November 15, 2006
The No. 13/14-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (1-0) will take on Mercer (0-1) in its second matchup of a three-game homestand at Reed Arena on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. It will be a first time meeting between both schools. The Aggies have won their last 15 consecutive non-conference home contests since a 92-48 victory over Texas State on Jan. 3, 2004. They are 1-0 lifetime against opponents hailing from the Atlantic Sun Conference, having last met East Tennessee State (71-50) in the first round of the 1995 NWIT Tournament. A&M went on to win its first postseason national title in women's basketball that same year.
| GAME INFO |
| Thursday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 1-0 Mercer: 0-1 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 13th by ESPN/USA Today and 14th by The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Tap Bentz, commentary (broadcast time 6:45 p.m. CST) |
| RADIO |
| KZNE-AM 1150 (Local) Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Tap Bentz, commentary (broadcast time 6:45 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| First meeting |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts McNeese State Tuesday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station |
GAME PROMOTIONS
Free admission will be granted to fans wearing their Aggie Ring. There will also be a drawing for a free Aggie Ring courtesy of The Dixie Chicken. Ticket prices range from $11-$5 and can be purchased at The 12th Man Foundation Ticket Center at Kyle Field and at Reed Arena.
A LOOK AT MERCER
A&M is one of four BCS Conference schools on Mercer's schedule this season. The Bears lost their season opener on the road to ACC opponent Georgia Tech (87-48) on Nov. 12. They will also play a pair of tough SEC matchups against South Carolina on Nov. 24 and Mississippi State on Jan. 2. Mercer returns four of its five starters to the lineup including junior guard Erin Keller who was the team's third-leading scorer averaging 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 2005-06. Last season, the Bears posted a 14-15 overall record and went 10-10 in conference play. They are guided by interim head coach Sybil Blalock, who also serves as the school's associate athletics director and senior woman administrator. She previously was an assistant coach at her alma mater from 1994-01 and an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans from 1985-93. Mercer is located in Macon, Georgia, with an enrollment of 7,400 students.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (1.0 ppg, 5.0 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (11.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg)
#21 Morenike Atunrase, G/F, 5-10, Jr. (18.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (16.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
MERCER
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#22 Rhonda Owens, G, 5-6, Sr. (4.0 ppg, 9.0 apg)
#21 Megan Lewis, G, 5-10, So. (8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
#23 Erin Keller, G, 5-9, Jr. (7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
#25 Nicole Leonard, F, 5-11, So. (2.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
#14 Claire Neely, C, 6-3, Fr. (3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
BLAIR GOING FOR WIN NO. 50
A win against Mercer on Thursday night would give head coach Gary Blair his 50th career victory at Texas A&M. He is currently 49-43 overall since his arrival to Aggieland prior to the 2003-04 season. Blair is in his 22nd all-time season as a head coach with successful coaching stops at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) and Arkansas (1993-03). He will become the sixth of seven all-time head coaches at A&M to reach the half-century mark and only the third fastest behind former coaches Kay Don (1974-77) and Candi Harvey (1994-97) to do so in three and a half seasons or less. Don won her 50th game in the first half of her third season in 1976-77 and Harvey at the very end of her third season in 1996-97.
BLAIR'S COACHING RECORD AT A&M
2003-04: 9-19
2004-05: 16-15 (WNIT Quarterfinals)
2005-06: 23-9 (NCAA First Round)
2006-07: 1-0
Totals: 49-43 (.533)
PEPPERDINE RECAP
Four players scored in double figures as A&M defeated 2006 NCAA Tournament participant and West Coast Conference favorite Pepperdine with a season-opening 72-48 victory at Reed Arena on Nov. 10. Junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) scored a game-high 18 points and career-high seven steals. With two seconds remaining in the first half, she striped the ball off an inbounds pass thrown in by Pepperdine and made a last-second layup to tie the score at 29-29 heading into halftime. Atunrase went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and played 36 minutes against the Waves. She also added four blocks, four rebounds and three assists in the winning cause. Atunrase, a preseason All-Big 12 Team selection, currently ranks third all-time with 119 career blocked shots at A&M. Junior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) added 16 points, while senior Lenka Zimova (Partizanske, Slovakia) had 12. The Aggies shot 60 percent (18-30) in the second half, after starting off 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from the floor in the first half of play.
HOME SWEET HOME
With the new additions of state-of-the-art video and ribbon boards to the interior of Reed Arena, the Aggies not only have one of the most high-tech arenas in the Big 12 Conference, but are continuing to build a strong home court advantage at the venue. Last season, the Aggies posted an school-best 14-2 record in the venue. The 6,443 fans in attendance for the team's season opener against Pepperdine on Nov. 10 marked the largest opening day crowd in school history at Reed Arena. The previous high was 2,386 set during last year's season home opener versus Saint Peter's on Nov. 21, 2005. The attendance mark ranks third all-time among the top 10 most-attended games in A&M women's basketball history. All top 10 games have been set in the Gary Blair Era. In fact, attendance has increased 156 percent since Blair's arrival in College Station.
TOP 10 HOME ATTENDANCE RECORDS AT REED ARENA
1. 11,088 vs. Baylor (2/15/06)
2. 8,532 vs. Tulsa (3/16/05)
3. 6,443 vs. Pepperdine (11/10/06)
4T. 5,565 vs. Oklahoma (1/28/06)
4T. 5,565 vs. Baylor (1/10/04)
6. 4,831 vs. Texas (2/22/06)
7. 4,607 vs. Iowa State (2/26/06)
8. 4,383 vs. Baylor (1/5/05)
9. 4,336 vs. Texas (1/25/04)
10. 3,749 vs. Texas Tech (1/30/05)
DOUBLE T-KAY O
Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) turned in her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds versus Pepperdine on Nov. 10. She also dished out five assists in the team's season opener against the Waves. Her previous career-best was six rebounds vs. Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 30, 2005. Starks, the cousin of former New York Knicks star John Starks, was named to the inaugural Big 12 Conference All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2006.
SWEET NOVEMBER
Playing at home is a rarity in the month of November for the Aggies. For the first time since the 1998-99 season, A&M will play three-straight home contests to open the month of November. The Aggies are an undefeated 3-0 in the month of November in the Gary Blair Era (2003-Present), while 9-5 when including away and neutral games.
NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP!
A&M continues to rise in the national polls after climbing up a spot to No. 13 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Meanwhile, the Aggies remain in the No. 14 spot in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Nov. 14. The recent AP selection marked the highest-ever national ranking for A&M. The Aggies were previously selected a program-best No. 14 in both polls during the preseason. Defending national champion Maryland remains No. 1, while Big 12 Conference rival Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 in both polls. A&M is the next highest-ranked league school followed by Baylor and Texas who are ranked No. 16 and No. 25 respectively. Overall, a total of four Aggie opponents are ranked in the national polls including No. 23 Washington.
AGGIES ON THE RADIO
All Texas A&M women's basketball games can be heard via a radio broadcast on the Texas A&M Sports Network with Tom Turbiville (play-by-play) and Tap Bentz (color analyst) calling the action live from Reed Arena on WTAW-AM (1150).
AGGIES ON THE TUBE
A school-record five national television games highlight the 2006-07 slate. A&M will face Big 12 Conference South foes in Baylor (Jan. 13), Texas (Jan. 21) and Oklahoma twice (Jan. 27 and Feb. 10) on Fox Sports Net. Senior Day against rival Texas (Feb. 28) may be added to the television packet as part of the Big 12's wildcard game on FSN. The Aggies will also make their first regular season and second all-time appearance on ESPN2, with an end-of-the-year matchup scheduled at Baylor (Feb. 25).
WATCH AGGIE BASKETBALL LIVE
Throughout the 2006-07 season, Texas A&M women's basketball non-televised home games will be available via a live video and audio feed on Aggies All-Access free of charge on www.AggieAthletics.com. CSTV Aggies All-Access, which debuted in September, is the most watched channel on the CSTV network. Fans can access live and archived audio and video of football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, softball, swimming, tennis and more.