Nov. 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Games 3 & 4

#10/9 Baylor Lady Bears (2-0) vs.

Stephen F. Austin LadyJacks (2-0)
Friday, Nov. 21 - 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center (10,284) - Waco, Texas

at Rice Owls (2-0)
Sunday, Nov. 23 - 2 p.m.
Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208) - Houston, Texas

BAYLOR HOSTS STEPHEN F. AUSTIN, TRAVEL TO RICE
The 10th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears (2-0) will host Stephen F. Austin on Friday, Nov. 21, before hitting the road for a four-game stretch. The Lady Bears will play at Rice on Sunday, Nov. 23, before heading to the Virgin Islands to participate in the Paradise Jam, Nov. 27-29, where they will take on Central Florida, Villanova and Wisconsin.

Beginning with Friday's contest versus Stephen F. Austin, Baylor will play five games within an eight-day period (Nov. 21-29).

OVER THE AIRWAVES

TV: None

Webcast: BaylorBears.com
live audio (free) and video (pay)

Radio: ISP Sports Network
92.9 FM - KLRK (Friday)
1660 AM-KRZI/ESPN (Sunday) www.baylorbears.com

Radio Talent:
Rick May (Play-by-play)
Lori Fogleman (Color analyst)

Live Stats: www.baylorbears.com

BAYLOR LADY BEARS

IN THE POLLS
10 - Associated Press
9 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches

PROBABLE STARTERS
15 Jhasmin Player-Sr., G, 5-10 -10.5 ppg, 3.5 ppg, 4.0 apg
5 Melissa Jones-So., G, 5-10 - 8.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg
3 Jessica Morrow-Sr., G, 6-0 - 7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg
14 Rachel Allison-Sr., F, 6-0 - 21.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg
11 Danielle Wilson-Jr., P, 6-3 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg

TOP RESERVES
55 Morghan Medlock-Jr., F, 6-2 - 8.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg
21 Kelli Griffin-So., G, 5-8 - 6.5 ppg, 2.0 ppg, 5.0 apg

Rachel Allison HONORED BY BIG 12 CONFERENCE
Baylor senior forward/post Rachel Allison was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. The 6-1 Jonesboro, Ark., native was honored for the second time in her career.

Allison averaged 21.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in leading Baylor to wins over No. 2 Stanford and Florida Atlantic. She produced a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds against FAU while going 8-of-16 from the floor and dishing out two assists in 27 minutes of play.

Against Stanford, the senior forward/post led all players with 25 points, 20 of which came in the first half. She was 9-for-16 from the floor including hitting 4-of-6 from 3-point range. In addition, she hauled down eight rebounds and had a block and a steal.

For the week, Allison shot 53.1 percent from the field including 50 percent (5-10) from the 3-point line.

BAYLOR QUICK HITS
- The then-19th-ranked Lady Bears downed No. 2 Stanford, 81-65, on Sunday, Nov. 16.

- Baylor moved up to No. 10 in the most recent AP poll, jumping nine spots after the Stanford win and is now No. 9 in the USA Today ESPN Coaches' Poll.

- BU's victory over No. 2 Stanford became the program's highest-ranked regular season win.

- Senior post Rachel Allison, 6-1, scored 25 points and hauled down eight rebounds against Stanford's tall posts.

- Baylor tallied a school record 70 rebounds versus an NCAA opponent in its win over Florida Atlantic.

- Junior post Danielle Wilson blocked six shots against Stanford, giving her 172 for her career to extend her school record.

GAME TIME CHANGE
Baylor's game time at Oregon, Dec. 20 had been changed to 10 p.m. Central time. The contest will be part of a men's and women's doubleheader as Oregon's men will play Portland at 7 p.m. Central time. Both contests will be televised on the Oregon Sports Network (Comcast Sports Network Northwest).

ALL-AMERICAN NUMBERS
Baylor's Rachel Allison has begun the season with considerable success. After hanging 18 points and 13 rebounds against Florida Atlantic, the 6-1 forward/post scored 25 points, 20 of which came in the first half. She was 9-for-16 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. In addition, she hauled down eight rebounds and had a block and a steal.

BAYLOR IN THE RANKINGS
After defeating the then-No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Nov. 16, the Lady Bears moved up nine spots, to No. 10, in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Baylor has been ranked in a school-record 93 straight AP polls dating back to week nine of the 2003-04 listing when it broke in at No. 24. In the USA Today ESPN Division I Top 25 Coaches' poll, the Lady Bears are ranked No. 9, up from the No. 17 preseason ranking.

BAYLOR TOPS IN RECRUITING
Baylor's recruiting class, which signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, Nov. 12, has been ranked the consensus top recruiting class according to USA Today. The publication complied the rankings of the top recruiting services, Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, ESPNU's HoopGurlz and Blue Star Basketball, to determine the best recruiting class.

Led by the nation's top prep player, 6-8 post Brittney Griner (Houston Nimitz), the Lady Bears also inked 6-2 forward Mariah Chandler (Southwest Atlanta Christian), 5-11 guard Kimetria "Nae-Nae" Hayden (Dallas Lincoln), 6-0 guard Jordan Madden (Lepanto, Ark., East Poinsett County) and Shanay Washington (Austin Del Valle).

NEARING 1,000
Two Lady Bear seniors are closing in on 1,000 career points. With 933 points to her credit, Jessica Morrow needs just 67 to reach the milestone while Rachel Allison, with her 880 points, needs to score 120 to reach 1,000.

HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey
When Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey accepted the position of women's basketball head coach at Baylor University, few could have predicted the dramatic and prestigious turn the program was about to take. In just eight years at Baylor, the former All-American and Olympic Gold medalist has guided the Lady Bear basketball program to the pinnacle of women's basketball, the 2005 NCAA national championship, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and eight 20-win seasons.

The 2005 national title was Baylor's first for a women's team sport and the first basketball national title, men's or women's, in the Big 12 Conference's 12-year history.

In winning the 2005 title, Mulkey became the first person, man or woman, to win a basketball national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

En route to the NCAA championship, the Lady Bears won their first Big 12 Conference championship and were the league's tournament champion as well.

Mulkey has produced amazing results since taking over the reins of the program on April 4, 2000, averaging 26.1 wins a season. In her eight years at the program's helm, she has posted an impressive 210-60 (.778) record which ranks her No. 8 nationally in winning percentage.

Since taking over a squad that was just 7-20 the season prior to her arrival, Mulkey has guided the Lady Bears to eight postseason appearances, including seven NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the WNIT finals.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT Stephen F. Austin - The Stephen F. Austin LadyJacks enter the game at 2-0 with victories over Prairie View A&M (69-58) and Houston Baptist (82-72). Four players are scoring in double digits for SFA. Junior Whitney Cormier, a 5-9 guard, and 5-6 sophomore guard Ebony Alexander share scoring honors at 13.0 points each.

Cormier also leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 boards a game.Tammara Marion, a 5-6 freshman guard, manages 12.0 points an outing and 5-10 sophomore forward Jordan Ford completes SFA's double digit scorers with 10.5 a contest.

Meredith Doyle, an assistant coach for the LadyJacks, knows her way around the Ferrell Center as she was a graduate assistant for the Lady Bear program from 2005-07.

SFA's PROBABLE STARTERS
12 Ebony Alexander - So., G, 5-6 - 13.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
20 Whitney Cormier - Jr., G, 5-9 - 13.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg
21 Tammara Marion - Fr., G, 5-6 - 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
30 Antoinette Davis - So., F, 5-11, 6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
32 Jordan Ford - So., F, 5-10 - 10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg

Rice Owls The Rice Owls, 2-0 after posting victories over Cal State Northridge (76-55) and Prairie View A&M (47-45), are led by fourth-year head coach Greg Williams who sports a 52-39 record at Rice and a 253-176 mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.

The Owls are led by 6-1 sophomore forward Morgan Mayse's 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Senior post Emery Carter, at 6-1, also hauls down 7.0 rebounds an outing.

RICE'S PROBABLE STARTERS
1 D'Frantz Smart - Fr., G, 5-0 - 6.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg. 4.0 apg
3 Tara Watts - Jr., G, 5-9 - 8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
21 Maudess Fulton - Sr., G, 5-10, 9.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
44 Morgan Mayse - So., F, 6-1, 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg
20 Emery Carter - Sr., F, 6-1 - 4.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg

SERIES RECORDS
The Baylor-SFA matchup will be the first meeting between the two schools since Nov. 23, 1996, when the LadyJacks posted a 96-73 victory in Waco. SFA leads the series 11-5, and has won three straight. Baylor's last triumph over the LadyJacks (76-63) came on Dec. 14, 1984, in the Dallas-Hilton Inn Classic.

This will be the 34th meeting between the former Southwest Conference foes. Rice leads the series, 17-16, however, Baylor owns a three-game win streak over the Owls. Rice holds the series lead 9-5 in games played in Houston. The last time the two teams met in Houston (Dec. 6, 2003) the Lady Bears posted a 79-55 victory.

THE COACHES
Stephen F. Austin's Lee Ann Riley begins her eighth season at the LadyJacks helm and 14th season overall as a head coach. She is 118-91 at SFA and owns a career mark of 249-149.

Riley, a 1985 Baylor graduate, played on the Lady Bears' softball team for three seasons. She also received her master's degree from Baylor in 1988.

The Rice Owls are led by fourth-year head coach Greg Williams who sports a 52-39 record at Rice and a 253-176 mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.

LAST MEETING - BU VS. RICE
WACO - Angela Tisdale scored 18 points giving her 1,000 for her career, and 10th-ranked Baylor survived an early scare for a 76-51 win over Rice.

Rachel Allison had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor. Danielle Wilson scored 11 and blocked five shots and Melissa Jones added 10 points.

Kadie Riverin scored 16 for Rice. Valery Berezhynska had 13 points and nine rebounds before leaving the game with an ankle injury with 3:53 remaining.

Trailing 22-11 with 7:55 left in the first half, Baylor put together a 14-2 run to go up 25-24 with 4:00 remaining. Wilson fed Allison for three layups during the spurt and Rice also committed four turnovers during a 55-second span.

After being tied at 31 at halftime, Baylor opened the second period with a 12-2 run to take a 43-33 lead with 15:56 remaining. Wilson hit a layup and a turnaround jumper and blocked a shot attempt by Berezhynska to start a fast break that culminated in a Jones layup. A 3-pointer and short jumper by Tisdale then sparked another run that left Baylor with a 53-35 advantage with 13:12 remaining.

LADY BEARS VS. C-USA AND SOUTHLAND
Stephen F. Austin is the first of three Southland Conference schools the Lady Bears will face this season. Baylor, 72-35 versus Southland teams, will also host Lamar (Dec. 8) and Texas State (Jan. 3).

Baylor will put its 55-76 mark against Conference USA teams on the line twice this season as they travel to Rice and play Central Florida in the Paradise Jam Tournament, Nov. 27.