March 14, 2009

#7/7 Baylor (26-5, 12-4) vs. #10/9 Texas A&M (25-6, 11-5)

Sunday, March 15 - 12:30 p.m. (CT)
Big 12 Championship Finals
Cox Convention Center
Oklahoma City, Okla.

OVER THE AIRWAVES

FSN
Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play
Debbie Antonelli, color analyst

Internet Feeds
Webcast: BaylorBears.com
Live audio (free)

Radio: KLRK - 92.9 FM - Waco

Radio Talent:
Rick May, play-by-play
Lori Fogleman, color analyst

BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Lady Bears are 15-11 all-told in Big 12 Championship games, including 14-7 under head coach Kim Mulkey. BU has won its first Big 12 Championship game in eight of Mulkey's nine seasons and this marks Baylor's third championship game in the last five years.

Baylor advanced to the tournament finals for the fourth time in program history and the third time in the past five years. The Lady Bears appeared in the tournament finals in 2002, `05 and `06. BU won the 2005 Big 12 Championship by defeating Kansas State, 68-55.

Baylor is 4-3 in first round games, 6-4 in second round games, 4-2 in semifinal games and 1-2 in the finals.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Championship
First Round - March 12 (Thursday)
Game 1: No. 5 Kansas State def. No. 12 Colorado
Game 2: No. 8 Kansas def. No. 9 Nebraska
Game 3: No. 6 Texas def. No. 11 Missouri
Game 4: No. 10 Oklahoma State def. No. 7 Texas Tech

Quarterfinals - March 13 (Friday)
Game 5: No. 1 Oklahoma def. No. 8 Kansas - 61-56
Game 6: No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 5 Kansas State - 68-51
Game 7: No. 2 Baylor def. No. 10 Oklahoma State - 67-62
Game 8: No. 3 Iowa State def. No. 6 Texas - 59-55

Semifinals - March 14 (Saturday)
Game 9: No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 1 Oklahoma - 74-62
Game 10: No. 2 Baylor def. No. 3 Iowa State - 63-57

Championship - March 15 (Sunday)
Game 11: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 4 Texas A&M, 12:30 p.m. • FSN

LADY BEAR LEADERS IN 2009 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Senior guard Jessica Morrow has led Baylor in scoring in both 2009 Big 12 Championship games. She is averaging 19.5 points a game, including 9-of-15 from 3-point range (.600). Against 18th-ranked Iowa State she poured in a season-high 24 points, including a career-high six treys. Morghan Medlock and Melissa Jones come off the bench to average 11.5 and 9.5 points, respectively, while Rachel Allison adds 8.5 and Kelli Griffin and Jhasmin Player score 7.5 each. Allison is the squad's top rebounder at 9.5 while Jones hauls down 8.0 and Player manages 5.5.

The Lady Bears are shooting .500 (14-28) from beyond the arch and 30-of-35 (.857) from the free throw line.

BAYLOR HONORS IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Five Lady Bear players have been named to the Phillips 66 Big 12 All-Tournament team, all since Kim Mulkey's arrival. 2002 - Sheila Lambert, Danielle Crockrom 2004 - Sophia Young 2005 - Sophia Young (Most Outstanding Player), Steffanie Blackmon 2006 - Sophia Young 2007 - Jessica Morrow

BAYLOR Lady Bears

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

PROBABLE STARTERS
21 Kelli Griffin - So., 5-8 - 6.6 ppg, 3.7 apg
15 Jhasmin Player - Sr., 5-10 - 10.3 ppg, 5.6 apg
3 Jessica Morrow - Sr., 6-0 - 11.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg
14 Rachel Allison - Sr., 6-1-8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg
24 Ashley Field - Fr., 6-2 - 3.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg

TEXAS A&M Aggies

IN THE POLLS
10 - Associated Press
9 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches

PROBABLE STARTERS
51 Sydney Colson - So., G, 5-8 - 6.6 ppg, 3.0 apg
3 Takia Starks - Sr., G, 5-8 - 15.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg
22 Tanisha Smith - Jr., F, 6-0 - 9.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
55 Danielle Gant - Sr., F, 5-11 - 13.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg
12 LaToya Micheaux - Sr., C, 6-3 - 2.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg

LADY BEAR LEADERS
With 31 games under its belt, Baylor continues to rank among the Big 12 Conference leaders in rebounding and is No. 6 nationally in rebounding margin (+9.6). Four players haul down 5.6 or more rebounds a contest, junior post Danielle Wilson leads the way with 9.6, senior post Rachel Allison ranks second on the squad with 6.3 and sophomore guard Melissa Jones hauls in 5.8 while senior guard Jhasmin Player manages 5.6. The Lady Bears average 44.0 rebounds a contest while limiting their opponents to just 35.1.

Wilson leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 15.1 points and 9.6 boards a game while senior guard Jessica Morrow ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.7 a contest and Player completes Baylor's double-digit scorers at 10.3 a game.

BAYLOR QUICK HITS
• All three of Baylor's seniors, Rachel Allison, Jessica Morrow and Jhasmin Player, are scheduled to graduate in May 2009. The trio has posted a 103-27 (.792) record, including a 59-7 (.894) Ferrell Center mark, throughout their four years. This class has posted three Big 12 Conference second-place finishes and one third-place finish. Sunday's game marks the trio's second Big 12 Championship final (2005).

• Over the past three games, Jessica Morrow has averaged 20.7 points a game (23, Texas A&M; 15, Oklahoma State; 24, Iowa State).

• Senior Jhasmin Player now ranks No. 10 on BU's all-time steals list with 188. In addition, she needs 60 points to reach 1,000 for her career.

• Baylor has led at the half in 27 of 31 games this season and is 24-3 when leading at the half.

• BU is 25-0 on the season when scoring 60-plus points, 1-5 when totaling 59 or fewer points. In its five losses this year, BU has averaged 53.45 points per game. In those same five games, the Lady Bears yielded 61.6 points per game.

• Baylor is 9-3 versus ranked opponents this season and is 3-2 against top 10 teams.

• Baylor has outrebounded its opponent in 25 of 31 games this year. The 2008-09 Lady Bears rank No. 6 nationally in rebound margin.

• BU has won at least 25 games in each of the last eight years, the league's longest active 20-game win streak. The Lady Bears have posted nine consecutive 20-win seasons all told.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The Texas A&M Aggies, 25-6 on the season and enter the contest winners of seven of their last eight games, their lone loss during that time period came against Baylor, 64-60.

Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is in his sixth season in College Station with a record of 127-64. Combining his years at Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas, Blair's 24-year career record is 535-227. He spent five years at Louisiana Tech as a graduate assistant and assistant coach under current Baylor assistant coach Leon Barmore. Also during that time, Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey was a player for the Lady Techsters. Coach Blair is 3-7 against Baylor while at Texas A&M.

Senior guard Takia Starks leads the Aggies in scoring average with 15.4 a game while senior forward Danielle Gant scores 13.8 a contest and leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 an outing.

SERIES RECORDS
Baylor and Texas A&M will meet for the 77th time when the two teams square off on Sunday afternoon. Baylor leads the series 41-35. The Lady Bears prevailed over the Aggies twice this season, posting a 64-61 win in College Station and a 64-60 victory in Waco. Baylor holds a 5-4 lead in games played on a neutral court.

Head coach Kim Mulkey owns a 15-4 record against Texas A&M.