Oct. 11, 2001
Waco, Texas - The Baylor Lady Bears will hit the basketball court for their first practice of the 2001-2002 season on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Last season, Kim Mulkey-Robertson in her first season as a head coach, guided the Baylor Lady Bears to a 21-9 record, a school-record 13 consecutive victories, a Top 25 ranking and their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. With four starters returning from that highly successful squad, including the potent scoring tandem of Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom, expectations are extremely high for the 2001-2002 Lady Bears.
Certainly no one expected Mulkey-Robertson to move to the next level as quickly as she did. In just one season Mulkey-Robertson took a team that was 7-20 the previous season and guided them to a 21-9 record, a first-ever national ranking and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth. The Lady Bears, along with three other teams, led the nation in largest turnaround from last season with a 14-game swing. In addition, Mulkey-Robertson earned National Coach of the Year honors from Real Sports magazine and was selected as one of the top 50 high school athletes of the 20th century.
Two players, Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom, emerged as the Lady Bears' court leaders. The two combined to form the best scoring duo in the nation, with Lambert ranking eighth and Crockrom 14th nationally. By season's end they would account for 1,299 of Baylor's 2,319 points, good for 56 percent of the total points.
Lambert and Crockrom, both first-team All-Big 12 picks and All-Americans, lead an experienced group of veterans into the 2001-2002 season. Lambert, a 5-7 senior guard from Seattle, Wash., and last year's Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, led the Big 12 in scoring at 22.1 points a game and ranked eighthth nationally. Crockrom, a 6-2 senior forward/post out of Houston, Texas, led the league in rebounding with 11.6 a game and averaged 21.2 points a game. Her averages ranked fifth nationally in rebounding and 14th in scoring.
Senior point guard Nicole Collins (Houston, Texas) and sophomore guard Chanelle Fox (Houston, Texas) round out the lineup of starters returning. Collins, a two-year starter at the point, brings experience to the court while Fox showed a defensive tenacity last season that kept her in the starting lineup. Although Collins and Fox were starters last season both will face serious challenges for starting roles. Veterans and newcomers alike will have some big shoes to fill trying to replace three-year starter Monica Arnold at the post position. Arnold was the only senior in last year's starting lineup.
Three other veterans are poised to make a run at the starting lineup. The returnee with the most experience is sophomore Jessika Stratton (Colorado Springs, Colo.). The 5-9 guard averaged 21.0 minutes of court time a game last season as well as 5.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists, she gained international experience this past summer when she toured with an Athletes in Action group overseas. Senior Brooke McCormack, a 6-2 post from Melbourne, Australia, possesses the most experience at the post spot, averaging 16.6 minutes, 3.6 points and 3.8 boards a game. Houston native Stasha Richards, a 5-10 junior, saw action at the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots last season and could be a threat from beyond the three-point line this season. Redshirt freshman Kelly Sords, a 6-3 post from Austin, Texas, will be activated this season after sitting out last year with a stress fracture in her leg.
Five freshmen, undoubtedly the best recruiting class in Lady Bear history and ranked No. 24 nationally by the All Star Girls Report, will step onto campus with hopes of stepping right into the starting lineup. Jordan Davis, a 5-9 point guard from Celina, Texas, comes in with impressive credentials (averaging 14.5 points, and 8.2 assists a game) as do twins Steffanie and Tiffanie Blackmon, Melanie Hammerly and Lauren Selmon. Hammerly, a 6-5 post out of Orange, Texas, is the tallest player on the Lady Bear roster and averaged 18.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.9 blocked shots last season. The Blackmons, 6-2 posts from Dallas' Rowlett HS accounted for 22.3 points and 13.3 rebounds and 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds respectively. Selmon, a 5-11 guard/forward from Norman, Okla., was one the most highly recruited players to come out of the Sooner state last year. She scored 18.0 points and hauled down 10.1 rebounds a contest as a senior. Also joining the ranks of the Lady Bears are Jenna Smith, a 5-9 guard from Dallas' Bishop Lynch HS, and guard Chelsea Whitaker, a transfer from the University of Virginia.
Coach Mulkey-Robertson and her coaching staff were able to vault the Lady Bears into the national spotlight last season after virtually the same team was 7-20 the previous season under a different coaching staff. Once again, one of their biggest challenges for the upcoming year will be blending seven returnees with the seven freshmen to form a cohesive unit.
