WBB Heads to Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout
12/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
 Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout Nassau, Bahamas| Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium | ||
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 vs.  Baylor vs. Clemson Monday - Dec. 20 - 7:15 p.m. CST |  | vs.  Baylor vs. Syracuse Tuesday - Dec. 21 - 7:15 p.m.CST |
 Listen |  Live Stats | Listen | Live Stats | |
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MEDIA INFORMATION
Date: Dec. 20 & Dec. 21, 2010
Location: Nassau, Bahamas
Arena: Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium
Television: None
Talent: --
Radio: Baylor ISP Sports Network 1660 AM ESPN
Talent: Rick May (pxp), Lori Fogleman (color)
Video Web Stream: None
Audio Web Stream: www.BaylorBears.com (free)
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
Record: 10-1
Ranking: 2/3 (AP/ESPN)
Last Game: W, 65-54, #6 Tennessee
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Career Record: 274-77 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: same
CLEMSON LADY TIGERS
Record: 6-4
Ranking: NR/NR (AP/ESPN)
Last Game: L, 73-49, Oakland
Head Coach: Itoro Coleman
Career Record: 6-4 (1st season)
Record at Clemson: same
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Record: 8-0
Ranking: 24/RV (AP/ESPN)
Last Game: W, 75-66, #6 Ohio State
Head Coach: Quentin Hillsman
Career Record: 73-55 (5th season)
Record at Syracuse: same
TOURNAMENT RUNDOWN
The second-ranked Baylor Lady Bears, 10-1 on the season, take their seven-game win streak to the Sunsplash Shootout in the Bahamas as they take on Clemson and No. 24 Syracuse, on Monday, Dec. 20 and Tuesday, Dec. 21, respectively. The two games mark Baylor's second and final road trip of the non-conference season.
Baylor is led on the season by sophomore post Brittney Griner's 22.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Odyssey Sims follows with 11.5 points a contest while senior guard Melissa Jones averages 10.7 points a game. Sophomore forward/post Brooklyn Pope is the team's second-leading rebounder with 7.2 a game and scores 9.0 points a contest.
Clemson is 6-4 on the season and will play one more game before departing for the Bahamas while Syracuse is undefeated at 8-0 after defeating sixth-ranked Ohio State last week.
QUICK HITS
• Under head coach Kim Mulkey, Baylor is 63-2 (.969) all-time in December, including a 40-0 Ferrell Center record during that period.
• On Tuesday, Baylor will play its fifth ranked opponent of the season (No. 1 UConn, No. 25 Michigan State, No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 24 Syracuse), marking a program-best. Prior to this year, BU had only played a program-best three ranked opponents during its regular season non-conference slate (2006-07 & 2009-10).
• Sophomore post Brittney Griner became the program's all-time shot blocker against Texas Southern, passing Danielle Wilson's 249 rejections. Griner now has 275 career blocks which ranks No. 3 on the Big 12's all-time list (Texas Tech's Cisti Greenwalt is No. 2 with 300).
• On the season, senior guard Melissa Jones (11-22, .500), freshman point guard Odyssey Sims (19-41, .463) and freshman guard Makenzie Robertson (11-26, .435), are a combined 41-89 (.461) from 3-point range. Over the past eight games the trio is 35-of-67 (.522) from beyond the arc.
• Baylor's starting lineup consists of a freshman (Odyssey Sims), three sophomores (Brittney Griner, Kimetria Hayden, Brooklyn Pope) and a senior (Melissa Jones).
• Baylor sophomore forward/post Destiny Williams makes her Lady Bear debut. After transfering from Illinois, Williams sat out the spring semester of the 2009-10 season and the fall semester of the 2010-11 season to satisfy the NCAA's transfer policy.
• Baylor is 10-1 after 11 games for the ninth consecutive season. Its best-ever start was 20-1 to open the 2007-08 season.
SCOUTING THE LADY TIGERS
Located in Clemson, S.C., the Clemson Lady €ˆTigers are 6-4 on the season and will host Oakland on €ˆSaturday, Dec. 18, prior to departing for the Bahamas. The Lady Tigers have posted victories over UNC-Greensboro (71-55), Charleston Southern (85-52), Kennesaw State (68-57), Furman (62-53), South Carolina State (66-44) and Presbyterian College (61-49). They have lost to South Carolina (73-59), Indiana (65-51), Samford (58-48) and UAB (67-64).
Three players average double-digit scoring for the Lady Tigers. Sthefany Thomas, a 5-9 senior guard, leads the team with 13.0 points a game while 5-11 senior guard Kirstyn Wright comes off the bench to score 12.0 a contest and 6-3 junior center Shaniqua Pauldo averages 10.6 points an outing. Jasmine Tate, a 6-2 senior forward, is the squad's top rebounder at 8.7 a game.
The Lady Tigers are coached by first-year head coach Itoro Coleman (Clemson, 2000). Coleman missed the first four games of the season after giving birth on Nov. 5. She served as an assistant coach at both Clemson and Penn State before being named the Lady Tigers' head coach.
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
Located in Syracuse, N.Y., the 24th-ranked Syracuse Orange are 8-0 on the season after defeating then-sixth ranked Ohio State (75-66) on Dec. 11. The Orange is ranked nationally for the first time since Feb. 8, 2008. The Sunsplash Shootout marks the Orange's first road trip of the season.Their wins have come against Northeastern (72069), Cornell (86-45), Long Island (90-36), New Hampshire (87-46), Maryland Eastern Shore (73-50), Delaware State (87-17), Albany (69-36) and Ohio State.
Syracuse has won 28 straight regular-season non-conference games, its last regular-season non-conference loss came on Nov. 26, 2008.
Four players average double-digit scoring for the Orange. Current BIG €ˆEAST Player of the Week Kayla Alexander, a 6-4 sophomore center, leads the team with 14.8 points a game while 5-8 senior guard Erica Morrow scores 12.9 a contest, Iasia Hemingway, a 5-11 junior guard, manages 11.0 an outing and 5-9 sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas comes off the bench to average 10.8 points a game. Alexander and Tyson-Thomas share rebounding honors with 8.5 each a game.
The Orange are coached by fifth-year head coach Quentin Hillsman (St. Mary's [Md.], 1993). Hillsman is 81-55 in his five season along the Syracuse sideline.
