February 16, 2006
The No. 21-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (19-6, 8-4) will look for its first win at the Lloyd Noble Center since 1990 when they face the No. 9-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (22-4, 12-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Noble Center in Norman, Okla.
A&M is in second place in the Big 12 and facing the Sooners who have clinched at least a share of the Big 12 Championship with its perfect league record to date.
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. (CST) Lloyd Noble Center (12,000), Norman, Okla. |
| RECORDS |
| Oklahoma: 22-4, 12-0 Big 12 (1st) Texas A&M: 19-6, 8-4 Big 12 (T-2nd) |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll. OU is rated 9th by both polls. |
| RADIO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Steve Miller, commentary |
| TELEVISION |
| none |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: (soonersports.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-subscription service) |
| SERIES |
| OU leads, 22-7 In Norman: OU leads, 12-1 Last Meeting: (1/28/06) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Texas Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station, Texas |
The Aggies have dropped 10 straight to the Sooners in Norman while the Sooners hold a 10-1 record at home this season.
The Aggies' ranking is its best since being ranked 21st in December of 1995. It is A&M's first season to be ranked since the end of the 1996 following winning the Southwest Conference Tournament.
A&M is ranked No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today WBCA Coaches Top 25.
It is the fifth game for A&M as a ranked team against a ranked team.
The Aggies enter the game winners of three of their last four. A&M fell to No. 12 Baylor at home Wednesday by the score of 84-59. The game was contested in front of a school record 11,088 which was nearly double the previous arena record of 5,565.
A&M has tallied its most overall and Big 12 Conference wins since 1996. The Aggies have the second most wins overall in the league.
The last time the Aggies started 8-4 in league play was an 8-4 start in 1995. A&M has won its eight league games by impressive average of 18 points a game.
A&M has won 17 of its last 21 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 six losses, two are by a combined three points and four are to teams ranked in the top 20 (#9 Oklahoma, #12 Baylor (twice), and #16 DePaul).
A&M has won 14 of its last 16 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.
Currently, A&M is No. 33 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 148 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, and turnover margin at +9.28.
The Aggies have held all but two 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 26.1 points while its offense is averaging 36.2 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 71.0 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 13.3 points while freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.9 points a game. Sophomore A'Quonesia Franklin is third on the team at 9.3 points while freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 8.6.
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 20 of 25 games, including the last 17 straight, and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has 540 career rebounds to rank No. 13 all-time at A&M. She is the 16th player in school history to grab 500 or more rebounds
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 48 shots this season, the fourth most in a single season at the school. She now has 105 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.