Dec. 4, 2008
WACO, Texas - #10/10 Baylor Lady Bears (6-1) vs.
St. John's (7-0) - Saturday, Dec. 6 - 7 p.m.
Lamar (4-1) - Monday, Dec. 8 - 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
OVER THE AIRWAVES
TV: None
Webcast: BaylorBears.com
live audio (free) and video (pay)
Radio: ISP Sports Network
1660 AM-KRZI/ESPN
www.baylorbears.com
Radio Talent:
Rick May (Play-by-play)
Lori Fogleman (Color analyst)
Live Stats: www.baylorbears.com
BAYLOR RETURNS HOME FOR FOUR-GAME STAND
The 10th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (6-1) return to the Ferrell Center for four straight contests after a four-game road trip.
The Lady Bears take on undefeated St. John's on Saturday, Dec. 6 and then host Lamar on Monday, Dec. 8. Both contests begin at 7 p.m. After a break for finals, Baylor will host Samford (Dec. 13) and UT-Pan American (Dec. 16) to close out its 2008 home slate.
The St. John's Red Storm has opened the season 7-0 for the fourth time in history and the first time since 2005-06. That marked the last time it opened the season perfect through seven games.
The Lamar Cardinals, 4-1 on the season, will host Louisiana-Monroe (Dec. 6) prior to traveling to Waco to take on the Lady Bears. Twenty years and one day will have passed since the last meeting between Lamar and Baylor as they last played on Dec. 7, 1988. Current Lamar head coach Larry Tidwell served as a Lady Bear assistant coach from 1992-98.
NEARING 1,000 CAREER POINTS TIMES TWO
Two Lady Bear seniors, Jessica Morrow and Rachel Allison, are nearing the 1,000 career point milestone.
Morrow, a guard from Humble, Texas, with 984 career points, needs just 16 to reach 1,000.
Allison, a forward/post from Jonesboro, Ark., currently has 950 points to her credit, needing just 50 to collect 1,000.
The tandem will become the 25th and 26th Lady Bears to attain the milestone.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
IN THE POLLS
10 - Associated Press
10 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS
15- Jhasmin Player-Sr., G, 5-10 -12.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 apg
5- Melissa Jones-So., G, 5-10 - 7.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg
3- Jessica Morrow-Sr., G, 6-0 - 9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg
14- Rachel Allison-Sr., F, 6-0 - 16.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg
11- Danielle Wilson-Jr., P, 6-3 11.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg
TOP RESERVES
21 Kelli Griffin-So., G, 5-8 - 5.6 ppg, 2.7 ppg, 2.7 apg
55 Morghan Medlock-Jr., F, 6-2 - 5.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg
24 Ashley Field-Fr., G, 6-2, 4.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
25 Lindsay Palmer-Fr., G, 5-10, 3.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg
BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- The then-19th-ranked Lady Bears downed No. 2 Stanford, 81-65, on Sunday, Nov. 16.
- After moving up to No. 6 in the AP poll, Baylor dropped to No. 10 after losing to Wisconsin (59-58). Baylor is also No. 10 in the USA Today ESPN Coaches' Poll.
- BU's victory over No. 2 Stanford marked the program's highest-ranked regular season win.
- Senior post Rachel Allison, 6-1, scored 25 points and hauled down eight rebounds against Stanford's tall posts.
- Baylor tallied a school record 70 rebounds versus an NCAA opponent in its win over Florida Atlantic.
- Junior post Danielle Wilson blocked six shots against Stanford. Seven games into the season she has rejected 17 shots and totals 183 for her career to extend her school record.
- In three of Baylor's seven games, five players have scored in double digits.
- Allison has two double-doubles to her credit this season, both have been recorded by halftime (Florida Atlantic, Rice).
- The Wisconsin game marked the first time this season that Allison failed to score in double-digits.
- Wilson notched her first double-double of the season and ninth of her career with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Wisconsin.
- Jessica Morrow scored a season-high 17 points in Baylor's win over Villanova.
ALL-AMERICAN NUMBERS
Baylor's Rachel Allison has begun the season with considerable success. After hanging 18 points and 13 rebounds against Florida Atlantic, the 6-1 forward/post scored 25 points, 20 of which came in the first half against No. 2 Stanford.. She was 9-for-16 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. In addition, she hauled down eight rebounds and had a block and a steal. She continues to excel, notching another double-double (11p/10r) in the first half against Rice en route to a 16 point and 14 rebound effort..
On the season, Allison is averaging 17.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
BAYLOR IN REGULAR SEASON, NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
In Coach Mulkey's nine seasons, the Lady Bears are 97-7 (.933) 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 - 12-1, lost at No. 5 Stanford (87-563)
2008-09 - 6-1, lost to Wisconsin (59-58) at Paradise Jam, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Baylor's Ferrell Center record in regular season, non-conference games under Coach Mulkey is 61-1 (.984). During that nine-year time span, Baylor's lone Ferrell Center loss came against 12th-ranked Purdue on Nov. 19, 2006, in the Preseason WNIT championship game.
BAYLOR IN THE RANKINGS
After defeating the then-No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Nov. 16, the Lady Bears moved up nine spots, to No. 10, in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and then moved up to No. 6 after wins over Stephen F. Austin and Rice. After a 59-58 loss to unranked Wisconsin, the Lady Bears currently sit at No. 10. Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 95 straight AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24.
In the latest USA Today ESPN Division I Top 25 Coaches' poll, the Lady Bears are ranked No. 10.
BAYLOR'S CAREER TOP 10
Rachel Allison is close to breaking into Baylor's career top 10 list in two categories. Jessika Stratton's 265 career free throws made ranks No. 10 and Allison needs to drain four to match that mark. The Jonesboro, Ark., native, currently has 692 rebounds and needs to haul down 19 more to rank No. 10 on that list, tying Baylor Athletic Hall of Famer Karen Aulenbacher's 711. In addition, Allison sits at No. 2 on the 3-point field goal percentage list at 43.4 percent.
Jessica Morrow, with her 99 career 3-point field goals made, continues to move up Baylor's top 10 chart. She currently sits at No. 8 and needs 12 makes to tie Jordan Davis' 111. Also, Morrow, with 85 career starts, needs to start in six more games to rank No. 10, tied with Jackie Reiter.
HALL OF FAME COACHES
With the addition of Leon Barmore to the Lady Bear coaching staff, Baylor becomes one of just three women's programs, joining Tennessee and Rutgers, with at least two Women's Basketball Hall of Fame members on its 2008-09 staff. Head coach Kim Mulkey was enshrined in 2000, while Barmore entered the Hall in 2003. In addition, Barmore was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
ST. JOHN'S - The St. John's Red Storm enter the game undefeated at 7-0 for the fourth time in history and the first time since 2005-06. The Red Storm fought of a late comeback by Monmouth on Wednesday as Monique McLean scored four points in the final 20 seconds to give St. John's the 52-48 victory.
McLean, a 5-11 senior guard, and Da'Shena Stevens, a 6-1 freshman forward, lead the team in both scoring and rebounding. McLean averages a team-leading 16.1 points a game while Stevens follows with 11.9 a contest. Stevens is the squad's top rebounder at 7.7 a contest while McLean manages 6.7 a game. Joy McCorvey, a 6-0 junior forward, follows closely in rebounding with 6.6 an outing. St. John's Kim Barnes Arico is in her sixth season at the Red Storm's helm and 12th season overall as a head coach. She is 75-76 at St. John's and 169-148 all time, which also includes stints at Adelphi, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Farleigh Dickinson University-Madison.
ST. JOHN'S PROBABLE STARTERS
20 Monique McLean - Sr., G, 5-11 - 16.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.4 apg
23 Kelly McManmon - Sr., G, 5-11 - 9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg
1 Sky Lindsay - So., G, 5-11 - 5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg
25 Joy McCorvey - Jr., F, 6-0, 8.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg
3 Da'Shena Stevens - Fr., F, 6-1 - 11.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg
LAMAR
The Lamar Lady Cards are 4-1 after a Wednesday evening victory over LSU-Shreveport (69-56). Lamar will host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday (2 p.m.) prior to traveling to Waco to face the Lady Bears. Lamar is led in both scoring and rebounding by junior forward Darika Hill (6-0) with 13.4 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. Nikki Williams, a 5-11 sophomore guard, scores 12.6 an outing and Brittney Williams, a 5-10 junior forward, completes the Lady Cards' double digit scoring with 11.8 an outing. Sophomore forward Trashanna Smith comes off the bench to haul down 7.1 rebounds a game while Brittney Williams manages 6.0 a contest.
The Lady Cards are led by second-year head coach Larry Tidwell who sports a 23-14 career record. Tidwell served as a Lady Bear assistant coach from 1992-'98 under both Pam Bowers and Sonja Hogg.
LAMAR'S PROBABLE STARTERS
14 Agnija Reke - Sr., G, 5-9 - 1.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.0 apg
10 Nikki Williams - So., G, 5-11 - 12.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg
4 Emily Spickler - Sr., G, 5-8, 8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
33 Darika Hill - Jr., F, 6-0, 13.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg
34 Brittney Williams - Jr., F, 5-10 - 11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg
SERIES RECORDS
The Baylor-St. John's matchup will be the second meeting between the two schools. Baylor owns a 1-0 series lead after prevailing last season, 81-58, on the Red Storm's home court.
Baylor and Lamar will meet on the court for just the fifth time. The Lady Bears lead the series 3-1. The two school's most recent matchup came on Dec. 8. 1998, which will be exactly 20 years and one day since the last meeting. That matchup resulted in a 77-36 Baylor road victory.
THE COACHES
St. John's Kim Barnes Arico is in her sixth season at the Red Storm's helm and 12th season overall as a head coach. She is 75-76 at St. John's and 169-148 all time, which also includes stints at Adelphi, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Farleigh Dickinson University-Madison.
The Lady Cards are led by second-year head coach Larry Tidwell who sports a 23-14 career record. Tidwell served as a Lady Bear assistant coach from 1992-'98 under both Pam Bowers and Sonja Hogg.
LADY BEARS VS. THE BIG EAST AND SOUTHLAND CONFERENCES
The contest with St. John's will mark just the seventh BIG EAST team for Baylor. The Lady Bears are 3-4 versus BIG EAST schools after defeating Villanova (62-57) in the Paradise Jam on Nov. 28, 2008.
Baylor holds a 73-35 series lead over Southland Conference teams after posting a 77-42 home win over Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 21, 2008.
