Feb. 19, 2009
#5/5 Baylor (21-3, 9-2) vs. #2/2 Oklahoma (23-2, 11-0)
Saturday, Feb. 21 - 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Lloyd Noble Center (12,000) Norman, Okla.
OVER THE AIRWAVES
TV: Sooner Sports Network
FSN Southwest (limited viewing)
(see listing below for channels)
The Sooner Sports Network will broadcast the game on FSN Southwest and select Texas markets will pick up the broadcast.
Time Warner Cable will carry the game on the following channels:
Waco - Channel 15
Dallas - Channel 185
Austin - Channel 77
San Antonio - Channel 50
Webcast: BaylorBears.com
Live audio (free)
Radio: ISP Sports Network
92.9 FM-KLRK
www.baylorbears.com
Radio Talent:
Rick May (Play-by-play)
Lori Fogleman (Color analyst)
BAYLOR TRAVELS TO TAKE ON THE SECOND-RANKED SOONERS
No. 5/5 Baylor, 21-3 overall, 9-2 in the Big 12 and alone in second place in the league standings, will travel to Norman, Okla., to take on the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2:00 p.m. (CT).
Junior post Danielle Wilson leads the Lady Bears in both scoring and rebounding at 15.5 points and 9.4 boards a game while senior guard Jessica Morrow ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.3 a contest. Senior guard Jhasmin Player completes Baylor's double-digit scoring trio at 10.0 a contest while senior forward/post Rachel Allison isn't far behind at 9.8 a game.
The No. 2/2 Sooners, 23-2 on the season and 11-0 in conference action, enter the game riding a 19-game win streak. Oklahoma sits atop the league standings with a two-game lead over the Lady Bears. OU is 13-1 at home this season and 5-0 in league contests, its lone loss in the Lloyd Noble Center came in the Preseason Women's NIT to then-second-ranked North Carolina, 80-79.
The league's top three rebounders will take the court on Saturday afternoon, the Sooners' Courtney and Ashley Paris rank No. 1 and 2 among the Big 12's rebound leaders with 13.8 and 9.7 per game, respectively, while Baylor's Danielle Wilson ranks third at 9.5 a contest.
The contest with the Sooners will mark Baylor's eighth ranked opponent of the year and its fourth top 10 foe, too. Baylor is 5-2 versus ranked opponents and 2-1 against top 10 foes with wins over then-No. 2 Stanford (81-65) and then-No. 9 Texas A&M (64-61) and a loss to No. 2 Oklahoma (56-51).
Baylor held OU to its lowest point total of the season, 56, when the two teams met Jan. 28 at Waco.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
IN THE POLLS
5 - Associated Press
5 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches
PROBABLE STARTERS (based on previous game)
21 Kelli Griffin-So., G, 5-8 - 6.1 ppg, 3.25 rpg, 3.3 apg
15 Jhasmin Player-Sr., G, 5-10 - 10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
3 Jessica Morrow-Sr., G, 6-0 - 11.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg
14 Rachel Allison-Sr., F, 6-1 - 9.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg
11 Danielle Wilson-Jr., P, 6-3 -15.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.2 bpg
TOP RESERVES
5 Melissa Jones-So., G, 5-10 - 7.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg
55 Morghan Medlock-Jr., F, 6-2 - 6.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
24 Ashley Field-Fr., P, 6-2 - 3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg
LADY BEAR LEADERS
With 24 games under its belt, Baylor continues to rank among the Big 12 Conference leaders in rebounding and is No. 4 nationally in rebounding margin (+11.3). Four players haul down 5.3 or more rebounds a contest, junior post Danielle Wilson leads the way with 9.5, senior post Rachel Allison follows with 6.2, while sophomore guard Melissa Jones manages 5.6 a contest and senior guard Jhasmin Player hauls in 5.3 an outing. The Lady Bears average 44.9 rebounds a contest while limiting their opponents to just 33.6.
Wilson leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 15.5 points and 9.5 boards a game while senior guard Jessica Morrow ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.3 a contest. Player completes Baylor's double-digit scoring trio at 10.0 a contest while Allison isn't far behind at 9.8 a game.
WILSON EARNS BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Danielle Wilson averaged 22.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in leading Baylor to last week's victories over Oklahoma State and Missouri. In addition, she registered four assists and two steals while recording her 13th and 14th double-doubles of the season. Wilson shot 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the floor in the two games. Against Missouri, the junior post tied her career high in scoring with a game-high 26 points. She led all players in rebounding with 13 and added four blocks and a steal. Wilson was 11-of-13 from the floor in the contest. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds, five of which were off the offensive glass at OSU. She added three assists, three blocks and a steal.
SCOUTING THE SOONERS
Oklahoma is 23-2 on the season and 11-0 in league play after posting an 80-72 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night at Lubbock. OU's two losses have come at the hands of then-No. 2 North Carolina (80-79) and to top-ranked Connecticut (106-78).
Head coach Sherri Coale is in her 13th year at Oklahoma. She is 278-129 (.683) in her collegiate coaching career, all of which have come as the Sooners' head coach.
Oklahoma is led in scoring by 6-4 senior center Courtney Paris' 15.9 points and 13.8 rebounds an outing. Ashley Paris, a 6-3 senior forward, is also averaging a double-double with 13.8 points and 9.7 rebounds a contest. Sophomore guard Danielle Robinson is the team's third scorer with 12.7 a contest.
OKLAHOMA'S PROBABLE STARTERS (based on previous game)
13 Danielle Robinson - So., G, 5-9 - 12.7 ppg, 6.0 apg
25 Whitney Hand - Fr., G, 6-1 - 9.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg
21 Amanda Thompson - Jr., F, 6-0 - 7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg
5 Ashley Paris - Sr., F, 6-3 - 13.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg
3 Courtney Paris - Sr., C, 6-4 - 15.9 ppg, 13.8 rpg
SERIES RECORD
Oklahoma holds a 21-10 series lead over Baylor. Prior to Baylor's two victories over the Sooners last season, Oklahoma had won six straight over the Lady Bears. The Sooners posted a 56-51 victory in Waco in the two teams' first meeting this season. In fact, the series seems to go in streaks. Oklahoma won three straight to begin the series, Baylor took the next four, then OU reeled off 11 straight before Baylor won four in a row, Oklahoma won six consecutive, then BU took both games last season and OU won at Waco earlier this season.
Baylor is 5-9 versus Oklahoma in games played in Norman.
Kim Mulkey is 6-14 versus Oklahoma overall and 3-5 in Norman.
BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- Baylor's three losses are by a combined total of nine points. The Lady Bears are 3-3 in games decided by five or fewer points.
- Baylor has outrebounded its opponent in 23 of 24 games this year. The 2008-09 Lady Bears rank No. 4 nationally in rebound margin.
- Over the last 13 games, Jessica Morrow has averaged 13.1 points a game, registering 11 double-digit scoring efforts during that span.
- Junior post Danielle Wilson blocked six shots against Stanford. Currently, at the 24-game mark, she has rejected 76 shots and totals 242 for her career to extend her school record. She is 11 blocks away from breaking the Baylor single-season record of 86 blocks she set as a rookie in 2006-07.
- Wilson currently ranks No. 4 on the Big 12's career shot block chart (242), two blocks behind Kansas State's Marlies Gipson.
- Over the past 18 games, Wilson has averaged 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. In addition, she has posted a double-double in 14 of the last 18 games.
- Wilson ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 6 nationally in blocks per game (3.2).
- Wilson leads the team in double-doubles with 14 (Wisconsin, Lamar, Samford, UT-Pan Am, Oregon, Iowa State, Oklahoma State [twice], Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas State, Missouri).
- Baylor's Jan. 10 victory at Colorado marked Kim Mulkey's 100th win versus Big 12 teams, she is 108-49 (.688) versus league foes.
- Baylor has led at the half in every game except two (tied 35-35 vs. No. 2 Stanford, trailed 39-36 at Oregon). The Lady Bears went on to win both contests.
- BU leads the Big 12 in rebound offense (44.9) and rebound margin (+11.3). v - The Lady Bears own the Big 12's top two team rebounding marks this season. They hauled down 70 against Florida Atlantic (Nov. 14) and 64 versus Lamar (Dec. 8).
- Baylor has topped the 50-rebound mark seven times this season (Florida Atlantic-70; Rice-52; UCF-50; Lamar-64; UT-Pan Am-50, Oklahoma State-51 [twice]).
- Baylor tallied a school record 70 rebounds versus an NCAA opponent in its win over Florida Atlantic.
- After achieving its highest Associated Press ranking of the season at No. 4, Baylor is No. 5 after recent victories over Oklahoma State and Missouri. Baylor is also No. 5 in the latest USA Today ESPN Coaches' Poll.
- The then-19th-ranked Lady Bears downed No. 2 Stanford, 81-65, on Sunday, Nov. 16. BU's victory over No. 2 Stanford marked the program's highest-ranked regular-season win ever.
- After scoring a three-pointer in 43 straight games, dating back to Feb. 28, 2007, the Lady Bears have come up empty from behind the arch three times this season, they were 0-6 against Wisconsin and Colorado and 0-9 from 3-point range versus Samford.
- Since coming into the league in 2000-01, Kim Mulkey owns the top winning percentage and most victories among Big 12 coaches at 78.4 percent (229-63). Please see chart at the bottom of page two for complete listing.
ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATE WILSON ON A ROLL
Baylor's Danielle Wilson, an All-American candidate, has been on a roll since the Lady Bears played Wisconsin. Over the past 18 games, the junior post has produced 14 double-doubles, led the team in scoring on 12 occasions and rebounding in 14 contests. In addition, against Texas State and again against Missouri, she poured in a career-high 26 points and at Texas Tech she hauled down a career-high 17 rebounds.
Over the 18 games she has averaged a team-leading 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks.
Wilson has raised her season averages to 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, both of which lead the team. She has blocked a team-leading 76 shots which ranks her No. 1 in the Big 12 at 3.2 a contest.
Wilson has hauled down 229 rebounds, 111 (48.5 percent) of which are off the offensive glass.
As of games through Feb. 15, Wilson ranks No. 6 nationally in blocked shots (3.2).
In addition, with 979 career points, Wilson needs to score 21 points to become the third Lady Bear to achieve the 1,000 milestone this season and the 27th overall.
LED ME GUARD HER COACH
When deciding which player to assign to defend the opponent's top perimeter player, coach Mulkey often hears from 6-0 senior guard Jessica Morrow, "let me guard her coach." Morrow's long arms and lanky frame make her a daunting defender and she has often held her assigned player to well below her scoring average this season.
In addition, Morrow has stepped up her offensive production since the start of Big 12 play. Prior to entering league action, the 6-0 guard averaged 9.7 points a game to rank fourth on the squad in scoring. She has raised her season scoring average to 11.2 ppg which ranks No. 2 on the team. In Baylor's 11 league games, Morrow has averaged 13.0 points a game and shot 40.3 percent (56-139) from the floor.
OFF THE BENCH
Coming off the bench, sophomore guard Melissa Jones has proven to a valuable asset to the Lady Bears. Not only can she hit from the outside, but she can post-up, is one of the team's best rebounders and leads the squad in steals.
The Thornton, Colo., native is averaging 7.2 points and 5.6 rebounds while hitting 49.6 (59-119) percent from the floor, including 37.1 percent from three-point range. She has dished out 42 assists and stolen the ball a team-leading 37 times.
