Women's Hoops Hosts No. 16 Notre Dame
11/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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| #2/3 Baylor (7-1) vs. #16/16 Notre Dame (5-2) Dec. 1 , 2010 | 7 p.m. CST Waco, Texas| Ferrell Center (10,284) |
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MEDIA INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. CST
Location: Waco, Texas
Arena: Ferrell Center (10,284)
Television: none
Talent: --
Radio: 1660 ESPN (Waco)
Talent: Rick May (pxp), Lori Fogleman (color)
Video Web Stream: (paid)
Audio Web Stream: (free)
Live Stats:
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
Record: 7-1
Ranking: 2/3 (AP/ESPN)
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Career Record: 271-77 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: same
Baylor vs. Notre Dame: first meeting
NOTRE DAME
Record: 5-2
Ranking: 16/16 (AP/ESPN)
Head Coach: Muffet McGraw
Career Record: 618-246 (29th season)
Record at Notre Dame: 530-205 (24th season)
vs. Baylor: first meeting
THE MATCHUP
The second-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 7-1 on the season, will host 16th-ranked Notre Dame in the Ferrell Center on Wednesday, Dec. 1. The contest marks the fifth game of seven straight Lady Bear home games and the third ranked opponent of the season (#1 Connecticut, #25 Michigan State).
Baylor is led on the season by sophomore post Brittney Griner's 23.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Melissa Jones follows with 11.5 points a game and 7.5 rebounds while freshman guard Odyssey Sims averages 9.9 points a contest.
Notre Dame enters the game with a 5-2 mark and is led by a trio of double-digit scorers; Natalie Novosel (17.0), Skylar Diggins (12.9) and Devereaux Peters (11.0).
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Baylor coaches Kim Mulkey and Leon Barmore were inducted in 2000 and 2003, respectively.
QUICK HITS
• The Lady Bears surpassed the 1,000,000 fan mark since Kim Mulkey's arrival on the Baylor campus when they drew 6,015 fans against Southeastern Louisiana (SLU) on Sunday. Throughout Mulkey's 11 seasons at the program's helm, 1,005,290 fans have attended games in the Ferrell Center.
• Sophomore post Brittney Griner become the program's all-time shot blocker against Texas Southern, passing Danielle Wilson's 249 rejections. Griner now has 268 career blocks which ranks No. 3 on the Big 12's all-time list.
• Griner scored a career-high 35 points against Liberty, hauled down nine rebounds and blocked seven shots.
• Baylor has held its opponents to a .302 shooting percentage this season while shooting .510.
• Freshman point guard Odyssey Sims has scored in double digits in five straight games: 17 vs. UConn, 10 vs. Michigan State, 11 vs. Texas Southern, 12 vs. Liberty, 10 vs. SLU. She has averaged 12.0 ppg in that stretch.
• After dwelling at the bottom of the league statistics in 3-point shooting last season, the Lady Bears seem to have found their touch beyond the arc this year. Over the last five games, Baylor is 27-of-62 (.436) from 3-point range and is shooting .377 on the season while holding its opponent to .211.
• On the season, Sims (12-26, .462), senior guard Melissa Jones (9-18, .500) and freshman Makenzie Robertson (10-23, .435), are a combined 31-67 (.463) from 3-point range. Over the past five games (No. 1 UConn, No. 25 Michigan State, Texas Southern, Liberty, SLU) the trio is 25-of-45 (.463) from beyond the arc.
• Sophomore guard Shanay Washington, a 2010-11 Lady Bear starter, has been lost for the season. She tore the ACL in her left knee during practice on Saturday (Nov. 20) and will undergo surgery on Dec. 1.
• Griner was named Big 12 Player of the Week for her play during the week of Nov. 22-29, it was her ninth career weekly league honor.
• Griner recorded her fourth career triple-double with her 28 point, 10 rebound, 10 block performance vs. SLU.
YOUNG SQUAD
Despite being ranked No. 2 nationally, Baylor is still a very young team. Only five upperclassmen are listed on the 14-player roster; two seniors and three juniors. Of those five, senior Melissa Jones averaged 30.7 minutes per game in `09-10 (but was sidelined by injury for 15 games), junior Terran Condrey played 16.1 a contest, junior Ashley Field managed 13.2 an outing, while junior Lindsay Palmer and senior Whitney Zachariason played 8.1 and 5.6 minutes a game, respectively.
Baylor's roster features seven sophomores and two freshmen. Sophomores Brittney Griner and Shanay Washington, both returning starters, played 33.5 and 21.2 minutes a game, respectively, while fellow classmates Kimetria Hayden and Jordan Madden averaged over 13.5 minutes a contest.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Located in South Bend, Ind., the 16th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 5-2 on the season. They have posted victories over New Hampshire (99-48), Morehead State (91-28), IUPUI (95-29), Wake Forest (92-69) and Butler (85-54) while suffering losses to then-15th-ranked UCLA (86-83, 2OT) and then-ninth-ranked Kentucky (81-76).
Three players average double-digit scoring for the Fighting Irish. Junior guard Natalie Novosel leds the team with 17.0 points a game while sophomore guard Skylar Diggins averages 12.9 points an outing and Devereaux Peters, a senior forward, tallies 11.0 points a contest. Becca Bruszewski, a senior center, is the squad's top rebounder at 5.4 a game, followed by Peters' 5.4 an outing.
Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw (Saint Joseph's, 1977) is in her 24th season and sports a 530-205 record there. She is 618-246 in 29 seasons as a head coach. McGraw will enter the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2011.
MULKEY VS. RANKED OPPONENT
In head coach Kim Mulkey's 11 seasons, Baylor is 62-56 against ranked opponents. Since a 69-55 loss to No. 15 Texas during the 2004-05 season, Baylor is 44-31 versus ranked opponents.
