The Re-Match – No. 1 Baylor vs No. 5 A&M Tonight

The fifth-ranked Texas A&M women’s basketball team (21-2, 9-1) carries a three-game winning streak into an important ESPN2 “Big Monday” rematch with No. 1 Baylor (23-1, 10-0) on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. (CT) at the Ferrell Center. The Lady Bears and the Aggies were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the preseason Big 12 Conference coaches’ poll and that’s exactly where they sit going into Monday’s matchup. The contest marks just the fourth game in league history between two top 5 teams. Baylor edged A&M by three points at Reed Arena earlier this year and the Big Monday showdown finds the Aggies looking for their first win against a top five program this season.

A LOOK AT THE LADY BEARS
Baylor is undefeated in Big 12 play and riding a 20-game winning streak with its only loss of the season to then-No. 1 UConn back on Nov. 16. The Lady Bears have held the top spot in the polls for six straight weeks and boast the top scoring margin (+30.0) and the top defensive field goal percentage (31.0) in the nation. BU has beaten every league team by double digits and its only close game in conference play this season was against the Aggies. The team is led by 6-foot-8 sophomore center Brittney Griner with 22.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game. Freshman guard Odyssey Sims is the team’s second-leading scorer with 13.4 points per game, while senior guard Melissa Jones adds 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Eleventh year head coach Kim Mulkey is 286-77 all-time at Baylor and led her team to a national championship in 2005.


PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Sr. (7.0 ppg, 6.5 apg)
4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 3.1 apg)
20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Jr. (13.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Jr. (9.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Sr. (23.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg)

BAYLOR
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
0 Odyssey Sims G, 5-9, Fr. (13.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
1 Kimetria Hayden, G, 6-0, So. (7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
5 Melissa Jones, G, 5-11, Sr. (9.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
10 Destiny Williams, F, 6-1, RS-So. (9.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
42 Brittney Griner, C, 6-8, So. (22.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg)

INSIDE THE SERIES
Baylor holds a 45-35 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M and has won the last six straight meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals. Nevertheless, nine out of the last 10 contests in the series have been close and were decided by nine points or less. The last game A&M won was by 19 points at home on March 1, 2008.