February 07, 2006
The No. 24-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (17-5, 6-3) will play their first game as a ranked team this season when they face the Texas Longhorns (12-8, 6-4) in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Erwin Center in Austin in a game televised by FSN Southwest.
The Aggies received their first Associated Press Top 25 ranking of the season Monday at No. 24. It marked the first time for A&M to be ranked since March of 1996 following winning the Southwest Conference Tournament.
| GAME INFO |
| Wednesday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m. (CST) Frank Erwin Center (16,755), Austin, Texas Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas: 12-8, 6-4 Big 12 (T-5th) Texas A&M: 17-5, 6-3 Big 12 (T-2nd) |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is tied for 24th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll. |
| RADIO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Tap Bentz, commentary |
| TELEVISION |
| Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play Brenda VanLengen, commentary |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: (texassports.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-subscription service) |
| SERIES |
| Texas leads, 57-10 In College Station: Texas leads, 23-5 Last Meeting: (3/2/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Nebraska Saturday, Feb. 11, 1 p.m. (CST) Devaney Center, Lincoln, Nebraska TV: FOX Sports Net (National) |
A&M is ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today WBCA Coaches Top 25. It is the first time the Aggies have been ranked in that poll since March of 1996.
A&M has tallied the most overall and Big 12 Conference wins since 1996.
The last time the Aggies started 6-3 in league play was in 1995.
A&M has won 15 of its last 18 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 14 of its last 15 games at Reed Arena dating to last season's WNIT postseason contests. It includes a 13-game winning streak that was the second longest home winning streak at A&M. The longest was 17 games set in 1994-95.
A&M has five losses, two are by a combined three points and three are to teams ranked in the top 20 (#9 Oklahoma, #12 Baylor, and #17 DePaul).
The Aggies will be seeking to end a 10-game losing streak to Texas in Austin dating to A&M's last win in 1995. A&M has dropped seven straight to Texas overall since 2002.
Currently, A&M is No. 43 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 23 in the Sagarin Ratings.
Coach Gary Blair is one of four active coaches to take three different teams to the AP Top 25. He is one of eight coaches in the history of the poll to accomplish that feat.
Blair has 147 appearances in the AP Top 25 to rank No. 24 all-time and No. 16 among active coaches.
The Aggies are leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense. A&M also leads the league in number of steals, average blocks and turnover margin at +10.27.
The Aggies have held all but one of its league opponents to double-digits below their normal scoring output.
A&M's defense has been particularly stingy in the first half of games allowing 25.5 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 71.5 points a game ranking third in the league.
A&M ranks in the top three in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Two Aggies are scoring double-digits this season. Sophomore Morenike Atunrase, last year's Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the team at 12.6 points while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.8 points a game. Freshman Danielle Gant is third at 9.0. Sophomore A'Quonesia Franklin is fourth on the team at 8.8 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 17 of 22 games, including the last 14 straight, and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has 525 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' 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 43 shots this season. She now has 100 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.