January 27, 2006
he Texas A&M Aggies (16-4, 5-2) will be involved in their first one versus two matchup in the Big 12 Conference when they host the No. 13/14 Oklahoma Sooners (16-4, 6-0) Saturday at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The game is part of a double-header with the A&M men and Baylor which will be contested at 5 p.m. Fans with a ticket to either game will be admitted to both games.
A&M has matched its best overall win total since 1996, which was set last season at 16-15. It shares the lead in the Big 12 in overall wins at 16 with Oklahoma.
The Aggies have also put together their best record in the league at 5-2. A&M also won five games in 2002.
A&M has won 14 of its last 16 games since returning from Hawaii in November. It included a 10 game winning streak which is the second longest in school history.
A&M has won 13 straight games at Reed Arena dating to last season?â„¢s WNIT postseason contests. It is the second longest home winning streak at A&M. The longest is 17 games set in 1994-95.
The Aggies hold the longest active home winning streak in the Big 12 at 13 games.
The Aggies are in second place in the league behind Oklahoma (6-0). The last time A&M started league play with a 5-2 mark was 1994 when it was 8-2 before going 11-3 in the Southwest Conference.
A&M has four losses, two are by a combined three points and two are to teams ranked in the top 15 (#9 Baylor, and #12 DePaul).
It will mark the seventh meeting between A&M and Oklahoma in the last 24 months. The two have met twice in the regular season each year in addition to meeting in the last two Big 12 Championships.
Currently, A&M is No. 36 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 26 in the Sagarin Ratings. The Aggies are receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll for the second straight week after an absence since Jan. 2001. A&M has not been ranked in the top 25 since March 11, 1996.
The Aggies are leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense and are No. 25 in the NCAA at 54.9 points allowed per game. A&M also leads the league in number of steals, and turnover margin at +10.40.
The Aggies have held all of its league opponents to double-digits below their normal scoring output.
A&M?â„¢s defense has been particularly stingy in the first half of games allowing 25.1 points while its offense is averaging 36.0 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 71.8 points a game ranking fifth in the league.
A&M, Baylor and Missouri are the only three teams in the Big 12 to rank in the top five in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Two Aggies are scoring double-digits this season. Sophomore Morenike Atunrase, last year?â„¢s Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the team at 12.9 points while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.9 points a game. Freshman Danielle Gant is third at 9.1. Senior Tamea Scales is fourth on the team at 8.1 points.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 58 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 averages 26 minutes of playing time. Starks has started in 15 of 20 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 a team-best 5.6 rebounds.
Scales has 523 career rebounds to rank No. 14 all-time at A&M. She is the 16th player in school history to grab 500 or more rebounds
She also leads the team in charges taken with 16.
The Aggies?â„¢ roster is composed of 73 percent of players in their first or second year in the program. A&M starts two freshmen and three sophomores.
Atunrase has blocked 37 shots this season. She now has 94 career blocks to rank third all-time at A&M. At 5-foot-10, Atunrase is shorter than both players who rank ahead of her.