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Jan. 17, 2002
#13/11 Baylor Lady Bears (13-2, 1-2) at Missouri Tigers (12-3, 3-1)
Sat., Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m.
Hearnes Center (13,545) - Columbia, Mo.
COMING UP...
The Lady Bears, playing their second straight conference road game, bring a 13-3 season record and 1-3 Big 12 mark into the contest. The Missouri Tigers, riding a three-game winning streak and sporting a perfect 8-0 record at home, are 12-3 overall and 3-1 in league play.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor, 13-3, 1-3, 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.
Sixteen 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 18.7 points per game, while Crockrom follows at 16.9. Crockrom leads the team in rebounding at 9.8 an outing. Senior post Brooke McCormack (Melbourne, Australia) follows at 5.3 and freshman Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) checks in at 5.1 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 and Jordan Davis (Celina/Celina HS), have seen considerable floor time with favorable results.
STILL THE HEART AND SOUL...
Even though the Lady Bear squad has more depth and balance this season, seniors Sheila Lambert (18.7 ppg, 5.63 apg, 4.9 rpg, 2.81 spg) and Danielle Crockrom (16.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.38 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 10 points to reach 1,500 career points, she now has 1,490. Lambert has 961 career points and needs only 39 to reach 1,000.
FRESHMAN STEFFANIE BLACKMON IMPRESSIVE...
Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon normally comes off the bench for Baylor but made her first start at Texas Tech. Through 16 games the rookie averages 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.13 blocks and 17.4 minutes a game. Her 18 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...
Missouri Tigers
The MIssouri Tigers come into the game riding an eight-game winning streak and are undefeated at home at 8-0. They are 12-3 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play. The opened league competition with a 73-57 loss at Oklahoma State and have since reeled off three straight wins. They defeated Texas Tech (82-71) and Nebraska (67-41) in Columbia and Kansas in Lawrence 66-48. Starting with the Baylor game they will face four straight ranked teams (BU, Texas, Colorado, Iowa State).
Three Tigers are scoring in double digits. Junior guard Kerensa Barr scores 17.1 a game while senior guard Natalie Bright manages 13.4 and Evan Unrau averages 12.3. Unrau leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 a game while Barr is second at 6.3.
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 34-12 (.739).
Missouri is coached by Cindy Stein. She is in her fourth season as the Tigers' head coach. Stein is 65-40 (.619) in her four seasons at Missouri and is 140-65 in her seventh year as a head coach.
SERIES RECORD...
This will be the ninth meeting between the two schools with Baylor holding the edge 5-3. Baylor won last season's lone matchup in Waco 97-81. Prior to that game, Missouri had won two straight.
