Texas A&M
9-2
Utah State
1-8
Texas A&M 81, Utah State 55
Dec 28, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Tamea Scales scored a career high 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Texas A&M past Utah State, 81-55, Wednesday in women?™s basketball at Reed Arena.
Scales, a senior, recorded her third double-double of the season. She posted a 7-of-8 shooting prowess in the second half as she scored 17 points and seven rebounds in the frame.
?In the second half I got more into the transition,? Scales said. ?I think that?™s one thing I do best is run the floor in transition. I?™m able to out run a few post players.?
The victory was A&M?™s seventh straight, the fourth longest streak in school history, as it improved to 9-2 overall. Utah State fell to 1-8.
It marked A&M?™s 15th straight non-conference win at home.
Starks, a freshman, scored 20 points and five rebounds. She scored seven of the first 11 points for A&M in a back and fourth game early as there were seven lead changes in the first nine minutes. A&M tied the game at 15-15 following a layup by Danielle Gant.
?I?™m proud of this team,? Blair said. ?We took their best shot, answered it and made the run.?
A&M took the lead 17-15 as Gant connected on a pair of free throws midway through the half. Starks followed with another nine points all part of a 35-4 run that extended the A&M lead to 46-19 at halftime.
Starks accounted for a season best 16 first half points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field surpassing her 14 points in the first half against Washington earlier this season enroute to 25 points for the game.
?Starks was on fire,? Blair said. ?She is just such a good upright shooter. She hits the tough shots.?
Starks tallied her second 20-point plus game of the season.
?It was hard working off the court,? Starks said. ?My teammates got me open and I stepped up and hit the shots.
Blair credited his team?™s first half surge to Jamila Ganter and Gant coming off the bench to spark the team.
?I put Jamila Ganter in, that was the difference,? Blair said. ?It wasn?™t what A?™qua (Franklin) was doing. Ganter came in and we made some adjustments. We went to a triple post offense. (Danielle) Gant did a great job of penetrating and getting the easy looks and we started making them miss.?
Gant finished with 12 points and a season high seven assists.
Ganter tallied five minutes on the court in the first half with an assist and no turnovers.
Utah State kept the scoring even for most of the second half as A&M rotated several reserves into the game.
After trailing 67-37, Utah State made a late 18-4 run to close the gap to 71-55.
?It was a tale of two halves,? Blair said. ?Even near the end of the first half I started trying to play 12 kids, and all of a sudden when you get into the second I had every intension of playing everybody I had. I thought we were in the flow and could handle anything.
?I thought it was a very sloppy second half.?
Utah State ultimately outscored A&M, 36-35, in the second half.
After shooting 51 percent in the first half, A&M shot 38 percent from the field in the second half.
Katy Pounds added a season-best eight points for A&M.
A&M will host Arkansas-Little Rock (8-3) Friday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
NOTES?-Tamea Scales was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game. A&M has won 21 of its last 25 games away from the Big 12 Conference. Atunrase blocked two shots to give her 82 for her career, the fourth most in A&M history.
