March 01, 2006
Morenike Atunrase scored 22 points for No. 25 Texas A&M as it beat Oklahoma State, 65-47, Wednesday in Big 12 Conference play at Gallagher-Iba Arena in front of 1,545.
A&M (22-7, 11-5) posts its best ever finish in the Big 12 and will be the three seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women?â„¢s Championship next week in Dallas. OSU falls to 6-21 overall and to 0-16 in the league.
?(The bye) is huge,? A&M coach Gary Blair said. ?In 10 years in the SEC I never had a bye. I don?â„¢t know what I?â„¢ll do. But our kids earned it. Some say the Big 12 is down, but why not say A&M is up??
It marks the most wins for the Aggies overall since 1995 and it is the most wins for A&M ever in the Big 12.
?I?â„¢m proud of these kids,? Blair said. ?We?â„¢re not finished yet. We made more mistakes tonight than in our last five games combined so we have to correct those. We had way too many turnovers tonight and that?â„¢s uncharacteristic of this team.?
For just the third time, A&M tallied more turnovers than its opponent. The Aggies made 20 turnovers to OSU?â„¢s 19. But A&M converted the Cowgirls?â„¢ miscues into 23 points.
Atunrase drained four three pointers in the first nine minutes of the game accounting for 12 of the Aggies?â„¢ first 13 points. She was fouled while shooting from long range minutes later and made all three of her free throws giving the Aggies an 18-14 lead midway through the half.
?I was open so I took the shots,? Atunrase said. ?Coach is always telling me to shot the ball if I?â„¢m open.?
She finished with a season matching five three pointers.
The Cowgirls pulled within 23-19 with a pair of free throws by Brisa Silva with 4:15 to play in the first.
A&M capitalized on OSU turnovers and worked its way to the free throw line as it outscored the Cowgirls 15-3 over the final four minutes of the half to hold a 38-23 halftime lead.
Gant controlled the boards in the first half pulling down a career-best 11 rebounds. She finished with 14.
?I was feeling it a little bit,? Gant said. ?I was just jumping up and getting everything I could.?
Blair said Gant?â„¢s rebounding ability is unique.
?She is able to rebound in a crowd,? Blair said. ?That?â„¢s what makes her different than other posts in this league.?
OSU closed the gap early in the second half to 40-30 over the first six minutes as the Aggies managed just two points during stretch.
But A&M responded with a 18-6 run sparked by seven points by Atunrase and five points by LaToya Gulley to take a 58-36 lead with 7:19 to play.
Gulley finished with a career-best eight points.
Takia Starks added 11 points for the Aggies.
OSU was led by Shaunte Smith?â„¢s 13 points and 10 rebounds.
NOTES?-Danielle Gant was selected as the State Farm Player of the Game.