January 07, 2006
Texas A&M overcame poor shooting in the first half to outscore Texas Tech in the second half, but 22 points by LaToya Davis paced the Lady Raiders to victory, 56-55, Saturday night at United Spirit Arena in front of 10,992.
The loss ended a 10-game winning streak by the Aggies (12-3, 1-1) as Texas Tech improved to 6-7 overall and to 1-1 in the league.
?If (losing) had to happen then I?â„¢m glad we went down fighting at the end,? A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?I?â„¢m proud of these kids. We?â„¢re going to be a force in this conference race as it goes on. It?â„¢s any body?â„¢s ball game right now.?
Strong inside play by Davis coupled with the solid play of her point guard Erin Grant keyed the victory. Davis added 11 rebounds to her 22 points and Grant scored 13 points while dishing out eight assists.
?I thought Texas Tech did a good job of getting the ball inside all night and not relying on jump shots,? Blair said. ?In the second half, I thought we did a whole lot better job of getting the ball inside and not relying on jump shots?
Trailing 25-21 at the break, the Aggies found themselves down by 11 points, 47-36, midway through the second half.
A&M turned up its defensive intensity and improved its shooting on the other end of the floor to outscore 19-9 the rest of the way.
?I thought our half court defense was fine,? Blair said. ?We gave up 55 points, I will live with that all day long.?
The Aggies led by as many four points in the first half, but found themselves hampered by poor shooting. A&M shot 31 percent in the first half on 10-of-32 from the field. The Aggies were 0-of-7 from three point range and managed a 1-of-2 effort from the free throw line.
?I thought Texas Tech?â„¢s defense was very good to force us into shooting 33 percent,? Blair said. ?We lost the game because of our shooting and their good defense.?
The bright spot for A&M in the first half was its defense and the shooting of Takia Starks who was successful on 4-of-8 in the frame for eight points. She finished with a team high 14 points and four rebounds.
Meanwhile, Texas Tech held a 25-18 lead late in the half before leading 25-21 at the break. The Lady Raiders shot above 40 percent for most of the half while connecting on 6-of-6 free throws.
Davis paced the Lady Raiders with eight points and seven rebounds in the first half.
The Lady Raiders used a 9-2 run midway through the second half to extend their lead to 47-36 with 10:33 to play.
The Aggies then cut the lead to 50-44 after back-to-back baskets by La Toya Micheaux.
A basket by Danielle Gant cut the lead to 52-48 as A&M continued to capitalized on a 12-5 run with 4:23 to play.
Micheaux cut the Lady Raiders?â„¢ lead to 54-52 game after a pair of free throws with 2:38 to play.
Alesha Robertson drained a couple of free throws with 5.8 seconds left to give Texas Tech a 56-52 lead.
The Aggies moved the ball down the floor and A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin drained a three pointer at the buzzer.
Micheaux finished with a career-best 10 rebounds and seven points. She had three steals.
A&M will host Kansas State (11-2, 1-1) Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
NOTES?-Micheaux was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game.