January 05, 2006
The Texas A&M Aggies (12-2, 0-0) will play their first Big 12 Conference road game when they travel to face the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (5-7, 0-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock.
A&M has won 10 straight games since returning from Hawaii in November. The streak is the second longest in school history. The longest winning streak is 11 games set in the 1974-75 season, the first year for varsity basketball at A&M.
The Aggies will be seeking their first win in Lubbock over Texas Tech since Feb. 4, 1980. A&M has dropped 24 consecutive games in Lubbock and 18 straight games overall to the Lady Raiders.
A&M?â„¢s last win over Texas Tech came in the finals of the last Southwest Conference Tournament in 1996 in Dallas.
The Lady Raiders hold the Big 12?â„¢s best home record at 64-9 in conference play.
The Aggies step away from the friendly confines of Reed Arena for the first time in Big 12 play this season and leave behind a winning streak of 11 home games dating to last season.
Currently, A&M is No. 38 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 34 in the Sagarin Ratings. The Aggies are not yet receiving votes in the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls.
The Aggies share the Big 12 lead with Kansas in terms of overall wins with 12.
A&M will be looking to start the Big 12 campaign 2-0 for the first time. The last time the Aggies started a conference slate with a 2-0 record was 1994-95 when they put together a 4-0 beginning.
A&M enters the Texas Tech game after beating Oklahoma State, 74-52, on Wednesday at Reed Arena. Sophomore Patrice Reado recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
Freshman Takia Starks had a game-high 16 points and Morenike Atunrase tallied 15 points.
The winning margin was the second largest for A&M in Big 12 play behind a 24-point win against Missouri in 2002.
A&M?â„¢s defense has been a major factor in the team?â„¢s success this season.
The Aggies are leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense at 55.8 points allowed per game. A&M also leads the league in steals per game at 11.50, turnover margin at +10.50 and blocks at 6.71.
A&M?â„¢s defense has been particularly stingy in the first half of games allowing 25.4 points while its offense is averaging 39.2 points.
Last season, the Aggies ranked eighth in the Big 12 in scoring offense averaging 64.3 points a game.
This season, the Aggies are averaging 75.9 points a game ranking fourth in the league just 1.5 points out of second place.
Three Aggies are scoring double-digits this season. Sophomore Morenike Atunrase, last year?â„¢s Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the team at 12.4 points, while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.6 points a game. Freshman Danielle Gant is third at 10.3. Senior Tamea Scales is fourth on the team at 9.5 points.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 60 percent. Gant has scored double-digits in seven games. 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 9 of 14 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 9.5 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds. She has pulled down 51 offensive rebounds to rank fourth in the Big 12 in per game average at 3.64.
Scales has double-digits in eight of the last 13 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.
The Aggies?â„¢ roster is composed of 73 percent of players in their first or second year in the program.
Atunrase has blocked 29 shots this season (2.1 average). She now has 86 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 five blocks to move into third place all-time at the school.