March 15, 2006
The No. 20-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (23-8, 11-5) return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996 when they face the TCU Lady Frogs (18-11, 11-5) in the first round of the NCAA Championship Sunday at approximately 8:30 p.m. (central) at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J.
| GAME INFO |
| Sunday, March 19, approx. 8:30 p.m. (CST) Sovereign Bank Arena (9,000), Trenton, N.J. |
| RECORDS |
| TCU: 18-11 Texas A&M: 23-8 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll and 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today poll. |
| RADIO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play TBA, commentary (available inside SBA on low end of FM dial) |
| TELEVISION |
| ESPN2 (National) Dave Pasch, play-by-play Mary Murphy, commentary Rob Stone, sidelines |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: Link TBA (ncaasports.com) |
| SERIES |
| A&M leads, 27-2 Last Meeting: A&M 97, TCU 82 (2/28/96) |
| UP NEXT |
| winner vs. Rutgers/Dartmouth NCAA 2nd Round Tuesday, March 21, 8:30 p.m. (CST) Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, N.J. TV: ESPN2 (National) |
The Aggies are seeded sixth, their best ever. TCU is the 11 seed. It marks the first time the two teams will meet since the end of the Southwest Conference in 1996. A&M has won 13 straight over the Lady Frogs dating to 1990.
Coach Gary Blair makes his 12th NCAA Tournament appearance and is the fourth coach in NCAA history to take three different schools (Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas) to the NCAAs.
It is the best seeding for Blair since 2002 when he was a six seed at Arkansas.
A&M has tallied its most overall wins since 1994 and matched its total for most conference wins in school history. The 23 wins are the third most in school history.
A&M 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.
A&M's third place finish in league play is the best for 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.
The Aggies won their 11 Big 12 games by impressive average of 17 points a game.
A&M has won 21 of its last 27 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 eight losses, three are by a combined four points and five are to teams ranked in the top 20 (#9 Oklahoma (twice), #10 Baylor (twice), and #16 DePaul).
A&M won 16 of its last 18 games at Reed Arena dating to last season's WNIT postseason contests. It included 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 152 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 +7.77.
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 26.4 points while its offense is averaging 35.1 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 69.7 points a game ranking fifth in the league.
A&M ranks in the top five 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 14.0 points while Big 12 All-Rookie Team freshman Takia Starks is second at 11.7 points a game. All-Big 12 Honorable Mention A'Quonesia Franklin is third on the team at 9.4 points while freshman Danielle Gant is fourth at 8.5.
Gant leads the way for the Aggies in shooting at 59 percent which is the second best by any freshman in the country. Gant has scored double-digits in nine 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 27 minutes of playing time. Starks has started in 26 of 31 games, including the last 23 straight, and has seen playing time at point guard.
Scales has 552 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. The team's freshman and sophomores account for 75 percent of the scoring.
Atunrase has blocked 56 shots this season, the second most in a single season at the school. Atunrase holds the school's single season record at 57 set last year. She now has 113 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.