square off on Saturday afternoon. Baylor leads the series, 39-34, and has won 19 of the last 24, but has lost two straight to the Aggies. The Lady Bears are 20-13 versus the Aggies in Waco. Head coach Kim Mulkey owns a 13-3 record against Texas A&M with two losses coming in College Station and one in Waco, a 63-58 defeat last season.
COACHES PICK BAYLOR THIRD IN THE BIG 12
Baylor has been picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference by the league's coaches. Texas A&M was tabbed first with 117 points and seven first-place votes while Oklahoma earned 115 points and received five first-place votes. Baylor ranked third followed by Texas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Nebraska, while Kansas State and Texas Tech tied for eighth, then comes Kansas, Colorado and Missouri.
TISDALE JOINS ELITE GROUP
With her 18 point performance against Rice, senior point guard Angela Tisdale became the 24th Lady Bears to score 1,000 career points.
PLAYER SHOWS VERSATILITY
Junior guard Jhasmin Player has developed into one of the Lady Bears' most versatile players. She is averaging 13.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and a team-leading 3.9 assists a game. In addition, she ranks second on the squad in steals (26), just one behind team-leader Angela Tisdale's 27. She is shooting 53.8 percent (64-119) from the floor and 70.6 percent (48-68) from the charity stripe. More impressive is the fact that prior to this season she was 1-for 6 (.167) from 3-point range and began the season 0-4 from long range. Since that time she's nailed 9-of-14 (.643) and is 9-for-18 (.500) for the season. The Bay City, Texas, native has produced two perfect games from beyond the arc with 3-for-3 performances against both Oregon and Texas Tech.
