August 22, 2006
Junior Morenike Atunrase led the way with a game-high 17 points as the Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team closed out its 10-day European Tour with an undefeated 5-0 record with an 88-58 victory over Roquebrune Tuesday night.
The Aggies shot 55.4 percent (36-65) for the game behind Atunrase?â„¢s 8-of-11 performance from the floor which also included a three-pointer in the first half of play. Defensively, she had seven of the team?â„¢s 32 steals.
After leading 48-23 at halftime, the Aggies started the second half on a 10-4 run. However, fouls and turnovers exchanged by both squads slowed down the pace of the game in the fourth quarter. Roquebrune would outscore the Aggies, 12-9, but did not score its first basket of the quarter until Jezabel Richard drained two free throws with 5:51 remaining in regulation.
A&M committed 28 fouls, with Roquebrune scoring 21 of its points off makes from the charity stripe. Last season, Roquebrune finished third among 14 league teams in the second women?â„¢s basketball national division of France.
?We started off slow, but I thought we played really well in the second and third quarters,? Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair said. ?I thought everyone was into the flow in the second quarter as we outscored the other team, 31-11. But, we did do some things well. In the last quarter, we wanted to play the bench and see if they could get a little confidence out there. I was really pleased with our opponents. They (Roquebrune) ran a lot of stuff at us tonight, which made us think and lead a little.?
Sophomore Danielle Gant contributed 12 points off the bench and was the only other player to score in double figures for the Aggies. Freshman Ashlaa Horton recorded a game-high eight rebounds along with seven points.
?Anytime you go 5-0, whether you play an exhibition series at home or you are on the road, it means a lot to your program,? Blair said. ?We did it on the road and did it after being off since late March. I was pleased with a lot of the kids individually and with the things we experimented with including our trapping defenses. We were very effective in a lot of different areas during our European Tour.?
A&M compiled a 5-0 record overseas with wins over Reims (69-60) on Aug. 16, F.C. Lyon (73-48) on Aug. 17, BBC Troistorrents (102-48) on Aug. 18 and Martigny (108-58) on Aug. 19. With their first-ever overseas trip in the books, the Aggies look forward to their return to the continental U.S. and College Station tomorrow night.
?This trip was so much worthwhile, because we saw four other countries (France, Italy, Monaco and Switzerland) instead of just one,? said Blair, who last took Arkansas to Australia in 1999. ?This is something which will always be in our kids?â„¢ heads and minds. We became closer as a team and we learned more as a team from a historical point of view.
?Hopefully, we will be able to go back and tell future Aggies what this experience was all about. We?â„¢re ready to get back to work in College Station and get this team ready for the upcoming season.?
TEXAS A&M 88, ROQUEBRUNE 58
8/22/06 ?- 8:00 PM
at Roquebrune, France
BOX SCORE ?- Texas A&M (5-0) FRANKLIN, A?â„¢Quonesia 3-6 1-2 7; STARKS, Takia 4-12 0-0 8; ATUNRASE, Morenike 8-11 0-3 17; READO, Patrice 3-7 1-2 7; MICHEAUX, La Toya 2-2 2-6 6; HORTON, Ashlaa 3-6 0-0 7; ZIMOVA, Lenka 2-8 0-0 4; WILKS, Jennifer 3-6 1-1 7; GANT, Danielle 5-8 2-2 12; GULLEY, LaToya 1-4 2-2 4; POUNDS, Katy 4-5 1-3 9. TOTALS 36-65 10-21 88.
Texas A&M?..................... 17 31 31 9 ?- 88
Roquebrune...?...?...?...?........ 12 11 23 12 ?- 58
3-point goals ?- 2-17 (ATUNRASE, Morenike; HORTON, Ashlaa 1-2). Fouled out ?- WILKS, Jennifer. Rebounds ?- 38 (HORTON, Ashlaa 8). Assists ?- 20 (FRANKLIN, A?â„¢quonesia 4). Total fouls ?- 28. Attendance ?- 114.