[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5758]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING THE BAYLOR LADY BEARS ON WINNING THE WOMEN'S NCAA 
                    NATIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, what more can I say about 
those Baylor Lady Bears, Baylor as good as green and gold. All of us 
from the State of Texas applaud the Baylor Bears and their coaches.
  Mr. Speaker, I will quickly call off the roll: Number 45, Steffanie 
Blackmon; No. 24, Tiffanie Blackmon; No. 22, Jordan Davis; No. 5, 
Chanelle Fox; No. 25, Melanie Hamerly; No. 1, Monique Jones; No. 13, 
Victoria Jones; No. 51, Emily Niemann; No. 4, Chisa Onoiwu; No. 21, 
Chameka Scott; No. 20, Angela Tisdale; No. 35, Abiola Wabara; No. 2, 
Chelsea Whitaker; No. 12, Latoya Wyatt; No. 33, Sophia Young; coaches 
Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Bill Brock, Johnny Derrick, Jennifer Roberts and 
Mike Snaufer.
  Congratulations to all of them, and we are looking forward to seeing 
them in Houston, Texas, to be able to honor them.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Baylor University 
Women's Basketball team on winning their first NCAA title. With a final 
record of 32-3, the Lady Bears have risen to the challenge and have 
represented the Big Twelve Conference and the State of Texas with 
pride. The Lady Bears completed their magical season last night in 
Championship game by beating Michigan State 84-62.
  The Lady Bears are a tremendous team that play as one unit and are 
led by seniors Chelsea Whitaker and Steffanie Blackmon. I attended the 
Lady Bears' 68-57 victory over LSU in the Final Four game on Sunday and 
was particularly excited for junior forward Sophia Young, who scored 21 
points in the game, and was named the Tempe Regionals' MVP earlier in 
the tournament. She scored a game high 26 points in the Championship 
Game, once again rising to the occasion. As a Member of the House 
Immigration Subcommittee, I was able to help bring Miss Young's mother, 
Annie Christopher, from St. Vincent, West Indies to see her daughter 
play collegiate basketball for the first time. Sophia is a very 
talented basketball player and I am glad that she was able to take her 
place as a member of the Baylor basketball team through the U.S. 
Immigration program. We as a nation embrace talent such as Sophia's 
athletic gifts and we recognize the value of reuniting families for 
important moments. After Baylor's latest victory when Sophia was able 
to hug her mother in the stands, you could see that this is the real 
face of immigration.
  I also want to congratulate Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson on her great 
achievements at Baylor. Last night she became the first women's coach 
to win a championship as a player and coach. She truly deserves all the 
credit she receives for the job she has done with this talented team. 
In 2000, she inherited a program that went 7-20 the previous season and 
in her very first season she guided the Lady Bears to a 21-9 record and 
last year took Baylor to the Sweet 16. This year the Lady Bears 
finished their season having won 20 straight games, the longest such 
streak in college basketball this year.
  I am confident that the great fans of Baylor helped carry the Lady 
Bears to victory throughout the year. This team wasn't the favorite to 
win the championship when the season began and even throughout the 
Tournament they were considered the underdog, but they never gave up 
believing in themselves and in this team. They became only the fourth 
team in the history of both men's and women's NCAA basketball to beat 
three No.1 seeds en route to national title. This team has withstood 
great challenges, both mental and physical to reach the pinnacle of 
women's college basketball. This team played with pride and 
determination and they deserved to finish their season with a victory. 
With that said, let me congratulate each player and coach of the 2005 
Baylor Women's Basketball Team:
  45 Steffanie Blackmon P 6-2 SR-3L Dallas, Texas/Rowlett; 24 Tiffanie 
Blackmon P 6-0 SR-3L Dallas, Texas/Rowlett; 22 Jordan Davis G 5-9 RS 
JR-2L Celina, Texas/Celina High School; 5 Chanelle Fox G 5-11 RS JR-2L 
Houston, Texas/Westfield; 25 Melanie Hamerly P 6-5 SR-3L Orange, Texas/
Little Cypress-Mauriceville; 1 Monique Jones G 5-9 SO-1L Ferriday, La./
Ferriday; 13 Victoria Jones G 5-4 FR-HS San Marcos, Texas/San Marcos 
HS; 51 Emily Niemann F 6-1 SO-1L Houston, Texas/Westbury Christian; 4 
Chisa Ononiwu G 5-7 FR-HS Houston, Texas/Westfield HS; 21 Chameka Scott 
G 6-0 JR-2L Friendswood, Texas/Clear Brook; 20 Angela Tisdale G 5-5 FR-
HS Austin, Texas/Del Valle, HS; 35 Abiola Wabara F 6-0 RS SO-1L Parma, 
Italy/Liceo Scientifico Marconi; 2 Chelsea Whitaker G 5-9 RS SR-2L 
Dallas, Texas/Skyline/Virginia; 12 Latoya Wyatt G 5-7 SO-TR Fort Worth, 
Texas/L.D. Bell HS/McLennan CC; and 33 Sophia Young F 6-1 JR-2L St. 
Vincent, West Indies/Evangel Christian Academy.
  Coaches: Kim Mulkey-Robertson--Head Coach; Bill Brock--Associate Head 
Coach; Johnny Derrick--Assistant Coach; Jennifer Roberts--Assistant 
Coach; Mike Snaufer--Graduate Assistant.

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