February 26, 2006
A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin scored 18 points with five assists to lead No. 25 Texas A&M over Iowa State, 64-53, in Big 12 Conference play Sunday at Reed Arena in front of 4,607.
A&M (21-7, 10-5) moves into a tie for third place in the league with Missouri, while Iowa State falls to 15-10 overall and to 6-9 in the Big 12.
?We took a very good shooting team and very good patterned team in Iowa State and didn?â„¢t let them run their offense,? A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?You stop it with good defensive pressure and we had that.?
The Aggies?â„¢ defensive pressure forced 20 turnovers that the Aggies converted into 21 points.
?Obviously their defense makes it hard to score,? ISU coach Bill Fennelly said. ?We?â„¢ve struggled shooting the ball lately, and their defense didn?â„¢t help that any. We knew the offensive rebounding would be an issue, and those are the two factors that ultimately determined the game.?
In the second half, Iowa State pulled within 33-30 before A&M?â„¢s Danielle Gant scored eight unanswered points part of a 15-0 run to give the Aggies a 51-33 lead midway through the half.
Iowa State missed five shots and committed four turnovers during the stretch.
?Some of them were unforced as they were trying to throw over us a couple of times,? Blair said. ?We?â„¢re going to force turnovers. We?â„¢re not going to let a team get into their sets. We?â„¢re not going to let them shoot threes.?
Gant was instrumental in the opening portion of the second half with her defense and offense. Besides scoring 10 points in the stretch, Gant tallied a pair of assists and rebounds.
?I thought Gant was the difference in the first 10 minutes of the second half,? Blair said.
A&M freshman La Toya Micheaux grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds, eight on the offensive end of the floor, while recording three steals.
?I thought she was a terror on the boards all night,? Blair said. ?Give her a lot of credit for protecting the middle for us when we made mistakes.?
Franklin drained a career-high four three pointers as part of her game-high 18 points. She added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Takia Starks poured in 11 points to aid the Aggies.
Senior Erica Roy, who along with senior Tamea Scales, was honored in pregame ceremonies. Roy scored eight points and nine rebounds with six assists and two steals in her final appearance on the hardwood at Reed Arena. Scales finished with a career-best three blocks along with four points and three rebounds.
?I thought Erica Roy was the difference in the ball game out of all of (the perimeter players),? Blair said. ?Of all my perimeter players she did the little things, she hit the key shots and got the nine rebounds.?
Iowa State was paced by Brittany Wilkins?â„¢ 12 points and nine rebounds and by Lisa Bildeaux?â„¢s 11 points and eight rebounds.
A&M held an early 7-3 lead before the Cyclones rattled off a 9-2 run to take a 12-9 advantage.
The Aggies responded with a 14-3 run highlighted by three pointers from Atunrase and Franklin to retake the lead 23-15 late in the first half.
Iowa State then tied the game at 23-23 with back-to-back three pointers by Heather Ezell with 3:44 to play in the half.
The Aggies held a 27-25 lead at the break.
The Cyclones cut the Aggies?â„¢ 18-point second half lead to nine points, 62-53, with an 11-4 run over the last five minutes.
?I?â„¢m very impressed with A&M,? Fennelly said. ?I was impressed on video and prepared for this game, but it is an outstanding team. Very well coached. Very committed to the defensive end of the court. Very, very solid in every area.?
A&M will play its final Big 12 regular season game at Oklahoma State (6-20, 0-15) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. The Aggies can secure a bye in the Big 12 Championship with a win at OSU.
NOTES?-Erica Roy was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game.