KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Usually the last player on the bench, Whitney Zachariason suddenly became Baylor's first option in a tougher-than-expected Big 12 tournament opener.
The junior forward scored a career-high 17 points as the Bears (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) shook off 11th-seeded Colorado for a 72-65 victory Thursday night.
The sixth-seeded Bears advanced to a quarterfinal matchup Friday night against 12th-ranked Oklahoma -- a game that will mark the return of suspended freshman star Brittney Griner.
With Griner out and Colorado playing a 2-3 zone defense, the Bears turned to the little-used Zachariason, who responded with five 3-pointers.
"You go with your gut, and Whitney, that's what she does best," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "I couldn't be happier for a young lady who has sat the bench, has been the last one to go in ball games the majority of the year. She never, ever pouts, never thinks about herself. She thinks about the team."
Mulkey called on Zachariason about three minutes into the game, after Baylor had struggled with its shooting. She had shown in practice that she's one of the team's best shooters but hadn't gotten a chance to show it in a game until Thursday. She came in averaging five minutes and 1.4 points, and she had a total of three 3-pointers in her 18 games.
"If I go in a game, I'm probably going to go in to shoot," she said. "I think everybody knew we had to step up because we had a few people out."
The 11th-seeded Buffaloes, who lost 13 of 16 conference games, threatened to avenge a 34-point regular-season loss before Baylor put them away. Jordan Madden hit a deep 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to give the Bears (23-8) a six-point lead.
"She might miss four or five that she takes, and then she'll hit a big shot for ya," Mulkey said of Madden.
Brittany Spears had 24 points and Alyssa Fressle added 16 for Colorado (13-17), which was held without a field goal for the last 6:25 and lost its 23rd straight against a ranked team.
The Buffs finished with losses in 12 of their last 13 games.
Griner wore a Baylor sweatsuit and sat behind the bench, serving the second game of a two-game suspension for punching and breaking the nose of Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle last week. The Bears also were without second-leading scorer Melissa Jones, who has battled injury the second half of the season.
Baylor won the regular-season meeting with Colorado 76-42 in Waco, Texas. Griner had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in that game.
Baylor lost 70-54 to Texas without Griner and Jones on Sunday, and looked headed for another defeat against the Buffaloes. Colorado led by as many as eight points in the second half and was up 62-58 when Chucky Jeffery scored with 6:25 left.
The Buffs didn't make another field goal against the nation's No. 2 team field-goal defense. Baylor turned up its pressure in the second half, when it forced 12 of the Buffs' 18 turnovers.
GAME CENTER: GAME 31
MEDIA INFORMATION
Date: Thurs., March 11, 2010
Tip-Off: 7:35 p.m. CST
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Arena: Municipal Auditorium (9,308)
Television: Metro Sports
Talent: Mark Ewing (pxp), Patti Phillips (color)
Radio: Baylor ISP Sports Network; KLRK 92.9 FM (Waco)
Talent: Rick May (pxp), Lori Fogleman (color)
Video Web Stream: www.Big12Sports.com (free)
Audio Web Stream: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.Big12Sports.com
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
2009-10 Record: 22-8, 9-7
Ranking (AP/ESPN): 16/18
Last Game: L, 70-54, Texas
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Career Record: 259-74 (10th season)
Record at Baylor: same
Mulkey vs. Colorado: 7-3
COLORADO BUFFALOES
2009-10 Record: 13-16, 3-13
Ranking (AP/ESPN): none
Last Game: L, 59-41, at Iowa State
Head Coach: Kathy Mc*******-Miller
Career Record: 156-172 (11th season)
Record at Colorado: 65-87 (5th season)
Colorado vs. Baylor: Baylor leads 10-8
STORY LINES
- No. 16 Baylor, 22-8 on the season and finishing league play at 9-7, fell to the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Championship after a 70-54 loss to then-No. 18 Texas on Sunday afternoon. The loss snapped BU's five-game win streak.
- Colorado, the Big 12 Championship's No. 11 seed, is 13-16 overall and posted a 3-13 league mark. Colorado has lost three straight and 11 of its last 12 games.
- In addition to a one-game suspension mandated by NCAA basketball playing rules, Brittney Griner has been suspended for an additional game by Lady Bears' head coach Kim Mulkey following Griner's ejection from the Lady Bears' 69-60 victory at Texas Tech, March 3. Griner sat out against No. 18 Texas and will miss the Lady Bears' Big 12 Championship opener against Colorado.< br>- Griner received five Big 12 Conference honors on Monday. She was named the league's Freshman of the Year, Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-Big 12 first team, All-Defensive team and All-Freshman team.
- As a team, Baylor ranks No. 1 nationally in blocks per game (7.3); No. 2 in field goal percentage defense (33.42); No. 6 in rebound margin (9.3); No. 8 in field goal percentage (.466); No. 12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.5); No. 13 in scoring margin (16.2); No. 28 in scoring defense (56.5) and No. 29 in scoring offense (72.7).
- In 10 seasons under head coach Kim Mulkey, Baylor is 259-74 (.779), which ranks her No. 4 nationally in winning percentage. In addition, the Lady Bear program ranks No. 6 among the NCAA Division I's winningest teams over that span.
- Only two Baylor players, juniors Melissa Jones and Kelli Griffin, have two or more years in the Lady Bear system. Morghan Medlock, a senior, transferred last season from Southern California and junior Whitney Zachariason has just over a year in the program after transferring from Arkansas. All the rest of the squad are freshmen and sophomores.
- Baylor returned one starter (Kelli Griffin) and eight letterwinners from its 2009 NCAA Sweet 16 team which finished the season 29-6.
- The Lady Bears remain the Big 12 leader in field goal percentage (.466), field goal percentage defense (.334), rebounding offense (43.7) and blocked shots (7.3) and are No. 2 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.275), scoring defense (.565), scoring margin (16.2) and assists (14.8). In conference games only, BU remains No. 1 in blocked shots (6.4), rebounding offense (41.1) and field goal percentage defense (.359) and No. 3 in scoring defense (59.4).
- Junior point guard Kelli Griffin ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference in assist/turnover ratio at 2.0 and No. 4 in assists (5.0). She has doled out 146 assists and turned the ball over only 73 times this season. Over the past seven games, Griffin has dished out 52 assists while committing only 21 turnovers for a 2.56 ratio.
- Griffin now ranks No. 9 on Baylor's career assist chart with 321 and is also No. 9 on BU's single-season assist list with 146.
- Griner became just the seventh female to dunk in a regular-season NCAA contest when she threw one down against Jacksonville State, Nov. 24. Griner added two more dunks to her total against Texas State (Jan. 2) and registered another at Kansas State (Feb. 3). She is also a defensive threat as a shot blocker and alterer with her 88" wing span. She has blocked a school and Big 12 record 173 shots and altered 76 more.
- Baylor averages 78.4 points and allows 52.1 in its 22 wins on the year, but in its eight losses is scoring just 57.1 ppg and yielding 68.6 ppg. In its losses, BU is 18-of-98 (.184) from 3-point range, compared to 53-of-153 (.346) in its wins.
- Griner recorded the program's first-ever triple-double with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots against Oral Roberts, she added her second and third of the season against Colorado (26 pts., 11 blocks, 10 reb.) and Oklahoma (17 pts., 11 blocks, 10 reb.). Her three triple-doubles tie the Big 12 single-season record.
- For the fifth straight season, Baylor surpassed the 100,000 fan mark in home attendance. Baylor drew 9,758 fans against Texas, its ninth-largest crowd, setting an all-time single-season attendance record with 122,550 fans attending 16 home games this season. The previous record was 119,603 set over 19 home games in 2006-07. BU currently ranks No. 9 in NCAA Division I attendance.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SEED
This season marks the first time since 2004 that Baylor has not earned a top four seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. This year's No. 6 seed is the team's lowest seed since it was the tournament's No. 7 seed in 2003.
LADY BEARS & BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1997 (1-1) - No. 9 seed
First round - defeated Oklahoma State, 68-62
Quarterfinals - lost to Kansas, 66-54
1998 (0-1) - No. 6 seed
First round - lost to Kansas State, 71-66 OT
1999 (0-1) - No. 7 seed
First round - lost to Missouri, 60-55
2000 (0-1) - No. 12 seed
First round - lost to Nebraska, 82-61
2001 (1-1) - No. 6 seed
First round - defeated Kansas State, 60-44
Quarterfinals - lost to Iowa State, 73-48
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Colorado Buffaloes enter the contest with a 13-16 mark and completed Big 12 action at 3-13. Colorado's three league wins this season have come against Missouri (64-48 & 80-79) and at Kansas State (63-57). The Buffaloes are 3-8 on the road this season, 1-0 in neutral site games. The Buffaloes have lost 11 of their last 12 games, their lone victory during that span was an 80-79 overtime win at Missouri.
Colorado head coach Kathy Mc*******-Miller is 156-172 (.476) in her 11th year as a head coach and 65-87 (.428) in five seasons at Colorado.
The Buffaloes are led by 6-1 sophomore forward Brittany Spears' 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds a game while Bianca Smith, a 5-9 junior guard, averages 13.2 points. Chucky Jeffery, a 5-10 freshman guard, ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.1 a game.
SERIES RECORD
Baylor leads the series 10-8 and the Lady Bears enter the contest riding a six-game win streak over the Buffaloes. The game marks the first time the two teams have met on a neutral court since the Big 12's formation. They have only met on a neutral court once, Dec., 7, 1985, when Colorado posted a 75-62 Dial Classic win in Long Beach Calif.
The Metro Sports Network will televise Thursday's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship women's basketball game between sixth-seeded Baylor and 11th-seeded Colorado. Tip off will be at 7:35 p.m., in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium.
Waco's Grande channel 20 will carry the live broadcast. Mark Ewing will handle play-by-play while Patti Phillips will provide color commentary.
The Big 12 Conference will provide free video web stream for all Big 12 Championship games at www.Big12Sports.com .
In addition, Baylor ISP Sports Network will carry the game on Waco's KLRK 92.9 FM with Rick May and Lori Fogleman calling the action. Fans may also listen to the broadcast via the internet at www.BaylorBears.com .
DALLAS, Texas - Baylor's Brittney Griner earned five Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference women's basketball awards the league office announced today. The rookie post was named the league's Freshman of the Year, Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-Big 12 first team, All-Defensive team and All-Freshman team.
Connie Yori (Nebraska) earned her first Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year honor while Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska) became the first Cornhusker to garner Big 12 Player of the Year. Danielle Adams (Texas A&M) was voted Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Nebraska's Yvonne Turner shared Defensive Player of the Year with Griner while Bianca Smith (Colorado) earned the Sixth Man Award. The honors were voted by the league's head coaches who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Griner is the first Baylor player to receive Freshman of the Year honors and the second selected for Defensive Player of the Year with Abiola Wabara in 2006. She is the eighth Lady Bear to earn first-team All-Big 12 recognition and sixth to be named to the All-Defensive team.
Griner, a 6-8 post, set the Big 12 single-season blocks record in her rookie campaign and is already 12th on the league's career chart with 173. Her 6.0 blocks average is second in the NCAA. She is third in the Conference in both scoring and rebounding with 19.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg. The Houston, Texas, native has recorded three triple-doubles to tie for the most in a season in Big 12 history and is two shy of tying the league career mark. It is also tied for the most in the NCAA this season.
Senior post Morghan Medlock and junior point guard Kelli Griffin each received All-Big 12 honorable mention honors.
Brittney Griner Awards
Big 12 Freshman of the Year
Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year
All-Big 12 first team
All-Big 12 Defensive team
All-Big 12 Freshman team
Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year
Naismith Trophy Midseason list
Wooden Award Midseason list
Big 12 Player of the Week - Feb. 1-7
Big 12 Freshman of the Week - Nov. 23-29, Dec. 7-13, Dec. 14-21, Dec. 29-Jan. 3, Jan. 11-17, Feb. 1-7, Feb. 22-28
World Vision Classic All-Star team
MVP Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic
Kelli Griffin Awards
All-Big 12 honorable mention
Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic All-Tournament team
Morghan Medlock Awards
All-Big 12 honorable mention
World Vision Classic All-Star team
WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor could have used freshman star Brittney Griner in the second half Sunday, when the Bears (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) managed only a pair of field goals.
Instead, Cokie Reed and Brittainey Raven scored 18 points each and Texas (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) cruised to a 70-54 momentum-building victory heading into the Big 12 tournament.
Griner is serving a two-game suspension after throwing a punch at Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle during a win in Lubbock on Wednesday night. She attended the game but sat in the student section near the Baylor bench, where she signed autographs and posed for pictures.
"Brittney Griner is loved here," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "Brittney Griner is loved a lot of places. She just made a bad mistake and is paying for it dearly."
So did the Bears.
Kathleen Nash added 12 points for the Longhorns (21-9, 10-6), who didn't allow a second-half field goal by Baylor until there was 4:44 left. Erika Arriaran added 10 points and Ashley Gayle had 11 rebounds for Texas.
Kimetria Hayden scored 14 points to lead Baylor (22-8, 9-7), while Kelli Griffin had 10 points and Morghan Medlock had 12 rebounds.
Baylor led 32-28 at halftime and was up 41-34 with 15:21 to play, before Texas switched to a zone defense and played extended minutes with two post players.
"We played Ashley Gayle and Cokie together, and we don't really play them together often," coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Because we were in a zone, it allowed us to play them together. They changed or altered so many shots and if they didn't, they got the rebounds. I thought they were very effective together."
After moving to the zone, Texas embarked on a 19-0 run to build a 53-32 lead with 8:02 left.
Baylor made 13 of its first 14 free throw attempts in the second half before Lindsay Palmer's jumper with 4:44 left gave the Bears their first field goal.
By that point, Texas had built a 62-47 lead.
"It was hard trying to get a shot off with their size inside, even though we did attack," Griffin said. "They had a good strategy in the second half to go to a zone. We just did a poor job of attacking it."
Medlock said Baylor can usually handle a zone defense with Griner playing.
"It's like she draws all the attention and then that leaves everybody else open to cut," she said. "We didn't have her, so they just stretched out and were big in there and it was hard for the guards to see over a player like Brittainey Raven, who's long and fast."
