March 23, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

#12/#11 Baylor (25-6) vs. Pittsburgh (23-10)

Monday, March 24 - 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
The Pit (15,654) - Albuquerque, N.M.

Television - ESPN 2 & ESPN 360

Radio -KLRK - 92.9 FM - Waco; KVCE - 1160 AM - Dallas

2008 NCAA Tournament
Spokane Regional

First Round - March 22 (Saturday)
The Pit - Albuquerque, N.M.

No. 3 Baylor def. No. 14 Fresno State - 88-67
No. 6 Pittsburgh def. No. 11 Wyoming 63-58

Second Round - March 24 (Monday)
Baylor vs. Pittsburgh - 6 p.m. (CDT)

Baylor is competing in its fifth straight and seventh all-time NCAA Tournament, as all seven appearances have come since head coach Kim Mulkey assumed the program's helm. BU is 13-5 in NCAA Tournament games including 6-1 in first round games, 3-2 in second round games, 1-2 in the Sweet 16, 1-0 in the Elite Eight, 1-0 in the semifinals and 1-0 in championship games.

The Lady Bears have made three Sweet 16 appearances and won the 2005 NCAA championship. Baylor secured an at-large bid after finishing the regular season at 24-6 and posting a 12-4 Big 12 Conference mark. The Lady Bears, ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll, are competing in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed.

Monday's game marks Baylor's sixth straight NCAA Tournament second round appearance. Baylor is looking for a fourth Sweet 16 in five years and first since 2006.

Pittsburgh, a No. 6 seed, its highest seed in school history, is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance. Pitt advanced to the NCAA second round by defeating Wyoming, 63-58.

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 eight 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, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and eight 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 208-59 (.779) 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 seven NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the WNIT finals.

Mulkey's autobiography, "Won't Back Down," hit bookstores on Nov. 1, 2007.

BAYLOR LADY BEARS

IN THE POLLS
12 - Associated Press
11 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches

PROBABLE STARTERS
G-3 Jessica Morrow - Jr., 6-0, 12.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg
P-11 Danielle Wilson - So., 6-3 - 10.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg
P-14 Rachel Allison - Jr., 6-1, 13.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg
G-20 Angela Tisdale - Sr., 5-7, 16.5 ppg, 3.3 apg
G-21 Kelli Griffin - Fr., 5-8, 2.8 ppg, 1.8 apg

TOP RESERVES
P-1 Jessika Bradley - So., 6-3, 4.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G-5 Melissa Jones - Fr., 5-10 - 5.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

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

PROBABLE STARTERS
G-0 Mallorie Winn - Sr., 5-11, 8.0 ppg, 3.6 apg
G-1 Shavonte Zellous - Jr., 5-11 18.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg
F-2 Sophronia Sallard - So., 5-10, 2.8 ppg, 2.2 apg
F-33 Xenia Stewart - Jr., 6-0, 8.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
C-45 Marcedes Walker - Sr., 6-3, 13.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg

TOP RESERVES
G-10 Taneisha Harrison - Fr., 6-0 - 6.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg
F-22 Chelsea Cole - Fr., 6-3 - 6.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg

BAYLOR'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Baylor is competing in its fifth straight and seventh all-time NCAA Tournament, as all seven appearances have come since head coach Kim Mulkey assumed the program's helm. BU is 13-5 in NCAA Tournament games including 6-1 in first round games, 3-2 in second round games, 1-2 in the Sweet 16, 1-0 in the Elite Eight, 1-0 in the semifinals and 1-0 in championship games.

2001- No. 8 seed - West Region - Durham, N.C. (Duke host)
First round - lost to No. 9 seed Arkansas (68-59)

2002- No. 2 seed - East Region - Waco, Texas (Baylor host)
First round - def. No. 15 seed Bucknell (80-56)
Second round - lost to No. 7 seed Drake (76-72)

2004- No. 4 seed - Midwest Region - Albuquerque (University of New Mexico host)
First round - def. No. 13 seed Loyola Marymount (71-60)
Second round - def. No. 5 seed Florida (91-76)
Sweet 16 - lost to No. 1 Tennessee (71-69) (Oklahoma host)

2005 - No. 2 seed - Tempe Regional - Seattle (University of Washington host)
First round - def. No. 15 seed Illinois State (91-70)
Second round - def. No. 10 seed Oregon (69-46)
Sweet 16 - def. No. 3 seed Minnesota (64-57) (Tempe - Arizona State host)
Elite Eight - def. No. 1 seed North Carolina (72-63)
Semifinal - def. No. 1 seed LSU (68-57) (Indianapolis)
Championship - def. No. 1 seed Michigan State (84-62)

2006 - No. 3 seed - Albuquerque Regional - Tucson (University of Arizona host)
First round - def. No. 14 seed Northern Arizona (74-56)
Second round - def. No. 11 seed New Mexico (87-67)
Sweet 16 - lost to No. 2 seed Maryland (82-63) (Albuquerque - New Mexico host)

2007 - No. 5 seed - Fresno Regional - Raleigh, N.C. (N.C. State host)
First round - def. Chattanooga 68-55
Second round - lost to No. 4 seed North Carolina State 78-72 OT

2008 - No. 3 seed - Spokane Regional - Albuquerque (New Mexico host)
First round - def. Fresno State 88-67
Second round - vs. Pittsburgh (23-10)

LADY BEAR LEADERS
With 31 games under their belt, the Lady Bears boast four players averaging double-digit scoring. Leading the way is the squad's lone senior, All-American candidate and All-Big 12 first-team selection Angela Tisdale, with 16.5 a contest, while junior Rachel Allison, another All-American candidate and All-Big 12 first-team selection, manages 13.1 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds a game. Junior guard/forward Jessica Morrow follows with 12.0 a contest and sophomore post Danielle Wilson comes off the bench to score 10.2 an outing.

In addition to Allison's 8.6 boards, two other players haul down 5.5 or more rebounds an outing. Wilson manages 6.8 a game while freshman Melissa Jones averages 5.5.

DEFENSE
Superior defense as well as a balanced offense has led Baylor to a 24-6 season mark. The Lady Bears rank among the NCAA's leaders in several defensive categories: No. 4 in blocked shots (6.3), No. 12 field goal percentage defense (.353), No. 33 scoring defense (56.8) and No. 94 steals (9.4).

Among Big 12 defensive categories (all games), the Lady Bears are No. 1 in field goal percentage defense and blocks and No. 2 in 3-point field goal percentage defense and No. 3 in scoring defense.

In league games only, Baylor finished regular season play ranked No. 1 in field goal percentage defense (.374); No. 2 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.277) and blocks (5.56).

BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- All six of Baylor's losses this season have come against teams selected for this year's NCAA Tournament: Stanford, Oklahoma State (twice), Texas A&M, Texas (twice).

- Baylor has victories over seven NCAA Tournament teams: Texas, Cal, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oklahoma (twice), Kansas State, Texas A&M.

- In Angela Tisdale's four-year career, Baylor has posted 110-24 record, winning 82.1 percent of its games. Tisdale has played in 130 of the 134 games and started in 103.

- The trio of Danielle Wilson (79), Jessika Bradley (34) and Jessica Morrow (35) have combined for 148 of the team's 194 season blocks.

- Versus Baylor's 10 ranked opponents this season, Angela Tisdale averages 18.3 points a game while Jessica Morrow manages 14.1 a contest.

- Entering the 2007-08 season, Baylor ranked No. 7 on the NCAA's Winningest Teams During the Last Five Years list with 135 victories. Schools ranking ahead of the Lady Bears are: Duke (159), Tennessee (159), Connecticut (157), LSU (151), North Carolina (149) and Stanford (141).

- Baylor ranks among the top seven in all four RPI rating services: No. 6 in Jeff Sagarin and No. 7 in collegerpi.com, College Basketball News and NCAA. This ranks No. 1 among Big 12 schools while the Big 12 ranks No. 1 in all RPI listings as a conference.

- The contest against No. 20 Oklahoma State on Thursday, March 6, marked Baylor's 10th game versus a ranked opponent in 2007-08; Baylor is now 6-4 versus ranked teams.

- 2007-08 team captains - senior Angela Tisdale and juniors Rachel Allison and Jhasmin Player.

- Baylor ranks in the top 25 in NCAA Division I statistics in five categories as of games through March 16: No. 4 in blocked shots (6.3); No. 10 in scoring margin (+15.5); No. 12 in field goal percentage defense (35.3); No. 16 in rebounding margin (+6.6) and No. 20 in won-lost percentage (80.0).

- Danielle Wilson's 2.7 blocks per game rank her No. 17 nationally.

- The Lady Bears have shot 44.3 percent or higher in 15 of 31 games this season and have posted a 50.0 percent or higher mark in seven games.

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

- BU is 110-24 (.821) since the start of the 2004-05 season with 19 of the 24 setbacks coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. Of Baylor's last 19 losses, 17 have come to ranked opponents.

- Baylor is 160-13 (.925) under Coach Mulkey when scoring 70 or more points, including 97-3 (.970) when putting 80 or more on the scoreboard.

- Baylor is 17-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points, 10-0 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 56 of 64 career games, including 4 or more 19 times and 3 or more on 23 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.

- With her 1,360 points and 489 assists, Angela Tisdale is the fourth player in school history to score more than 1,000 points and dish out at least 400 career assists. She ranks No. 13 on Baylor's scoring list and No. 1 in career assists.

- Baylor led NCAA Division I last season in blocks per game with 7.2. So far this season the Lady Bears are averaging 6.3 a contest to rank No. 4 nationally.

- Baylor has produced 25 or more wins in five straight seasons, 136-33 during that span.

- The Big 12 Conference is 8-0 in first round NCAA games.

DOING MORE WITH LESS
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is producing one of the most impressive coaching performances of her career, doing more with less. The Lady Bears, with no dominant scorer or rebounder returning as in past seasons, have posted a 25-6 overall record and, after being picked to finish third in the preseason coaches poll, finished second in the league standings but beat champion Kansas State

Mulkey began the season with 10 players, using an eight player rotation. Until the season-ending injury to guard Jhasmin Player (vs. Kansas State), all five Baylor starters were averaging double-digit scoring. Baylor was 20-1 overall and 8-0 in league games entering the Kansas State game. With just nine players available and now using a seven player rotation, the Lady Bears have continued to be successful.

Baylor's strength this season, in addition to balanced scoring, has been its stingy defense, a trademark of Mulkey-coached teams. Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference in field goal percentage defense (.352) and blocked shots (6.27) and ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.268).

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Pittsburgh Panthers, 23-10 on the season, came into the tournament as the No. 6 seed and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second round with a 63-58 victory over 11th-seeded Wyoming. The Panthers are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance.

Head coach Agnus Berenato is in her fifth season along the Pitt sidelines and has posted an 88-64 record. She is 371-328 in her 24 seasons as a head coach.

Pitt is led in scoring by 5-11 junior guard Shanovte Zellous' 18.1 points a game. Also scoring in double digits is guard Marcedes Walker, a 6-3 senior center with 13.8 a contest. Walker is the squad's top rebounder at 9.6 an outing.

SERIES RECORDS
Baylor and Pittsburgh have met on one previous occasion with the Panthers winning on Feb. 27, 1981, 101-81, in the National Women's Invitational Tournament at Amarillo, Texas.