April 16, 2009
WACO, Texas - A crowd of over 900 was on hand at the annual Lady Bear Appreciation Banquet, sponsored by the Tip Off Club, at the Ferrell Center on Thursday night. Fans participated in Baylor's celebration as they shared dinner, enjoyed the awards ceremony and watched a video of the season at the conclusion of the banquet. In addition, Baylor's three seniors, Rachel Allison, Jessica Morrow and Jhasmin Player were honored.
Kim Mulkey, her staff and the squad put the finishing touches on another highly successful season, a year in which the team was selected to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history, finished the year ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, earned second place in the Big 12 Conference, claimed the championship of the league's postseason tournament and posted a 29-6 record.
This year's senior class left their mark on the program throughout their careers. The trio finished with a four-year record of 106-28 (.791) which tied with 2002-05 class for second-best winning percentage, including a 59-7 Ferrell Center mark (.894). The three led the team to three Big 12 Conference second place finishes, one third place finish. a Big 12 Tournament Championship (2009) and four NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16s (2006, '09).
At the end-of-season banquet, junior Danielle Wilson (Bay Shore, N.Y.) was named the team's most valuable player and garnered the team's rebounding award as well. Morrow (Humble, Texas) received the Defensive Award while fellow seniors Allison (Jonesboro, Ark.) and Player (Bay City, Texas) each earned the Lady Bear Award. Melissa Jones, a sophomore from Thornton, Colo., received the Coaches Award and another sophomore Kelli Griffin (Houston, Texas) was tabbed the team's most improved player. Lindsay Palmer, a freshman from Tulsa, Okla., eaned the team's Academic Award.
Wilson led the team in both scoring and rebounding this season with 15.1 points and 9.6 boards a game. The 6-3 post missed the season's last eight games due to an injury. She was an Associated Press All-America honorable mention and earned the same honor from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. In addition, she was an All-Big 12 first team selection and a member of the league's all-Defensive team.
Allison, Morrow and Player all were All-Big 12 honorable mention selections in 2008-09. Morrow ranked second on the squad in scoring with 11.2 a contest while Player was right behind with 10.6 a contest. Allison averaged 8.5 points a game and was the team's second-leading rebounder with 6.3 an outing. Morrow was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championships while Player was named to the All-Tournament team. Allison was awarded All-Tournament honors at the Paradise Jam.
For her play during conference action, Jones earned a share of the league's Sixth Man Award. She haveraged 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds a game and led the team in steals with 51. Griffin averaged 6.9 points a contest and led the team in assists with 128.
Palmer registered a 4.0 grade point average for the fall semester to take home the Academic Award.
