DRC..Womens BB..NT starts brutal stretch with Lady

[OldTimer]

UNT starts brutal stretch with Lady Bears

LSU, Weber State among opponents

12/30/2002

By TIM MACMAHON / Denton Record-Chronicle

The North Texas women's basketball team begins a brutal stretch of its schedule with Monday night's game at Baylor.

The Lady Bears are the first of four 2002 NCAA Tournament teams that the Lady Eagles face in succession over the next nine days. UNT (4-4) travels to the Ferrell Center after a two-week layoff for a 6 p.m. tip.

The trip to Baylor is followed by home games against No. 2 Louisiana State, defending Sun Belt champion Florida International and Weber State. The Lady Eagles' next four foes have a combined record of 33-5 this season.

"If we worry too much about wins and losses instead of us pulling together and starting to play well, it could be a long year," UNT coach Tina Slinker said. "But if we focus on those things, I think we can make a nice run during conference play. I'm more focused on us right now and how we're going to get on track. We need to start playing well."

Baylor, which is 58-16 in two-plus seasons under coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, is off to a 10-1 start this season against a soft schedule. UNT is the Lady Bears' last opponent before they begin Big 12 play.

Sophomore forward Steffanie Blackmon, whose father, Stan, starred at North Texas State in the 1970s, leads Baylor in scoring with 21 points per game. She is one of four Lady Bears averaging in double figures.

"They're very balanced with good inside and outside scoring," Slinker said. "The fact that they're shooting 51 percent is an interesting statistic. I don't know if that's because of a soft schedule or if they've just been shooting the ball that well, but that's pretty impressive."

TIM MACMAHON can be reached at 940-381-9572. His e-mail address is tmacmahon@dentonrc.com.