Lady Bear Basketball Begins Practice
10/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2000
WACO, Texas - Practice begins on Sat., Oct. 14 at 9:00 a.m. in the Ferrell Center. On regular practice days, the Lady Bears will begin practice at 1:00 p.m.. To arrange for interviews, please contact women's basketball contact Julie Bennett at least 24 hours in advance.
2000-2001 OUTLOOK
New and improved describes much of the Lady Bear basketball program this year. New coaches, new system, seven new players, new coaches' offices, improved locker room, the list could go on and on.
When faced with a searach for the right individual to lead the Lady Bears towards a new direction, the Baylor administration set their eyes on one of the most sought-after coaches in the nation. You could probably have counted on one hand the number of people who thought Baylor had a chance at luring Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey-Robertson away from the highly-successful Louisiana Tech program, her alma mater. But on April 4, 2000, Kim Mulkey-Robertson was named Baylor's fourth Lady Bear head coach.
"The opportunity at Baylor is both exciting and professionally challenging. Because of the administrative support, Baylor is where I feel my career can further develop and is the best place for my family," said Mulkey-Robertson.
Tom Stanton (athletic director) and Dr. Sloan (president) are making the commitment to build a top-level women's basketball program at Baylor University," continued Mulkey-Robertson. "They brought me here to take the program to the next level, and I believe we can get there."
Mulkey-Robertson quickly assembled a staff, bringing in two Louisiana natives, Jennifer Roberts and Johnny Derrick, and hiring the highly-respected and successful Grayson County College (TX) coach Bill Brock as her top assistant.
Seven new players join eight returnees, including four starters, for the 2000-01 season, but everyone will start out at the same level. With a new staff building a new team, it's a fresh start for all involved. According to Mulkey-Robertson, "We're in a unique situation this year. All players enter the season with equal opportunities. Each position is wide open."
Eight players return from last season's 7-20 squad including starters Nicole Collins, Danielle Crockrom, Monica Arnold and Hilary Akromis. Gone is three-point specialist Mandy Hayworth who tied Danielle Crockrom for season scoring honors with 12.0 a game. In addition to being one of the team's leaders in scoring, Crockrom, a 6-2 junior forward, was the team's top rebounder last season with 7.2 a game. Senior Monica Arnold, a post, averaged 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds for the '99-00 campaign. Junior point guard Nicole Collins proved to be the ironman of the squad playing a team-high 36.9 minutes a game. The 5-3 speedster averaged 8.8 points and 4.3 rebounds a contest and led the team in both assists and steals with 129 and 56, respectively. She was named third-team all-Big 12 for her efforts. Sophomore Hilary Akromis is the fourth returning starter. The 6-2 guard scored 5.9 points and hauled down 4.6 rebounds, while averaging 22.7 minutes an outing.
The four returning non-starters all saw valuable playing time last season -- all averaged over 10 minutes of playing time a game. Junior guard Brittany Bruns saw the most action at 22.7 minutes a contest. She scored 4.7 points a game and pulled down 3.7 rebounds. In addition, Bruns was a starter in the first 18 games of the season. Sophomore Stasha Richards averaged 5.1 points and 2.4 rebounds as the first person coming off the bench. She was slowed over the summer by surgery to remove bone spurs from her foot, but should be ready to go by the time practice starts. Posts Michelle Neely, a senior, and Eboni Hammond, a junior, gained valuable playing time and have worked hard over the summer improving their skills.
Almost half of the 2000-01 team is new. Seven of the 15 players on the roster are newcomers, including three junior college transfers and four freshmen. This recruiting class was ranked No. 19 by Women's Basketball Journal. The most prominent name entering the program is two-time junior college All-American Sheila Lambert. Lambert, a 5-7 guard, averaged 23.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists a game last season at Grayson County College (GCC). Lambert was a Parade Magazine All-American coming out of Chief Stealth HS in Seattle. Joining Lambert will be GCC teammates Carla Mathisen and Brooke McCormack, both of Melbourne, Australia. Mathisen, a 5-8 guard, averaged 13.7 points a game last season including 116 three-pointers, while McCormack will add depth at the post position. McCormack, at 6-2, averaged 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds a contest for GCC last season.
All four freshmen enter Baylor after stellar careers at their respective high schools. Of the four incoming freshmen, three are guards. The shortest of the trio is Jessika Stratton at 5-9. Stratton is out of Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, Colo. Also listed at the guard position are Red Oak (TX) native Heather Burrow (6-0) and Chanelle Fox, 5-11, out of Spring (TX) a graduate of Westfield HS. The tallest incoming player is Kelly Sords, a 6-3 post, out of Austin's Westlake HS.
All in all, the roster sports two seniors (Arnold, Neely), seven juniors (Bruns, Collins, Crockrom, Hammond, Lambert, Mathisen, McCormack), two sophomores (Akromis, Richards) and four freshmen (Burrow, Fox, Sords, Stratton).
As usual, the Big 12 Conference will pose the program's biggest obstacle. "The Big 12 is one of the best conferences in the nation," commented Mulkey-Robertson. "The quality of women's basketball is outstanding. Six schools made it to the NCAA Tournament last year. There is no game you can play and be assured a win. This can be attributed to great coaching and each school's commitment to their women's basketball program."
2000-2001 Roster
