October 30, 2005
Texas A&M's Maroon women's basketball squad beat the White team, 77-54, in the annual Maroon and White Game Sunday at Reed Arena.
Last season's Big 12 Freshman of the Year Morenike Atunrase led all scores with 19 points, seven steals, and three blocks.
"I though Morenike played outstanding, particularly on defense," A&M coach Gary Blair said. "Forget what she scored. She was in the passing lanes and ready, and her help-side defense was good. She just has that extra gear.
"She does not wait for plays to come to her. She is out there making plays on defense and creating her own scoring opportunities."
Atunrase was successful on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Sophomore Katy Pounds added 13 points and freshman La Toya Micheaux drained 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Maroon team.
The White team was paced by senior Erica Roy's 10 points and seven rebounds.
"I'm pleased with the good Sunday afternoon crowd," Blair said. "I think the fans were excited to see our post players score the way they did. I think it showed our depth."
White took a 9-8 lead after 6-foot-6 junior center Lenka Zimova drained a short range bucket with 13:33 to play in the first half.
"Our five position really stood out in the first half with Lenka (Zimova) and Micheaux," Blair said. "They had good looks, good shooting percentage and scored when they had the opportunity."
The Maroon answered with a 14-0 run highlighted by a pair of three pointers by Pounds and freshman Takia Starks to take a 25-10 lead with 8:46 remaining in the half.
Roy drained a short jumper from the left side at the buzzer to cap a 12-6 run in the final 3:22 of the first half by the White to pull within 38-29 at the break.
Atunrase scored nine points in the first 11 minutes for the Maroon and added three steals and two blocks in the frame, but the frame was highlighted by Micheaux's 10 points and four rebounds for the Maroon.
"I thought the chemistry on the Maroon team was very good," Blair said. "They were able to run set plays well and I thought Aqua (Franklin) made some very good decisions."
In the second half, the White carried over its run from the first half and started the second half with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 38-38 with 16:14 to play.
Maroon did not allow White to take a lead as Maroon quickly put together a 26-2 run to extend the lead to 64-40 with 7:53 to play.
White ended a six minute scoring draught as freshman Danielle Gant converted a three-point play with 7:46 remaining to make the score 64-43.
Maroon outscored the White 39-25 in the second half.
Local morning radio disc jockeys served as guest coaches for the teams. Maroon was coached by The Mix Morning Show tandem of K.O. and Dee from 104.7 The Mix, while the White was guided by Candy 95's morning team of Scotty Mac and Frito.
The Aggies will host the first of two exhibition games when they welcome Everyone's Internet on Monday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
SUMMARY BOX SCORE
Maroon 38 39 -- 77 White 29 25 -- 54POINTS-- Maroon: Atunrase 19, Pounds 13, Micheaux 12, Franklin 10, Starks 9, Reado 8, Wilks, 6. White: Roy 10, Toran 9, Zimova 8, Gant 7, Ganter 7, Scales 6, Gulley 4, Horton 3. REBOUNDS-- Maroon: Micheaux 7, Reado 5, Wilks 5. White: Roy 7, Zimova 5. ASSISTS-- Maroon: Franklin 3, Atunrase 3. White: Ganter 3, Gant 2. STEALS-- Maroon: Atunrase 7, Pounds 4. White: Gant 2, Roy 2, Gulley 2. BLOCKS-- Maroon: Atunrase 3. White: Scales 1, Zimova 1.