Texas A&M
6-2
UNLV
6-3
Aggies Beat UNLV to Win Desert Title
Dec 18, 2005 | Women's Basketball
December 18, 2005
Takia Starks scored 16 points to lead Texas A&M past UNLV, 73-48, in the finals of the Duel in the Desert Sunday at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus.
A&M used a stellar defensive effort established by its zone formations and forced UNLV into 29 turnovers.
The Aggies improve to 6-2 overall while UNLV falls to 6-3 on the season.
Starks was named to the All-Tournament Team and senior Tamea Scales was named the Most Valuable Player. Scales scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
?Our kids have worked so hard to get over the hump,? A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?To be able to beat a good team on the road on their court as decisively as this ?... give coach (Vic) Schaefer a whole lot of credit. It was a great defensive game plan and we played pretty well. The game was just played on the defensive end.?
Scales tallied 10 points in both games and credited the team?™s defense for the win.
?This tournament we came to play and we decided that if we play as a team on defense we could win it,? Scales said. ?Everything we do comes off of defense. Our defense is the key and defense was really, really important.?
The Aggies took an early 14-8 lead before UNLV closed the gap to 14-12 after back-to-back buckets by Kameca Simmons.
A&M picked up its defensive intensity and eventually forced UNLV into 14 turnovers as the Aggies put together a 20-4 run to lead 32-14 with 2:48 to play. The Aggies scored 19 points in the first half off of the Rebels?™ turnovers.
The Aggies led 35-22 at halftime.
Scales recorded two of her three charges to pace the Aggies?™ defensive efforts in the second half.
A&M led by as many as 27 points, 67-40, with 4:36 to play.
Erica Roy added 10 points and three rebounds for the Aggies.
UNLV outrebounded the Aggies 38-34.
UNLV was paced by Sheena Moore?™s 15 points and Sherry McCracklin?™s 10 rebounds.
The Aggies will host a pair games before breaking for the holidays beginning with Dartmouth on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. Tickets for the game are available by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 979-845-2311 or on-line at AggieAthletics.com. All tickets are half price for games through Jan. 4.
NOTES?-Erica Roy was named the State Farm Player of the Game.
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