Jan. 18, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team continues play in the Big 12 Conference this week.
*Saturday
*MU (12-3, 3-1 Big 12) vs. No. 11/13 Baylor (13-3, 1-3 Big 12)
*7 p.m., Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
The Foe: Baylor comes to Columbia after having lost three of its last four games. The Bears opened the season with a 12-game win streak. Baylor suffered an 83-63 loss at No. 15/16 Texas Tech on Wednesday. Sheila Lambert, a first-team all-Big 12 Conference pick last season, leads the team in points (18.7 points), assists (90) and steals (45). Fellow first-team all-conference selection Danielle Crockrom averages 16.9 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds per game. She leads the Big 12 with nine double-doubles. Kim Mulkey-Robertson is in her second season as the Bears' head coach and has a 34-12 record.
The MU/Baylor Series: Baylor has a 5-3 lead in the series, which started in 1977, between the two schools. The Bears picked up a 97-81 win last season in Waco. The teams have split the two meetings in Columbia and Missouri won the last meeting, 78-44, on Jan. 8, 2000.
MU's Last Time Out: A stellar defensive effort and 17 first-half points by Natalie Bright carried the Tigers to a 67-41 win over Nebraska on Wednesday. The 41 points scored by Nebraska ties the lowest output by an MU opponent in Big 8 or Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State scored 41 points on Feb. 21, 1993 in MU's 64-41 victory. Bright finished with a game-high 21 points. Kerensa Barr scored 13 points and snared nine rebounds. Wannette Smith also grabbed nine rebounds and scored eight points.
Tough Schedule: The Tigers' game against Baylor starts a four-game stretch against ranked foes - #No. 13/11 Baylor Saturday, No. 12/12 Texas Monday, No. 22/19 Colorado on Jan. 26 at the Hearnes Center and No. 14/9 Iowa State Jan. 30 in Ames, Iowa.
Last Meeting - MU vs. Baylor: Baylor's Danielle Crockrom and Sheila Lambert combined for 66 points as the Bears handed MU a 97-81 loss in Waco. Baylor opened the game by shooting 60 percent from the field and scoring 48 points to take a 48-27 halftime lead. Mizzou rallied behind the efforts of Marlena Williams. Williams scored eight straight points for MU as the Tigers cut the lead into single digits but not any closer. Williams finished with a career-high 34 points. Amanda Lassiter and Kerensa Barr also scored in double-digits with 15 points a piece. Barr also led the Tigers with nine rebounds, four assists and five steals. Baylor forward Danielle Crockrom (36) and guard Sheila Lambert (30) carried the team, scoring 66 of the Bears' 97 points.
Great Start: Missouri's 12-3 start this season is the best-ever for the Tigers under head coach Cindy Stein. Missouri had 11-4 starts both last season and in the 1999-2000 campaign. MU was 9-6 through 15 games in 1998-99, Stein's first year.
Back in Poll: Missouri received six votes this week's Associated Press poll. MU has now appeared six times in the last seven editions of the AP poll. The Tigers had received votes for three consecutive weeks in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches poll but that streak ended with the Dec. 24 poll.
50 is Nifty: Saturday's game against Baylor marks the 50th home game Missouri has played under head coach Cindy Stein. Stein and the Tigers enter the contest with a 40-9 home mark during her four-year coaching reign. MU is 8-0 at home this season.
Defense: The Tigers have allowed 48 and 41 points, respectively, in their last two outings. In all, Missouri has allowed opponents 48 or fewer points five times this season. The last time Missouri allowed fewer than 50 points in back-to-back games was in the 1999-2000 season when MU defeated Illinois State 91-44 on Dec. 22, 1999, and UW-Milwaukee 90-47 on Dec. 30, 1999. Until this season's performance, Missouri had not allowed fewer than 50 points in back-to-back conference games.
Three: Missouri has made 17 3-point field goals, over one-fifth of its season total of 82, in its past two games. MU made six 3-point field goals in the first half against Nebraska, a number that equaled or surpassed the Tigers' total in nine games.
In the starting lineup: Kerensa Barr has started 50 games and has made 47 consecutive starts in her career. Natalie Bright leads the Tigers with 56 all-time starts and Evan Unrau has made 46 starts.
Deja Vu?: Similar to last season, Missouri lost its first Big 12 Conference game of the season before beating a nationally ranked team at home in its second league contest of the year. In the 2000-2001 campaign, Missouri lost its Big 12 season opener at Texas Tech, 82-64, but rebounded to pick up a 68-52 triumph over No. 12/17 Texas at the Hearnes Center. This season saw Missouri suffer a 73-57 setback at Oklahoma State and defeat No. 10/12 Texas Tech, 82-71, at home.
Long Time, No Three: Missouri went almost 33 minutes without making a 3-point field goal against Texas Tech (1/9). Natalie Bright finally made one with 7:24 left in the game to break the shutout. While the one 3-point field goal ties the low this season (also done against Davidson on Nov. 24), the last time MU was blanked in the 3-point field goal category was on Jan. 27, 1999, in a 78-54 loss at Baylor. Missouri's last time at home without a 3-pointer came on Dec. 5, 1998, in an 87-76 victory over Louisville. Since the Baylor game, the streak of Missouri making at least one 3-point field goal in a game is at 88 games.
Offensive Rebounds: Evan Unrau has made the most of second opportunities this season. Of her team-high 111 rebounds, Unrau has snared 54 offensive caroms this season.
Offensive Rebounds II: Missouri grabbed a season-high 23 offensive boards in the win over Texas Tech (1/9). MU's previous high of 18 offensive rebounds came against Southeast Missouri (12/1) and UMKC (11/16). The Tigers continued their success on the offensive glass against Kansas (1/12) by snaring 16 of their 36 rebounds on that end of the floor. MU used those 16 rebounds for a total of 23 second-chance points against the Jayhawks. Missouri snared 17 offensive rebounds (44 total) in Wednesday night's win over Nebraska. Nebraska did not get an offensive rebound until the second half of that game.
Rebounding Edge: Missouri leads the Big 12 Conference in several categories (scoring defense and scoring margin) but rebounding margin probably is the most shocking. In their four league games, the Tigers have snared 38 more rebounds than their opponents, an average of 9.5. Texas is the next closest team, grabbing 6.0 more rebounds than its foes.
Forcing Turnovers: Missouri has forced opponents to commit 334 turnovers this season (average of 22.3). Opponents have committed 20 or more turnovers in 12 of Missouri's 15 games this year.
Barr and Free Throws: Kerensa Barr is now Missouri's all-time career leader in free throw percentage as she has made 171-of-214 foul shots (79.9 percent). Barr's performance this season (if it ended prior to the Baylor game) would set a school record. Barr's mark of 75-of-80 free throws for 93.75 percent easily surpasses the previous mark of 84.6 percent by Lisa Plummer in the 1980-81 season. And, yes, I know this next comment will probably jinx the streak but ... Barr has made her last 23 free throws.
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