Missouri State

TONYA BAUCOM
Basketball, 1991-93
Inducted February 24, 2007

Tonya Baucom had a very successful two-year basketball career for the Missouri State Lady Bears of coach Cheryl Burnett from 1991 to 1993, including starring for the Lady Bears' NCAA Final Four team in 1992. Baucom, a native of Pleasanton, Kan., came to Missouri State after two years at Johnson County (Kan.) Community College and for two seasons gave the Lady Bears a most formidable presence in the low post. As a junior, Baucom helped key the winningest team in Missouri State women's basketball history as she averaged 12.8 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds for the 31-3 Lady Bears. She was named to the all-Gateway Conference first team as she led the league and finished third in Division I in field goal shooting. Baucom nailed 173-of-263 attempts from the floor for a .658 accuracy figure that remains the best shooting season on record at Missouri State 15 years later. She earned selection as Sports Illustrated national Player of the Week and led Lady Bear scoring in 10 games and rebounding in 16 contests. The Lady Bears went 17-1 to claim a league title and then rolled up victories over Kansas, Iowa, UCLA and Ole Miss to reach the Final Four. The Lady Bears fell to Western Kentucky in the NCAA semifinals with Baucom selected as the CBS Sports Chevrolet Player of the Game. As a senior, she repeated all-conference first team honors and also won academic all-conference selection. She again led the league in field goal accuracy at .628 and her career shooting figure of .644 remains the all-time school mark by a wide margin. The 1992-93 Lady Bears won another league crown and returned to the NCAA in a 23-9 season. MSU beat Oklahoma State and Maryland before falling to Louisiana Tech in the Sweet 16. Baucom finished with 824 points and 371 rebounds in her 59-game career for the Lady Bears.