Lady Tigers take on Baylor in national semifinalNDIANAPOLIS – LSU’s top-seeded Lady Tigers basketball team will get the 2005 NCAA Final Four underway against Baylor on Sunday at 6 p.m. CDT in the RCA Dome.

Published 12:00 am Monday, April 4, 2005

LSU (33-2), the top-seed from the Chattanooga Region, defeated Stetson, Arizona, Liberty and Duke to advance to the program’s second NCAA Final Four in as many seasons.

Baylor (31-3), the No. 2 seed from the Tempe Region, defeated Illinois State, Oregon, Minnesota and UNC to reach the school’s first NCAA Final Four.

Tennessee, the top seed from the Philadelphia Region, will face Michigan State, the No. 1 seed from the Kansas City Region, in the second national semifinal at 8:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday.

The two semifinal winners will meet in the national championship game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CDT in the RCA Dome.

The Lady Tigers’ return to the Final Four makes them the second most experienced team in Indianapolis when it comes to Final Four games. Tennessee advanced to the school’s 16th Final Four and fourth straight, while both Baylor and Michigan State reach their program’s first.

LSU has 10 players on the roster that were on last season’s Final Four team, while Tennessee has eight players with Final Four experience, including three seniors that have advanced to the three previous Final Fours.

This marks the second meeting of the season between Baylor and LSU. The two squads squared off in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 14. LSU posted a 71-70 victory over the Lady Bears in the contest. Baylor trailed by 19 points (43-24) at halftime but poured in 46 second-half points to cut the deficit and had a chance to win on the game’s final play.

Baylor is competing in its fourth NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history. All four NCAA Tournament appearances have come since Kim Mulkey-Robertson assumed the reins of the Lady Bear program. The fifth-ranked Lady Bears come into the contest riding a school record 18-game win streak and sporting a 31-3 record. The Lady Bears advanced to the Final Four by defeating top-seeded North Carolina, 72-63, in Tempe, Ariz., on Monday. Junior forward Sophia Young garnered Tempe Regional MOP honors and sophomore forward Abiola Wabara was named to the all-tournament team.

This season the Lady Bears won the program’s first conference championship and also claimed the Big 12 Conference Tournament title. Junior forward Sophia Young was named the tournament’s MVP and senior post Steffanie Blackmon was named to the all-tournament team.