No. 8 Lady Bears Take on No. 3 LSU
11/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2004
WACO, Texas -
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Game 1:
#8/8 Baylor vs. #3/2 LSU
Nov. 14, 2004 • 12:30 p.m.
State Farm Tip-Off Classic
Frank Erwin Center (16,755) • Austin, Texas
RADIO
1660 AM - ESPN Radio
Rick May - play-by-play
Lori Fogleman - color analyst
TELEVISION
ESPN2
Dave O'Brien - play-by-play
Ann Meyers - color analyst
#8/8 BAYLOR VS. #3/2 LSU...
Baylor and the LSU Tigers each come into the game ranked among the nation's top 10 teams. LSU sits at No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the Coaches' poll while Baylor is No. 8 in both polls. Baylor will be playing its first game of the season while the Tigers come into the contest with two games behind them. LSU advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season while Baylor made its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
BAYLOR IN THE POLLS...
On November 8 the Baylor Lady Bears achieved their highest preseason ranking in the Associated Press Poll when they broke out of the gate at No. 8. Prior to that, Baylor's highest preseason ranking came in 1976-77 when it debuted at No. 13. In addition, the Lady Bears were ranked No. 8 in the season's first USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll, their highest-ever ranking by the coaches.
THE LADY BEARS RETURN FROM A YEAR AGO...
Points - 73.3% (1979/2696)
Rebounds - 75.6% (985/1303)
Assists - 64.0% (421/658)
Steals - 74.0% (287/388)
Blocks - 78.3% (144/184)
Minutes - 68.3% (4828/7070)
• Baylor returns its top three scorers from last season - Sophia Young (16.7), Steffanie Blackmon (15.6) and Emily Niemann (10.1). The trio combined to contribute 42.4 of Baylor's 77.0 points a game.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey-Robertson...
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson enters her fifth season, with a 98-35 head coaching record which equates to a .737 winning percentage. She has produced 20-win seasons in each of her four years as a head coach and has taken the Lady Bears to postseason competition all four seasons, three times to the NCAA Tournament and to the finals of the WNIT. In 2004, the Lady Bears advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Baylor year-by-year under Mulkey-Robertson:
2000-01 - 21-9 - NCAA , lost in first round (Arkansas)
2001-02 - 27-6 - NCAA, lost in second round (Drake)
2002-03 - 24-11 - WNIT, lost in finals (Auburn)
2003-04 - 26-9 - NCAA, lost in Sweet 16 (Tennessee)
Mulkey-Robertson was named Baylor's fourth head coach on April 4, 2000. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame that same year. She was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame in June of 2003.
MULKEY-ROBERTSON NEARING 100 VICTORIES...
Kim Mulkey-Robertson has 98 career wins under her belt and it only took her four seasons to reach that total. Since she has only been coaching for four seasons, she does not qualify to be ranked in the NCAA Division I winning percentage rankings. She has a .737 winning percentage and has averaged 24.5 wins per year on the Baylor sideline.
The following is a list of active NCAA Division I coaches who rank high in winning percentage. It details how many seasons it took each to reach 100 victories and what the program's record was the season prior to taking over the team. The Baylor Lady Bears were 7-20 prior to Mulkey-Robertson taking over the head coaching duties. Name, School - Seasons to 100 wins - Team's record year prior to arrival
Jody Conradt, Texas - Three - 21-7
Pat Summitt, Tennessee - Four -25-2
Kristy Curry, Purdue - Four -34-1
Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech -Five -18-12
Rene Portland, Penn State -Five -20-14
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford -Five -9-19
Gail Goestenkors, Duke -Six - 14-15
Geno Auriemma, Connecticut -Six -9-18
ELITE COMPANY...
Kim Mulkey-Robertson becomes the 11th Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee to have coached in the Tip-Off Classic. In addition to Mulkey-Robertson, the list of former inductees who have guided their teams in Tip-Off Classic action includes Leon Barmore (Louisiana Tech), Jody Conradt (Texas), Theresa Grentz (Illinois), Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina), Marsha Sharp (Texas Tech), C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers), Pat Summitt (Tennessee), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford), Marian Washington (Kansas), and Kay Yow (North Carolina State).
Also, this year's Tip-Off Classic marks the fourth consecutive year that a pair of Big 12 teams have participated in the event. Texas Tech and Oklahoma both competed in both the 2001 and 2002 Tip-Off Classics while Kansas State and Texas made their first appearances in the Tip-Off Classic in 2003. The only other time that two teams from the same conference have been in the Tip-Off Classic the same year was in 1993 when Tennessee and Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference both competed in the first-ever Tip-Off Classic.
DOUBLE TROUBLE...
The tandem of Steffanie Blackmon and Sophia Young in the paint has proven to be one of the most formidable inside duos in NCAA Division I. Last season the pair combined to average 32.3 points and 15.5 rebounds a game. Over the past two seasons Blackmon has averaged 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds while Young has scored 15.5 a game and hauled down 9.3 boards over that same span.
2004-05 PRESEASON HONORS...
Naismith Trophy Preseason Candidate - Steffanie Blackmon, Sophia Young
Wooden Award Watch List - Steffanie Blackmon
Wade Trophy Watch List - Sophia Young, Steffanie Blackmon
Wooden Award Preseason All-American - Steffanie Blackmon
All-American Honorable Mention Street & Smith's - Sophia Young, Steffanie Blackmon
Preseason All-Big 12 - Sophia Young, Steffanie Blackmon
Sophia Young
Naismith Trophy Preseason Candidate
Wade Trophy Watch List
Street & Smith's Preseason All-American
Lindy's Preseason All-American
Athlon's Preseason All-American
Steffanie Blackmon
Naismith Trophy Preseason Candidate
Wade Trophy Watch List
Wooden Award Watch List
Wooden Award Preseason All-American
Street & Smith's Preseason All-American honorable mention
