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Feb. 11, 2003
WACO, Texas -
Baylor (15-6, 4-5) at Oklahoma (14-8, 5-4)
Wed., Feb. 12 - 7 p.m. (CST)
Lloyd Noble Arena (12,000) - Norman, Okla.
COMING UP...
Baylor and Oklahoma each sport extremely young rosters and both are hovering among the middle of the pack in the Big 12 standings. Baylor, 15-6 overall and 4-5 in league play, hopes to post its second Big 12 road victory of the season and the Sooners, 14-8 and 5-4, hope to win their third conference home game as they host the Lady Bears. Oklahoma defeated in-state rival Oklahoma State (87-71) on Sunday to break a three-game losing streak while the Lady Bears are coming off a 65-53 loss to No. 5 Kansas State.
The Sooners dropped out of the top 25 for the first time since Jan. 10, 2000 after losing to Texas A&M and beating Oklahoma State last week.
THE LADY BEARS...
Despite having a young squad, the Lady Bears are posting some impressive numbers.
Sophomore Steffanie Blackmon (Dallas/Rowlett HS) leads the Lady Bears and ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 in scoring with 18.0 points a game. Freshman Sophia Young (St. Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Academy, Shreveport, La.) ranks second at 12.0. Two other Lady Bears also average in double-digits in scoring. Junior Jessika Stratton (Colorado, Springs, Colo./Coronado HS) dropped out of double digits for one game but bounced back with 13 points against Colorado and now averages 10.1. Junior post Dionne Brown (Georgetown/Texas Tech) recently broke into double digits with her 13-point performance against Colorado, she continues to maintain double digits and checks in at 10.3.
Young, a 6-1 freshman, is the Lady Bears' and Big 12's leading rebounder grabbing 9.1 a game. Young ranks first in scoring, rebounding and steals and second in blocked shots among Big 12 Conference freshmen. Steffanie Blackmon is close behind Young with 8.1 an outing.
Chelsea Whitaker (Dallas/Skyline HS) leads the squad in assists with 4.76 a game. Stratton ranks in second with 4.29 a contest. Stratton dished out a career-high 13 assists against Mercer and Whitaker has had three games where she tallied nine assists.
The Lady Bears have three players that combine for 109 blocks. Steffanie Blackmon leads the way with 41, Melanie Hamerly (Orange/Little Cypress-Mauriceville HS) follows closely with 39 and Sophia Young has 29 on the season.
FABULOUS FROSH...
Freshman Sophia Young, a 6-1 post, in just her fourth season of basketball, leads the Big 12 in rebounding at 9.1 a game. A freshman has never finished the season as the top rebounder in the Big 12 or former Big Eight and Southwest Conference. Among all Big 12 freshmen, Young ranks No. 1 in rebounding, scoring, steals and is No. 2 in blocked shots. She is No. 3 amongst all Big 12 players in field goal percentage (.561). Her 17 rebounds against Iowa State are the most rebounds by a Big 12 player in a league game this season. She has registered 10 game of double-digit rebounds and is second in the league in double-doubles with nine.
THE OPPONENT...
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners, 14-8 overall, 5-4 in the Big 12 come into the game hoping to post their 11th straight victory over the Lady Bears. The Sooners, who posted a 65-64 victory in Waco on Jan. 26, are 2-3 at home in league play and are 3-1 on the road.
The Sooners have suffered losses of personnel also, four players have been sidelined with knee injuries. Junior forward Caton Hill, a returning starter, freshmen Casey Walker and Erin Higgins and senior Stephanie Simon all are out for the season.
Four Sooners are averaging in double figures. Leading the way is newcomer Maria Villarroel, a 5-8 guard, with 15.3 points a game. Two other guards, Dionnah Jackson and Chelsi Welsch, average 12.0 and 11.2 points, respectively. Center Theresa Schuknecht scores 11.8 points and hauls down a team-leading 6.5 rebounds.
THE COACHES...
In just her third season as Baylor's head coach, Kim Mulkey-Robertson has led the Lady Bears to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, a final national ranking of No. 7 last season and a second place finish in the highly-competitive Big 12 Conference. The 2000 inductee to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame has a career record of 63-21 in her three seasons at Baylor.
Oklahoma's Sherri Coale (Oklahoma Christian, 1987) is in her 7th season as the Sooners' head coach. She owns a career record of 127-81 at Oklahoma.
