Nov. 28, 2003
WACO, Texas - Watch live video of this game!
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Baylor (2-0) vs. Washington State (3-0)
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003 - 8 pm*
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
* - second game of a doubleheader with Baylor men's team.
Baylor vs. Pacific (0-2)
Monday, Dec. 1, 2003 - 7 pm
Ferrell Center - Waco, Texas
GET YOUR TICKETS...
Baylor Athletics and Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas are offering $2 off a regular reserved ticket to men's and women's basketball games. The special price will be given for a Dr Pepper, Diet Dr Pepper, 7-Up, or Big Red 12-ounce can. One can per ticket.
Baylor fans can purchase the discounted basketball tickets at the Floyd Casey Stadium or Ferrell Center ticket offices before each game. The promotion is good for the entire 2003-2004 season.
LADY BEARS VS. WASHINGTON STATE...
The Lady Bears come into the game with a 2-0 mark while the Washington State Cougars are also undefeated at 3-0. This will be the third game of Baylor's four-game homestand before playing in the Gene Hackerman Rice Invitational in Houston, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 & 6. The Cougars, on the other hand, are playing their third straight road game (Wyoming, Eastern Washington). The Cougars have already surpassed their win total of last season (2-26) and have won two consecutive road games for the first time since the 1997 season.
RECEIVING VOTES...
In the latest Associated Press (AP) Poll, the Lady Bears received 20 votes, up from 14 the week before. The last time Baylor was listed in the AP Top 25 was at the end of the 2001-02 season when they were No. 7. Baylor received one vote in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
THE LADY BEARS...
After two lopsided exhibition wins over the Houston Jaguars and the Perik Jumpers, the Lady Bears continued that trend with lopsided wins over SEC power Mississippi State (88-45) and Southland Conference opponent Nicholls State (93-44). For the first time in the program's history, six players scored in double figures in two consecutive games.
Three players are averaging in double figures for Baylor. Junior Steffanie Blackmon leads the way with 16.0 points a game. Sophomore Sophia Young and freshman Emily Niemann are each scoring 15.0 a game. Young is the only player to average a double-double with 10.5 rebounds a game. Niemann and Blackmon each pull down 7.5 boards an outing.
THE COACHES...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, in her fourth season, has a 74-26 head coaching record. Washington State will be the fourth Pac-10 team the Lady Bears have faced during her tenure, she has a 4-0 record versus the Pac-10. Mulkey-Robertson is 1-0 against Arizona State, 1-0 versus USC and 2-0 against UCLA.
Washington State's Sherri Murrell is two games into her second season as head coach. The Cougars posted a 2-26 record last season. They finished 1-17 in the Pacific-10 Conference, which placed them 10th. After completing her collegiate playing career at UL-Lafayette and Pepperdine, Murrell served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, BYU, George Fox College and Portland State. She was head coach at George Fox for four seasons before moving on to Portland State. Prior to taking the reins at Washington State, she served as head coach at the University of Pacific, Baylor's next opponent, for four years where the Tigers posted a 68-46 record.
FAMILY REUNION...
Saturday's game will be a family reunion for two players. Baylor senior Jessika Stratton will be facing her sister, Nikki, a freshman at Washington State. Randy and Kathy Stratton, the girls' parents, as well as several other family members will be in attendance at the game.
This past summer Jessika, Nikki and Baylor junior Melanie Hamerly all played in Switzerland on the same Athletes in Action team.
BALANCED SCORING...
In Baylor's first two games, every Lady Bear has scored in double figures in at least once. In fact, in both games only nine players were available to play and six players scored in double figures. Mississippi State - Niemann 20, Young 17, S. Blackmon 14, Whitaker 12, Stratton 12, Hamerly 10. Nicholls State - S. Blackmon 18, Jones 15, Jackson 14, Young 13, Scott 11, Niemann 10.
LARGE MARGINS...
Over their first two games, the Lady Bears are posting some pretty large margins.
Scoring - Baylor +46
Rebounding - Baylor +21.5
Steals - Baylor +7.5
Blocks - Baylor +6.5
Assists - Baylor +12.5
In addition, the Lady Bears are shooting an impressive .536 (67-125) while limiting the opponent to a .275 (33-120) shooting percentage.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE...
Washington State comes into the game with a 3-0 record. The Cougars are playing their third straight road game (Wyoming, Eastern Washington) and their third road game in five days. They played at Wyoming on Mon., Nov. 24 and at Eastern Washington on Wed., Nov. 26. The Cougars have already surpassed their win total of last season (2-26) and have won two consecutive road games for the first time since the 1997 season. They have held their opponents to under 60 points in all three games this season. They defeated Fresno State 69-51, Wyoming 59-50 and Eastern Washington 59-58.
Two players are averaging double-digit scoring for the Cougars. Freshman forward Kate Menz leads the team with 12.0 a game while Bianca McCall, a 6-1 senior forward, scores 11.7 an outing. Benz is also the team's top rebounder at 6.7 a game and McCall follows closely with 5.7.
THE SERIES RECORDS...
Washington State leads the series 1-0. The Cougars posted a 77-65 win over Baylor on Jan. 2, 1989 in the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears finished the 1988-89 season with a 3-23 record while the Cougars were 13-15 that season.
