Baylor’s Sophia Young, who led the Bears to the national championship last season, is the only active player in an exclusive lineup of five women named to the Big 12 Conference’s 10th anniversary team this week.
In a combined vote of fans and media, Young joined guard Stacey Dales-Schuman of Oklahoma (1997-2002), forward Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2001-05), center Angie Welle of Iowa State (1998- 2002) and center Nicole Ohlde of Kansas State (2000-04).
“Sophia’s in some pretty high company,” Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said. “I know she’s on pace to challenge or beat some of Kendra Wecker’s Big 12 records, and that just speaks volumes for the talent that she is and what she means to our program. She carried us to a national championship.”
The expectations were high when Young came to Baylor, but nobody could have expected Young to become the player she has become.
“What you can’t project for any player at this level is how well can they score?” Mulkey-Robertson said. “The athleticism you can see, but can they score when being defended as tough as they defend in this league? Those are the things you can’t see.
“But once she got here, you could see she had ability to elevate against a lot of players and be able to finish shots. That’s what she does.”
Young is one of 20 candidates for the Wooden Award for player of the year.
“She’s just very unselfish,” Mulkey-Robertson said. “The areas she needed to improve on when she was a freshman she took upon herself. I keep pinching myself sometimes because we take this young lady for granted, and I pinch myself again to realize how lucky I am to coach her.”
The Lady Bears are at Oklahoma on Sunday for a nationally televised rematch with freshman sensation Courtney Paris – the Big 12’s other Wooden finalist – and the Sooners (20-4, 10-0).
“Going to Oklahoma, not many people win there,” Mulkey-Robertson said. “Not many people win on the road in this league.”
Footnotes
The Pepsi Center will be one of eight sites for first- and second-round games in the 2006 NCAA women’s tournament, with Colorado serving as the host school. Games are scheduled for March 16 and 18 with eight teams participating. Tickets are $50 for adults and $20 for children for three sessions, a total of six games.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
