December 29, 2005
The Texas A&M Aggies (9-2) will host the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans (8-3) Friday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Tickets for all home games through January 4 are half-price. Contact the Athletic Ticket Office for details at 979-845-2311 or online at AggieAthletics.com.
The Aggies enter the game on a seven-game winning streak, the fourth longest in school history.
The recent wins have propelled A&M in the various RPIs to as high as 26 in the CollegeRPI.com, easily its highest such rating since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
A&M has won 15 straight non-conference games at Reed Arena dating to January of 2004.
Overall, the Aggies have won 21 of their last 25 games (.833) away from the Big 12 Conference.
A&M and UALR are meeting for the third straight season. Each of the previous two games have been decided by 10 points or less. In 2003, A&M won at home by the score of 54-44. Last season, A&M won at UALR by the score of 62-55.
Prior taking the helm at A&M, coach Gary Blair coached for 10 seasons at Arkansas and never faced UALR.
A&M?â„¢s defense has been a major factor in the team?â„¢s success this season.
The Aggies lead the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense at 54.6 points allowed per game. A&M also leads the league in steals per game at 11.73, and is second in blocks at 7.09.
Last season, the Aggies ranked eighth in the Big 12 in scoring offense averaging 64.3 points a game.
In the non-conference slate thus far, A&M has seen an increase in scoring. The Aggies are averaging 76.8 points a game ranking third in the league just 1.5 points out of second place.
Four Aggies are scoring double-digits this season. Sophomore Morenike Atunrase, last year?â„¢s Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the team at 12.5 points, while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.4 points a game. Senior Tamea Scales is third at 11.1 points and freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 10.9.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 62 percent. Gant has scored double-digits in six games and no less than seven points in each game. She has not started in a game this season and is usually the first player off the bench for the Aggies.
Starks is a two-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week and with Gant, the two average 23+ minutes of playing time. Starks has started in 6 of 11 games and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has quiety been recording consistently impressive numbers. Her consistency was rewarded in Las Vegas when she was named the Duel in the Desert?â„¢s Most Valuable Player. Scales, who moved to the four position this season from the five position last season is averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds. She has pulled down 43 offensive rebounds to rank third in the Big 12 in per game average at 3.9.
Scales has double-digits in eight of the last 10 games and three double-doubles. Scales recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-best 21 points and 11 rebounds against Utah State.
The Aggies?â„¢ roster is composed of 73 percent of players in their first or second year in the program.
Morenike Atunrase, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, blocked 23 shots in the first 10 games (2.3 average). She now has 82 career blocks to rank fourth all-time at A&M. At 5-foot-10, Atunrase is shorter than all three players who rank ahead of her. She blocked a school record 57 shots last season and needs eight blocks to move into third place all-time at the school.