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Jan. 15, 2002
#13/11 Baylor Lady Bears (13-2, 1-2) at #15/#16 Texas Tech (9-5, 1-3)
Wed., Jan. 16, 8:15 p.m.
United Spirit Arena (15,050)
Lubbock, Texas
Baylor at Missouri
Sat., Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m.
Hearnes Center (13,545)
Columbia, Mo.
COMING UP...
The Lady Bears, facing their second straight ranked team, bring a 13-2 season record and 1-2 Big 12 mark into the contest. No. 15 Texas Tech is 9-5 on the year and 1-3 in league play. The Lady Raiders won their conference opener and have since dropped three straight Big 12 games.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor, 13-2, 1-2, dropped one spot to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll after defeating Kansas and losing to No. 3 Oklahoma last week. The Lady Bears started the season ranked No. 14. In addition, they remained at No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.
Fifteen games into the season the Lady Bears are led by all-American candidates seniors Sheila Lambert (Seattle, Wash./Chief Sealth HS) and Danielle Crockrom (Houston/North Shore HS). Lambert leads the way with 18.3 points per game, while Crockrom follows at 17.2. Crockrom leads the team in rebounding at 9.7 an outing. Senior post Brooke McCormack (Melbourne, Australia) follows at 5.3, sophomore Chanelle Fox (Houston/Westfield HS) averages 5.2 and freshman Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) checks in at 5.0 a game.
MORE BALANCE AND DEPTH...
After relying mainly on Sheila Lambert and Danielle Crockrom last season (they accounted for 56 percent of last season's points), the Lady Bears now have more balance and depth on their roster. Several returnees gained valuable experience last season and have shown marked improvement, resulting in more playing time and production this season. Also, the freshmen, especially Steffanie Blackmon, Kelly Sords (Austin/Westlake HS) and Jordan Davis (Celina/Celina HS), have seen considerable floor time with favorable results.
BENCH CONTRIBUTING...
The Lady Bears are getting more help from off the bench this season. The reserves are contributing 30.9 percent of the Lady Bear's points. Five of the team's seven freshmen are averaging over 10.9 minutes a game. Between them, three freshmen, Steffanie Blackmon, Kelly Sords and Jordan Davis, average over 13 minutes a game.
STILL THE HEART AND SOUL...
Even though the Lady Bear squad has more depth and balance this season, seniors Sheila Lambert (18.3 ppg, 5.73 apg, 4.7 rpg, 2.80 spg) and Danielle Crockrom (17.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.33 bpg) are still forces to be reckoned with. The pair are both on the watch list for the Naismith Award, which honors the best player in the nation. They are both preseason all-Americans and were picked by both the Big 12 coaches and media to the preseason first-team All-Big 12.
NEARING SCORING MILESTONES...
Danielle Crockrom and Sheila Lambert are both nearing scoring milestones. Crockrom needs only 23 points to reach 1,500 career points, she now has 1,477. Lambert has 937 career points and needs only 63 to reach 1,000.
FRESHMAN STEFFANIE BLACKMON IMPRESSIVE...
Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon is impressive coming off the bench for the Lady Bears. Through 15 games the rookie averages 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.13 blocks and 16.7 minutes a game. Her 17 blocked shots ranks second on the team. She has already climbed to No. 6 on Baylor's list for most blocks in a season by a freshman, surpassing Danielle Crockrom's 12 her rookie year (1998-99). Jackie Reiter sits in the No. 5 spot with 20.
THE OPPOSITION...
#15/#16 Texas Tech Lady Raiders
The Texas Tech Lady Raiders come into the game sporting a 9-5 season record and are 1-3 in Big 12 games. After opening up Big 12 play with a victory at Kansas, the Lady Raiders have since lost three straight. Oklahoma (98-72) defeated them in Lubbock and they lost two road games at Missouri (82-71) and Texas (87-83 ot). The Red Raiders have not lost three games in a row since the 1988-89 season.
Three Red Raider guards are scoring in double digits. Sophomore Jia Perkins averages 16.1 a game, while Natalie Ritchie scores 11.9 and Amber Tarr averages 11.0. In rebounding, 6-5 freshman center Cisti Greenwalt leads the way with 9.0 a game. Perkins ranks second with 5.0 a game.
THE COACHES...
Baylor's Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her second year as a head coach after guiding the Lady Bears to a 21-9 record and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament in her inaugural season. The Lady Bears enjoyed tremendous improvement last season over Baylor's 7-20 record of 1999-2000. Her career record is 34-11 (.756).
Texas Tech is coached by Marsha Sharp. She is in her 20th season as the Lady Raiders' head coach. Sharp is 468-146 (.762) in her 20 seasons at Texas Tech.
SERIES RECORD...
This will be the 49th meeting between the two schools and Texas Tech leads the series 41-8. The Lady Raiders have won 38 straight games over Baylor. Baylor's last victory over Texas Tech came on March 11, 1983 by a score of 62-56 in the Southwest Conference Tournament held in Austin. Baylor's last victory in Lubbock was on Jan. 23, 1982, 66-65. The closest Baylor has come in recent history to beating Texas Tech was in Waco when the Red Raiders prevailed 51-49 on Jan. 2, 1999.
