February 05, 2006
Morenike Atunrase scored 14 points and blocked a season best six shots to lead Texas A&M over Texas Tech, 65-48, Sunday at Reed Arena in front of 3,626.
The win was the first for A&M (17-5, 6-3) over the Lady Raiders (10-10, 5-4) since the Aggies won the championship game of the 1996 Southwest Conference Tournament. It was a stretch of 19 games. A&M is in second place in the Big 12 Conference.
"We walked into this ballgame, in the last few days, pretty confident in what we could do," A&M coach Gary Blair said. "Remember, we just faced Texas Tech coming off their best game of the year (win over Texas). We were scared to death of them. If they would have played anything like they did, it would have been a whole different story. (But you can win) When you take people out of their offense and you make (Tech point guard Erin) Grant take some shots she didn't want."
A&M's margin of victory was its largest in the series matching a 17-point win in 1976.
"First of all, congrats to A&M," Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp said. "The atmosphere down here has changed so much in the last few years. I know they've worked really hard to put together a home court that really gives them an advantage.
"Early in the year, when I saw the kinds of things they doing and the crowds they were drawing, I thought it would be if not the toughest, one of toughest places that we'd have to come on the road in the Big 12 and play."
The Aggies shined on defense blocking 14 shots, the most since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. Texas Tech committed 22 turnovers.
"We were defending their sets about as well as we've defended anybody all year," Blair said. "Give (Associate Head) Coach (Vic) Schaefer a lot of credit. That halfcourt defense is pretty doggone good. He's just a great defensive coordinator, that's the bottom line."
A&M has tallied its most wins overall and in league place since 1996.
"We're at six (conference wins) right now," Blair said. "You're not going to get me excited until we see what nine looks like. You find a way to win on the road and you take care of your home turf. This is just a lot of fun. My biggest enjoyment is basically turning people on to women's basketball for the first time. When they get dose of it they want more."
Back-to-back three pointers by Atunrase lifted A&M to a 27-22 lead with 4:56 to play in the first. It sparked a 16-4 run to close the half.
Erica Roy came off the bench to score nine points in the first half.
A&M led at half 37-24.
An 8-3 run to start second half lifted the Aggies to a 45-27 lead with 14:10 remaining.
But, the Lady Raiders answered with a 16-7 run to cut their deficit to 52-43 with 6:51 to play. It was the closest the Lady Raiders would get. Erin Myrick tallied six points during the run.
A&M closed the game with a 13-5 run mainly at the free throw. The Aggies failed to record a field goal the final 5:11 of the game, but they connected on the final six attempts from the free throw line.
"We didn't really answer that today," Sharp said. "I felt like they just really overpowered us at every position, particularly with about 4-5 minutes left in the first half."
A'Quonesia Franklin scored 12 points with four assists and just one turnover for the Aggies while Patrice Reado scored 12 points with seven rebounds and career best four blocked shots.
Texas Tech was paced by trio of double-doubles led by Alesha Robertson's 16 points and 11 rebounds and by Erin Myrick's 10 points and 14 rebounds. LaToya Davis added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
A&M will face Texas in Austin at the Erwin Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a game televised by FSN Southwest.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
- Reado was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game.
- Starks tallied a career best seven assists.
- A&M's bench outscored the Lady Raiders, 23-1.
- Atunrase now has 100 blocks, third most in A&M history.
- She has 43 blocks this season which is the fourth most in a single season.
- Atunrase holds the single season record of 57 set last year.
Postgame Quotes
TECH COACH MARSHA SHARP: "First of all, congrats to A&M. The atmosphere down here has changed so much in the last few years. I know they've worked really hard to put together a home court that really gives them an advantage. Early in the year, when I saw the kinds of things they doing and the crowds they were drawing, I thought it would be if not the toughest, one of toughest places that we'd have to come on the road in the Big 12 and play. That was true today. Gary's done a great job of rebuilding it and putting a lot of players in this program that fit the mold he wants and play the kind of defense and do all things that I think their philosophy is built around. I can't tell you how much respect I have for what he's done."
"We didn't really answer that today. I didn't think we were really tough enough in any spot. We weren't physical enough to really get it to the rim and draw fouls and when it's called the way it was called today you're in a situation if you're not going to finish well at the rim you're not going to get calls. I felt like they just really overpowered us at every position, particularly with about 4-5 minutes left in the first half. We made a run at them, when we got back to nine I thought we might have a chance to get back in it, but they made some plays on their offensive end to hold us off."
(was this the most physical game you've played this season) "No question. I think that's the most physical game we've been involved with."
(on the main difference between A&M this year versus the last two seasons) "I think there's two things. First of all, some of those babies are not babies anymore. They're older and little bit more mentally tough and a little more solid. They understand what he wants done trip after trip. Instead of just making a play at you, they're really running a system and staying within that system with a lot more discipline. Second, he's got a lot more depth. When you can run those players in and out and continue to get the same look, it talks a little bit about how well they've recruited and again put players within their system that they think can fit the mold and put pressure against you."
(on how the team handled A&M's pressure) "We did get back on our heels a little bit. That's the worst thing you can do against pressure. You have to continue to attack it. We really let it bother us. They blocked a couple of shots and we really got hesitant in a couple of key areas."
(on the difficulty of matching up with A&M's style) "It's tough for us right now. They had a little bit more speed probably at every position than we had. When you keep running against it trip after trip, eventually that takes a toll on you. We didn't make some plays. Obviously we didn't shoot it well from the free throw line when we had a chance to get back in it, and all those things kind of mount up, especially when you're on the road."
A&M COACH GARY BLAIR: "What a great defensive game. It was a great defensive game for both teams really and that's why the shot percentages were down. Each one of us had to earn everything. We opened the game up a little sluggish. Again, we settled for jump shots instead of basket-attacking. Last time in Lubbock we ate a lot of leather in there (the paint). This time, particularly when we went to small ball, we started basket-attacking a little more. We were defending their sets about as well as we've defended anybody all year. Give (Associate Head) Coach (Vic) Schaefer a lot of credit. That halfcourt defense is pretty doggone good. He's just a great defensive coordinator, that's the bottom line."
"If I don't have the great players, I have the very good players that can do great things. I had (A&M men's basketball player) Chris Walker come in before the game and give our two-minute motivational speech. He came in and talked about role-playing, and I think it fired up our team. We have a lot of role players, we don't have bench-warmers. His speech was probably a whole lot better than mine. I don't have to worry about egos on this team. That's huge when you're trying to develop a team. That win...it's an understatement how huge (it was)."
(on whether the margin of victory was surprising) "Yes. (It was) The same way when we beat Missouri and K-State. But when you play defense for 40 minutes and you're at home and you get the real 12th Man into it, then you're in good shape."
(on the importance of the first run in a good defensive game) "We finally made it at seven minutes or so in the first half. Somebody was going to crack. No way I thought we would have been up 13 at halftime."
(on how rewarding the win is) "I tell you, what's very rewarding to me is the heartfelt congratulations when people come up to you, and not just want an autograph, but say thanks. We're putting on an event out there. We're turning people on and off. When you turn somebody on (to women's basketball) for the first time, that's the biggest thrill in coaching besides executing a play. We've got three great home games left. We're at six (conference wins) right now. You're not going to get me excited until we see what nine looks like. You find a way to win on the road and you take care of your home turf. This is just a lot of fun. My biggest enjoyment is basically turning people on to women's basketball for the first time. When they get dose of it they want more."
(on a confidence boost for this team) "We're going to enjoy it until about 10 o'clock tonight, then go get ready for Texas. The best thing this team has done all year is we haven't gotten too high or too low. We act like we've done it before, and most of us have. The confidence is already high. Sometimes what I've got to do is be positive and confident at the same time. We walked into this ballgame, in the last few days, pretty confident in what we could do. Remember, we just faced Texas Tech coming off their best game of the year (win over Texas). We were scared to death of them. If they would have played anything like they did, it would have been a whole different story. (But you can win) When you take people out of their offense and you make (Tech point guard Erin) Grant take some shots she didn't want."