January 15, 2006
Morenike Atunrase scored a career high 29 points to lead Texas A&M over Kansas, 78-64, Sunday in Big 12 Conference play at Allen Fieldhouse.
A&M hit 12 straight free throws over the final 2:10 to record its third straight win at Kansas (12-3, 1-3) to improve to 14-3 overall and to 3-1 in the league.
?I thought it took the gas completely out of them,? A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?We were doing a good job on the other end of making them miss during the last four minutes. At the same time we were hitting the free throws and never turned the ball over during that time frame. That showed poise and that our kids had been in a few tough ball games before.?
It marks the best conference start for A&M since a 4-0 beginning in 1995.
?Bonnie (Henrickson) told me before the game that she thought we were the most improved team in the league, and I have to agree with her. We are the most improved, but are we the best team in the league? We?â„¢ve got another 11 or 12 games to decide that.?
Atunrase drained five three pointers and blocked five shots to lead the Aggies to its second straight league win.
?I stepped up my game a lot more since I realized it was a road game,? Atunrase said. This was a great ball club so as a team we knew we had to pick it up.?
Atunrase, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, connected on 4-of-4 from the line in the final two minutes. She was successful on 6-of-8 for the game.
?I?â„¢m so proud of our team for the way we stepped up and hit those crucial free throws at that point in the game,? Atunrase said.
Blair pointed to Atunrase?â„¢s last two outings. She came off the bench in the game against Kansas State to score 17 points.
?Morenike has shown over the last two games why she was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year,? Blair said. ?She?â„¢s learning a different position, hitting the three ball, just making the tough play. She did an outstanding job.?
As a team, the Aggies connected on a season best 14-of-16 free throws. A&M entered the game averaging 63 percent from the line.
?This team has been so maligned on our free throw shooting,? Blair said. ?It felt good to shoot it under the pressure.?
The Aggies put together a 14-3 run over the final 90 seconds of the first half into the first five minutes of the second to take a 43-32 lead. A&M led by 41-29 in the opening minutes of the second half.
Inside shooting by Crystal Kemp and perimeter success by Kaylee Brown set the tone for Kansas. Kemp finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Brown drained four three-pointers enroute to 20 points.
?I thought Kemp and Brown did an outstanding job,? Blair said. ?We couldn?â„¢t shut down the whole three but one of our keys was to shut down Erica Hallman and we did a good job on her.?
Three-times midway through the second half, the Aggies again held a 12-point lead. A bucket by Takia Starks with 8:49 to play in the game lifted A&M to a 59-47 lead. Starks finished with 15 points.
Kansas answered with a 12-5 run to pull within 64-59 with 4:36 remaining as Kemp converted a three-point play.
Then, Atunrase hit a jumper with three minutes left to push the Aggies?â„¢ lead to 66-59.
A&M then held its composure on the floor after a technical foul was issued to its bench Kemp missed the technical free throws with 2:49 to play.
Brown answered 20 seconds later by connecting on 2-of-3 free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to pull Kansas within 66-61.
In an awkward foul situation, the Jayhawks needed five fouls to force the Aggies to the free throw line in the final minutes.
A&M capitalized at the line making 12 of its final 12 attempts.
Solid first half shooting by the Aggies allowed them to take a 15-8 lead following a jumper by A?â„¢Quonesia Frankin to cap a 6-2 run with 12:16 to play. Franklin finished with 10 points and four assists.
The Jayhawks answered with a 9-2 run highlighted by a pair of three pointers by Brown. The second three by Brown pulled the Jayhawks within 18-17 with 8:24 to play.
The remainder of the first half was a back and fourth battle that saw the Jayhawks tie the game at 29 with 1:37 left, but the Aggies put together eight unanswered points to close the frame.
As time expired in the first half, Atunrase drained a three pointer from the right side to give A&M its largest lead of the half, 37-29. Atunrase scored 12 points in the first half while Starks added nine.
?I wasn?â„¢t hesitating on my shots,? Atunrase said. ?Coach Blair always tells me not to hesitate and that?â„¢s what I changed about my shot.?
A&M shot 54.7 percent from the field for the game, its best in league play.
The Aggies scored 23 points off of 20 Kansas turnovers.
It marked the first win for the Aggies in the Big 12 on the road in eight games.
?In years past, on the road, we might have caved in like we?â„¢ve done the last two years at Texas Tech,? Blair said. ?This time our kids just said ?'are we pretenders or are we contenders??â„¢?
A&M will play at Baylor on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
?We?â„¢ve got a huge week in front of us coming up. We took care of business with the Kansas schools, but can we take care of Baylor and Missouri? That?â„¢s going to be a huge week.
NOTES?-Atunrase was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game. The Aggies connected on 6-of-12 from three point range, matching its best percentage of the season. Kansas never led in the game. The Jayhawks held a 12-game home winning streak.