Texas A&M
8-2
Eastern Washington
4-7
Aggies Roll to Sixth Straight Win
Dec 22, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Danielle Gant scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Texas A&M past Eastern Washington, 94-40, Thursday at Reed Arena in front of 2,950.
Gant scored the six of the first eight points for the Aggies as she connected on her first three attempts. She connected on her first five shots and finished 5-of-6 from the field with two steals.
?We ran the set plays and (Gant) scored easily,? A&M coach Gary Blair said.
The win was the sixth straight for the Aggies (8-2) and their 14th straight non-conference win at Reed Arena. Eastern Washington fell to 4-7.
?I thought our team was really ready to play tonight,? Blair said. ?It was a great chance to play in front of a lot of people that do not normally come to women?™s games.?
It marked the highest scoring game for the Aggies since winning by 58 points against Friends University in 1978. It was the fifth largest margin of victory in school history.
Eastern Washington committed 38 turnovers as A&M scored 52 points off the miscues. It was the most turnovers by an A&M opponent since Sam Houston committed 45 in 2001.
?I really liked our transition game,? Blair said. ?I thought we were really having fun out there. When we can play that relaxed and share the ball like we did, and score 94 points and four in double figures and just about everybody scored out there, it was just a good show.?
Sophomore Morenike Atunrase led all scores with 15 points. She added four rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
?Our point of emphasis was to covert those turnovers and to rebound a lot better,? Atunrase said.
A&M sophomore Patrice Reado scored 13 points, while junior Lenka Zimova added 10 points and three blocks.
The Aggies received solid contributions from freshman guard Takia Starks who posted six points, five rebounds, five assists, with no turnovers, and a steal. Senior Tamea Scales added six points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Eagles connected on its first three attempts from the field and took a 7-6 lead. It was their only lead of the game.
A&M answered with a 24-2 run over the next seven minutes to hold a 30-9 advantage. The Eagles committed 13 turnovers during the run as the Aggies scored 22 points off of turnovers during the first 12 minutes.
The Aggies led by as many as 32 points, 46-14, in the first half. Junior Jennifer Wilks capped the first half for the Aggies with a half court shot that drained at the buzzer. The Aggies led 47-19 at halftime.
A&M managed 31 points in the first half off of 23 Eastern Washington turnovers.
The Aggies continued their dominance in the second half by starting the frame with a 19-2 run to increase the lead to 69-21.
A&M?™s largest lead was 57 points, 94-37 in the final seconds following a jumper by sophomore LaToya Gulley.
No Eagles scored in double digits. Sydney Benson led EWU with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Aggies will break for the holidays and return to action against Utah State on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. Tickets for all games through Jan. 4 are half price.
NOTES?-Danielle Gant was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game. Starks made her second start of the season at point guard. Atunrase did not start the game for the first time in 30 straight games.
