No. 8 Texas A&M hits the highway to face No. 14 Baylor

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No. 9 Baylor Lady Bears vs. No. 8 Texas A&M
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
7:00 p.m. CT
Ferrell Center – Waco, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Baylor ISP Sports Network, KRZI/ESPN- 1660 AM (Waco), BaylorBears.com, Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Live States/Audio Web Stream: BaylorBears.com, AggieAthletics.com

Baylor
2009-10 Record: 14-4, 1-3
Ranking (AP/ESPN): 14/16
Last Game: L, 70-62, Missouri
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Career Record: 251-70 (10th season)
Record at BU: same
Mulkey vs. Texas A&M: 17-4

Texas A&M
2009-10 Record: 15-2, 3-1, 0-4
Ranking (AP/ESPN): 8/8
Last Game: W, 69-54, Texas Tech
Head Coach: Gary Blair
Career Record: 550-231 (25th season)
Record at TAMU: 144-68 (7th season)
TAMU vs. Baylor: BU leads 42-35

Last meeting: Baylor win, 72-63 on March 15, 2009 in Oklahoma City. Baylor leads the series 42-35 and holds a 22-12 edge in Waco while BU head coach Kim Mulkey is 17-4 versus the Aggies, 8-1 in Waco.

The Aggie faithful of Texas A&M (15-2, 3-1) make the trek down Highway 6 to take on the Baylor Lady Bears in one of the Big 12’s most highly anticipated matchups. And the many Baylor fans who live in College Station will be heading in same direction. The two teams have one of the biggest rivalries in the Big 12.

“I guess because the schools are close in proximity and because you have a lot of Aggie fans in Waco and because you have a lot of Baylor fans in College Station– that probably makes [the series] a little bit more interesting,” said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey about the rivalry on Tuesday afternoon.

She was also quick to point out though that in the Big 12, every single conference game has the feel of a big game.

“Honestly, [all Big 12 games] are rivalry games. It is just a league that is not very forgiving. It is not a league where you can quickly fix things. It’s not a league where you can enjoy victories for long periods of time.”

Baylor (14-4, 1-3) is on a two-game losing streak and have a 1-3 start in league play. The losses include a 70-62 defeat at Missouri on January 23 and a 65-56 loss at home to undefeated Nebraska on January 17. Baylor’s bad luck includes having starting junior Melissa Jones confined to the bench due to a a stress reaction injury in her right leg. She has missed the last four games. She averages 11.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Baylor 6-foot-8 freshman phenom Brittney Griner leads the Lady Bears in scoring with 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She also ranks second nationally in blocks, averaging 5.9 a game. She needs 13 to break Courtney Paris’ Big 12 single-season record of 119 set during the Sooners’ 36-game 2005-06 campaign.

The Aggies enter the contest with only two losses this season– TCU (56-54) and at Oklahoma, 74-65. They have three players scoring in double digits. Senior guard Tanisha Smith leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points. She is followed by junior forward/center Danielle Adams’ 15.9 points and team-leading 5.5 rebounds an outing. Sophomore guard Tyra White completes the Aggies’ double-digit scoring with 10.6 a contest.