January 01, 2006
The Texas A&M Aggies (10-2) will renew their series with the Rice Owls (4-6) Monday 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 game marks the beginning of a home and home series that will see the two teams do battle next season at Rice?â„¢s Autry Court.
A&M and Rice have met just twice since the end of the Southwest Conference in 1996. The last meeting came in January of 2000 in Houston as the Owls won 60-57. The Aggies lead 26-9 in the series with Rice that dates to 1975.
A&M Coach Gary Blair holds a 3-1 career record against Rice.
The Aggies enter the game on an eight-game winning streak, the third 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. Currently, A&M is No. 37 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 31 in the Sagarin Ratings.
The Aggies have the second most wins in the Big 12. They are matched with Baylor, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Kansas leads the league at 11-0. A&M can share the lead with Kansas with a win over Rice. The Aggies are the only Big 12 team in action Monday.
A&M has won 16 straight non-conference games at Reed Arena dating to January of 2004. It matches the longest streak in school history regardless of games played at Reed Arena or the Aggies?â„¢ previous home G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M last won 16 straight non-conference games at home in the late 80s.
Overall, the Aggies have won 22 of their last 26 games (.846) away from the Big 12 Conference.
A&M?â„¢s defense has been a major factor in the team?â„¢s success this season.
The Aggies are second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense at 55.4 points allowed per game. A&M is also second in the league in steals per game at 11.33. The Aggies lead the league in turnover margin at +11.00 and in blocks at 7.17.
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 76.9 points a game ranking fourth in the league just 0.6 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 12.7 points, while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.6 points a game. Senior Tamea Scales is third at 10.7 points and freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 10.6.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 60 percent. Gant has scored double-digits in six games and no less than seven points in each game. She has started in one 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 7 of 12 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 10.7 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds. She has pulled down 46 offensive rebounds to rank third in the Big 12 in per game average at 3.83.
Scales has double-digits in eight of the last 11 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.
She also leads the team in charges taken with 13. As a team, the Aggies have drawn 36 charges this season.
The Aggies?â„¢ roster is composed of 73 percent of players in their first or second year in the program.
Atunrase has blocked 27 shots this season (2.3 average). She now has 84 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.