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Women's Basketball Ranked In Preseason Polls
Oct. 25, 2007
WACO, Texas - The Baylor Lady Bear basketball team, with four starters returning off last season's 26-8 squad, is ranked among the nation's top 25 in four national preseason polls. According to Athlon Sports, the Lady Bears are No. 13 while Lindy's lists them at No. 14, they are No. 15 in Women's Basketball Magazine and are ranked No. 17 by Street & Smith's. "Any preseason recognition is welcomed. We keep it in perspective, however, and hope that we are being recognized throughout the year," said head coach Kim Mulkey. Baylor finished the 2006-07 season ranked No. 19 on the Associated Press poll and No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. In addition to four starters returning, the Lady Bears return eight letterwinners while two newcomers join the program. As the lone senior on the team, Tisdale (Austin, Texas/Del Valle HS), the squad's 5-7 point guard, is the Lady Bears' top returning scorer at 10.8 points a game. Two other returning starters, Rachel Allison (Jonesboro, Ark./Jonesboro HS) and Jhasmin Player (Bay City, Texas/Bay City HS), gained valuable experience this past summer when they represented the United States and Athletes in Action as members of the William Jones Cup Team. Joining Tisdale, Allison and Player as a returning starter is junior guard Jessica Morrow (Humble, Texas/Humble HS) who ranked third on the squad in scoring with 9.6 a contest a year ago. Danielle Wilson (Bay Shore, N.Y./St. John the Baptist HS), a 6-3 post, registered a team-record 86 blocks as a rookie and Baylor led the NCAA in blocked shots. Tisdale is the team's top returning scorer at 10.8 a game while Morrow chimed in with 9.6 an outing and Wilson chipped in 8.4 a contest. In addition, Wilson set a school record for season blocks (86) which ranked No. 20 nationally. After Wilson, Player and Allison registered 7.5 and 7.2 points, respectively on the season while Allison ranked No. 2 on the squad in rebounding with 6.1 a contest. Another freshman, Jessika Bradley, made an impact as well. Bradley (Sacramento, Calif./Sacramento HS), a 6-3 forward, tallied 3.2 points and rejected an impressive 26 shots. Two more freshmen, Kaitlin Oberg (Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and Haylee Abbe (Waco, Texas/Robinson HS), both gained valuable court time which should enable them to achieve more success in the upcoming season.
Hoping to contribute significantly in their rookie season will be two newcomers, Melissa Jones (Thornton, Colo./Legacy HS) and Kelli Griffin (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook HS). Jones, a 5-10 guard, garnered Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Girls High School Athlete of the Year honors to go along with Colorado Girl's Player of the Year and Gatorade's Colorado Girls' Basketball Player of the Year kudos. She averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5.8 steals, 4.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game as a senior. Griffin, a 5-8 guard, was sidelined her senior season while rehabilitating a knee injury. She scored 14.5 points, grabbed 4.7 rebounds, dished out 4.7 assists and registered 3.8 steals as a junior. 2007-08 ATHLON SPORTS PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL 2007-08 LINDY'S PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL 2007-08 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAGAZINE PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL 2007-08 STREET & SMITH'S PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL |
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