February 09, 2006
The No. 24-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (18-5, 7-3) will look for its third straight win overall and its first victory at the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-9, 4-6) when the two do battle Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb.
The game will be televised nationally by FSN. The Huskers will be offering admission for $1 as part of Pack the Devaney.
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, Feb. 11, 1 p.m. (CST) Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb. |
| RECORDS |
| Nebraska: 12-9, 4-6 Big 12 (T-8th) Texas A&M: 18-5, 7-3 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 Steve Miller, commentary |
| TELEVISION |
| Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play Debbie Antonelli, commentary |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: (huskers.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-subscription service) |
| SERIES |
| Nebraska leads, 12-3 In Lincoln: Nebraska leads, 6-0 Last Meeting: (2/16/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M vs Baylor Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station, Texas |
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.
A&M is ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today WBCA Coaches Top 25 for the first time since March of 1996.
The Aggies enter the game after beating Texas Tech (65-48) at home last Sunday and Texas (73-53) on the road Wednesday.
A&M has tallied its most overall and Big 12 Conference wins since 1996.
The last time the Aggies started 7-3 in league play was an 8-3 start in 1995.
A&M has won 16 of its last 19 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 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).
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.
The Aggies have not won in six previous trips to Lincoln dating to 1983. A&M has lost the last two games against the Huskers.
Currently, A&M is No. 37 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 20 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 +10.17.
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 25.3 points while its offense is averaging 36.4 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 71.6 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 12.7 points while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.8 points a game. Sophomore A'Quonesia Franklin is third on the team at 9.0 points while freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 8.9.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 59 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 18 of 23 games, including the last 15 straight, and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has 531 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 44 shots this season. She now has 101 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.