March 09, 2006
The No. 22-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (23-7, 11-5) make their first appearance in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship when they face No. 10 Baylor (23-5) Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at Reunion Arena in Dallas in a game being televised by FSN.
| GAME INFO |
| Thursday, March 9, 8:30 p.m. (CST) Reunion Arena (18,000), Dallas, Texas |
| RECORDS |
| Baylor: 23-5 Texas A&M: 23-7 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 22nd in the Associated Press poll and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Baylor is ranked 10th in both polls. |
| RADIO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Steve Miller, commentary (available inside Reunion on low end of FM dial) |
| TELEVISION |
| Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play Debbie Antonelli, commentary Brenda VanLengen, sidelines |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: (big12sports.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-subscription service) |
| SERIES |
| Baylor leads, 35-34 at Big 12 Tournament: BAY leads, 1-0 Last Meeting: (2/15/06) |
| UP NEXT |
| winner in Big 12 Championship vs. Oklahoma/Missouri Saturday, March 11, 6 p.m. (CST) Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas TV: FOX Sports Net (National) |
A&M has posted its best finish in the history of the Big 12 Conference with a third place showing.
The Aggies improved its Big 12 record by +7 games from a year ago. It marked the second best two-year turnaround by a team with a sub-.500 record in league history.
A&M won 11 Big 12 games this season which is two more than the previous three seasons combined.
It is A&M's first season to be ranked in the AP Top 25 since the end of the 1996 season following winning the Southwest Conference Tournament.
The Aggies have never been seeded higher than nine at the Big 12 postseason championship. Before beating Nebraska Wednesday in the quarterfinals, A&M's only win at the event happened in 1998 against Texas.
The Aggies dropped both regular season meetings with Baylor.
A&M's third place finish is the best for coach Gary Blair since he guided Stephen F. Austin to seven straight conference titles from 1987-93.
Blair's best regular season finish in the Southeastern Conference with Arkansas was a tie for fourth place in 1995.
A&M has tallied its most overall wins since 1994 and its most Big 12 wins ever. The 23 wins are the third most in school history. The Aggies have the second most wins overall in the league.
The Aggies have won their 11 league games by impressive average of 17 points a game.
A&M has won 21 of its last 26 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 seven losses, two are by a combined three points and five are to teams ranked in the top 20 (#9 Oklahoma (twice), #10 Baylor (twice), and #16 DePaul).
A&M has won 16 of its last 18 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.
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 151 appearances in the AP Top 25 to rank No. 24 all-time and No. 16 among active coaches.
He is looking to become just the fourth coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament.
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 +8.31.
The Aggies have held all but four 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 26.2 points while its offense is averaging 35.7 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 70.2 points a game ranking fourth in the league.
A&M ranks in the top four in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Two Aggies are scoring double-digits this season. All-Big 12 First Team selection Morenike Atunrase, last year's Big 12 Freshman of the Year, leads the team at 14.2 points while Big 12 All-Rookie Team freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.9 points a game. All-Big 12 Honorable Mention A'Quonesia Franklin is third on the team at 9.2 points while freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 8.5.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 57 percent which is the second best by any freshman in the country. Gant has scored double-digits in seven games. She has started in four games 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 25 of 30 games, including the last 22 straight, and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has 548 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 52 shots this season, the third most in a single season at the school. She now has 109 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.