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Jan. 31, 2002
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#10/11 Baylor Lady Bears (17-3, 5-3) vs. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (11-10, 3-5)
Sat., Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas
COMING UP...
Baylor is in a stretch where they're playing five of seven games at home, then they will finish out conference play with two road games (Oklahoma State and Iowa State). Baylor is 10-1 at home this season and 22-3 in the Ferrell Center under head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson.
The Lady Bears have won four straight games while Oklahoma State has lost five of their last seven contests.
THE LADY BEARS...
Baylor, 17-3, 5-3, jumped up five spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll after winning two games last week. Baylor defeated Texas A&M at home then posted a victory of No. 13 Texas in Austin. The Lady Bears started the season ranked No. 14. In addition, they vaulted three spots to No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.
Twenty 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 19.4 points per game, while Crockrom follows at 16.7. Crockrom leads the team in rebounding at 9.4 an outing. Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) follows with 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds a game while sophomore Chanelle Fox (Houston/Westfield HS) also hauls down 5.2.
ANOTHER BIG 12 RECORD...
Danielle Crockrom currently has 37 career double-doubles which eclipsed the previous record of 36 set by Texas A&M's Prissy Sharpe from 1997-2000.
SHOOTING STAR...
Point guard Sheila Lambert has vastly improved her shooting percentage from last season to this season. As a junior she shot 40.4 percent but this season is shooting an impressive 51.4 percent from the perimeter. Lambert shoots the highest field goal percentage of any guard in the Big 12, ranking No. 7 overall. The closest guard to her is Oklahoma's LaNeishea Caufield who ranks No. 11 at 49.6 percent.
FRESHMAN STEFFANIE BLACKMON IMPRESSIVE...
Freshman post Steffanie Blackmon has been impressive coming off the bench for the Lady Bears. Through 20 games the rookie averages 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.15 blocks and 18.0 minutes a game. Her 23 blocked shots ranks second on the team, just one behind Danielle Crockrom's 24. She has already climbed to No. 5 on Baylor's list for most blocks in a season by a freshman, surpassing Crockrom's 12 her rookie year (1998-99). Four times this season Blackmon has blocked three shots in a game.
Over the last six games, Blackmon has averaged 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
BAYLOR'S RPI...
In the most recent RPI rankings, Baylor is among the top programs. In Jeff Sagarin's ratings the Lady Bears are No. 16, the CBN's lists them at No. 24 and WBCA also shows Baylor at No.24.
THE OPPOSITION...
Oklahoma State
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls come into the game having lost five of their last seven games. They are 11-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play. In Big 12 play they have lost to Oklahoma (65-48 & 66-58), Colorado (79-57), Texas (77-64) and Texas Tech (61-52). They have posted conference wins over Kansas (73-48) and the league leaders Kansas State (68-60).
Sophomore center Trisha Skibbe, 6-2, leads the team in scoring at 15.5 a game while Tari Cummings, a 5-11 senior forward, averages 13.2 a game and leads the squad in rebounding at 6.9. Skibbe is second in rebounding at 6.3 a contest.
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 38-12 (.760).
Oklahoma State is coached by Dick Halterman. He is in his 19th season as the Cowgirls' head coach. Halterman is 328-228 (.590) in his 19 seasons at Oklahoma State and is 577-262 (.688) in 28 years as a head coach.
