Lady Bears Earn NCAA Tourney Selection
3/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 11, 2001
WACO, Texas - The NCAA selected the Baylor women's basketball team as one of 64 teams for the 2001 NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bears will trek to Durham, N.C. for their first round match-up against Arkansas. That game will be played Saturday at 10 a.m. CT and will be televised nationwide on ESPN2.
The Baylor Lady Bear basketball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, is the No. 8 seed in the West Region at the 2001 NCAA National Championship Tournament. The 21-8 Lady Bears will face the No. 9 seed Arkansas (19-12) in NCAA first round action on Saturday, March 17 in Durham, N.C. Baylor, which finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference regular season standings and were Big 12 Tournament quarterfinalists, takes on Arkansas which finished tied for 6th in the Southeastern Conference. That game will be played at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium at 10:00 am (CST). The other first round game at the NCAA sub-regional features host and No. 1 West Region seed Duke (28-3) and No. 16 seed UW-Milwaukee (19-10).
Baylor and Arkansas will tip off at 10:07 a.m. (Central) and televised live on ESPN2.
Although Baylor appears in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, Arkansas will be making their seventh appearance, their most recent coming in 1998. The LadyBacks are 9-6 in NCAA Tournament games.
Selected comments from Baylor head women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, senior Monica Arnold, and juniors Danielle Crockrom and Sheila Lambert.
Reactions as Baylor was one of the last 16 teams announced:
Lambert: "I'm very excited! I was scared for a second... They took us down to the wire."
Crockrom: "We were nervous... Once our name flashed up there, we were overwhelmed."
On the team's immediate reaction to the announcement:
Lambert: " I had a couple of tears, I think we all did."
Arnold: "We were nervous, biting our nails... When we saw our name, we lost it."
On the team's success this year compared to last year:
Mulkey-Robertson: "Who'd have thought this? You can't have these kinds of expectations. All we wanted to do was lay the foundation, we may have set the bar too high, too early."
Lambert: "Before the year, we didn't expect this... We've worked hard. We'll probably be considered a Cinderella team, but I've seen Cinderella teams go all the way."
Crockrom: "We didn't really expect this before the season. We've stepped up to all the challenges we've faced... We never expected this from last year. Now we have to step up to this challenge, and what a challenge it is!"
Arnold: "With a new coach, new players, this team totally changed."
On being one of seven Big 12 Conference teams to make the tournament:
Arnold: " They took seven teams, we're happy about all the Big 12 teams that got in... The Big 12 has to be considered up there now. This shows that the Big 12 is up and coming."
Mulkey-Robertson: "If you look at the RPI and the power rankings, Texas deserved to be in [even with a sub-.500 conference record]. I'm happy for all the teams in the league."
On playing Arkansas in the first round:
Lambert: "I took a recruiting visit to Arkansas... I'm very excited about playing them."
Crockrom: We played Arkansas my freshman year. They had a good team then, and they're probably even better now.
On making the tournament for the first time in program history:
Lambert: "This is really special. I'm so happy to be a part of it!"
Crockrom: "We're here to play, it's not enough just to get in. We want to dance at the Big Dance. We're gonna go, work hard, and play some good basketball!"
Arnold: "This program is going to take off. I'm glad to have been a part of it."
Mulkey-Robertson: "It's been a good day for Baylor women's basketball."
