Baylor begins new quest for NCAA Women's tournament title in familiar place

3/16/2006 2:01 AM

Last year, Baylor staked its claim among the women's basketball elite by winning its regional semifinal and final games en route to the NCAA Women's Tournament title.

This year, the third-seeded Bears return to Arizona to begin defense of their title Saturday when they play Northern Arizona in a first-round game of the Albuquerque Regional at the McKale Center in Tucson.

Baylor (24-6), a No. 2 seed last year, won its regional semifinal and regional final games in Tempe as part of a remarkable run to their first NCAA Women's tournament title.

The Bears defeated three No. 1 seeds - North Carolina, LSU and Michigan State - to put an exclamation point on the five-year turnaround by coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who inherited a 7-20 team when she took the job in 2000.

``Our players understand that it is a one-game season from now on,'' Mulkey-Robertson said. ``We went to Tempe last year, Tucson this year. The weather's warm, the altitude is not a problem, it's just hard for our fans to get there but hopefully, they'll make the trip.''

Forward Sophia Young, the Big 12's all-time leader in points (2,410), rebounds (1,286) and double-doubles (60), is Baylor's top offensive player. The 6-1 senior averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, and also was named Big 12 player of the year.

Sophomore guard Angela Tisdale is the only other player in double figures for Baylor at 12.2 points per game. Freshman Jessica Morrow and seniors Chameka Scott and Abiola Wabara round out the starting five for Baylor, which has outscored opponents by nearly 14 points per game and limiting teams to 37.5 percent shooting.

Northern Arizona (22-10) is making its first NCAA Women's tournament appearance after winning the Big Sky tournament.

The Lumberjacks became the first third-seeded team to ever win that conference's tournament and will have a homecourt advantage of sorts since they only have to travel downstate from Flagstaff to Tucson.

``Playing in Tucson means a lot of our players' friends and family can come,'' Lumberjacks coach Laurie Kelly said. ``I have mixed feelings about it because you lose some of that real NCAA experience by playing close to home, but it's better to be able to share it with family and friends.''

Lumberjacks junior center Alyssa Wahl will likely draw the defensive assignment of containing Young. Wahl averaged team-highs of 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 50.8 percent from the field, and also was second on the team with 18 3-pointers.

The winner of this game will play either sixth-seeded Florida or No. 11 seed New Mexico in the second round Sunday.