Coatney's Call: Baylor Game Preview

#11 Nebraska at #9 Baylor
Date: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Time: 2:30 p.m.(CST)
Site: Waco, Texas
Arena: Ferrell Center
Television: Fox Sports Net (Andrew Monaco-Play-by-Play; Dan Hughes-Color Analyst); Time Warner Cable Channel 37-Lincoln; Cox Cable Channel 47-Omaha

Nebraska Radio:
Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-Play-by-Play; Jeff Griesch-Color Analyst) ?98.1 KFGE-Lincoln (Froggy 98), 93.3 KTWI-Omaha (Twister 93.3), 880 KRVN-Lexington and available to our entire 21-station radio network.

Internet: Live Radio on Huskers.com

Coming into the Big 12 home opener last Tuesday night against #19 Texas, the Nebraska Women’s Basketball team had achieved its’ highest rankings ever in both major polls. The writers’ poll placed the Huskers 11th Monday afternoon while the coaches’ poll put the Big Red in the Top 10, tied with Baylor for the 9th spot. Nebraska won a shoot out against the Longhorns in front of a big crowd Tuesday night. NU’s 91-79 victory extended the school-record winning streak to 15 games and left Nebraska as the only undefeated team in the league and currently one of only four nationally. 6-2 senior All-American candidate Kelsey Griffin led the Huskers with 26 points and 10 rebounds; her seventh double-double on the season and 27th of her career. Griffin was one of 21 players named to the Wooden Award candidate list this week. The Wooden Award is given to the nation’s top player. Griffin became the all-time career leader in free throws in school history, making 10-of-12 at the line to give her 444 career makes, passing Nicole Kubik. 5-8 senior Yvonne Turner tied her career high with five three-pointers and added three steals to go along with her season-high 21 points. Next up for Nebraska is a tough road test in a nationally televised game Sunday afternoon at #9 Baylor.

Much has been made about Baylor’s sensational 6-8 freshmen center, Brittney Griner. The preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year was thrust into the national spotlight a few years ago when highlights of her dunks in high school games were shown regularly on ESPN’s Sports Center. In fact, Griner dunked 52 times in 32 games as a high school senior at Nimitz High in Houston, Texas. She became just the seventh female to dunk in a college game earlier this season and is the only woman to dunk twice in a game. She is the first Baylor player to ever record a triple-double and she already holds the school record for blocked shots in a season. Griner’s 99 blocks this season is only 20 shy of Courtney Paris’ Big 12 season record. She averages a team-leading 18.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg. In Wednesday night’s 57-45 win over #13 Oklahoma, Griner nearly posted her second triple-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a career-high tying 11 blocked shots.

Baylor is 14-2 (1-1 conference), with losses at Tennessee to open the season and at Oklahoma State to open Big 12 play. The Lady Bears lost four starters from last years’ team that won the Big 12 Tournament title and advanced to the Sweet 16. They have five freshmen, including two who regularly start. BU is riding a 14-game home winning streak and in head coach Kim Mulkey’s ten years in Waco, the Lady Bears own an astounding 140-17 record at the Ferrell Center. Baylor was the preseason pick of the league coaches to win the Big 12 Conference.

One question mark heading into Sunday afternoon’s game is the availability of 5-10 junior wing Melissa Jones. The team captain has missed two straight games with a stress reactor in her right leg and is listed as game-to-game. Jones won the Big 12’s Sixth-Man Award last season. She leads the team in three-pointers and steals and is third on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg).

Besides Griner, the only other Baylor player to start all 16 games is 5-8 junior point guard Kelli Griffin. She leads the team in assists and adds 7.1 ppg. 6-1 freshman forward Shanay Washington has started 13 of the last 14 games and averages 7.4 ppg. 5-7 sophomore Terran Condrey drew her fifth start of the season against Oklahoma. Condrey averages 2.8 ppg. The lone senior on the team is 6-1 senior Morghan Medlock. The transfer from USC has started all but the last game against OU. Medlock is second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg). 6-2 sophomore Ashley Field drew the start in the last game. She leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (68%) and scored 12 points in BU’s 76-71 win over Nebraska in Lincoln last year. Field averages 8.3 ppg.

10th-year Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is the only person, man or woman, in the history of college basketball to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She was the point guard on the 1984 US Gold Medal-winning Olympic team and led BU to a national championship in 2005. You might remember that Nebraska was one of only three teams to defeat the eventual national champions that season. NU’s 103-99 triple overtime epic win is acknowledged as one of the greatest games ever played in the Devaney Center.

Baylor leads the all-time series with Nebraska 9-5 and has won the last two games in the series. NU has not won at Baylor since 2000 and has never defeated a Kim Mulkey-coached Lady Bears team in Waco.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and I for Nebraska Women’s Basketball on the Husker Sports Network. Our radio broadcast Sunday afternoon at Baylor begins with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 2:15 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on KFGE 98.1 FM (Froggy 98) in Lincoln, KTWI 93.3 FM (Twister 93.3) in Omaha, KRVN 880 in Lexington and available to our entire 21-station radio network. All Husker Women’s Basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com. I hope you can join us.