GAME NOTES
WACO, Texas - The Prairie View A&M women's basketball team hits the court on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. for the opening round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship versus Baylor University at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Tomorrow's contest marks the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history for the Lady Panthers and the fifth straight postseason game. This will mark the first-ever NCAA appearance for first-year Prairie View A&M head coach Toyelle Wilson as she led the Lady Panthers to a 21-11 mark which culminated with the SWAC Tournament Championship last weekend in Garland, Texas.
Baylor, seeded No. 1 in the Dallas Regional, leads the all-time series 13-0 and last played Prairie View A&M in 2007. Even though Baylor features a lofty ranking and arguably the nation's most popular player in 6-8 post Brittney Griner, Wilson said the Lady Panthers will need to focus on themselves when they hit the court.
“We know Coach (Kim) Mulkey is going to try and have them prepared and make a statement game in the first round, but we focus a lot on what we need to do well,” stated Wilson. “We know that they're really good, but we also have to focus on us. They're number one and like I told the girls, they're only stating the truth. They are number one in the country in defensive scoring, but we're number six, so we need to score.”
While playing in the NCAA Tournament is a special honor, Sunday's game will be emotional for Lady Panther senior forward Robin Jones. A native of Waco, Jones will play in her hometown for the first time ever on the collegiate level.
“I haven't played in Waco in a long time,” she said. “It's been awhile, four years, so it's great to be back home with my family close so everybody can come see me play. It's a great feeling.” Sunday's contest will be broadcasted live on KPVU 91.3 FM (www.pvamu.edu/kpvu), televised live on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN3.com. A link to the BU Ticket Office and live stats can be found at www.pvpanthers.com under the upcoming events tab.
