November 27, 2006
With a successful Southern California road swing behind them and a Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic championship trophy in tow, the No. 10-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (5-0) looks to continue on their winning streak through non-conference play as they return home to host perennial Pac-10 Conference powerhouse Arizona (4-2) on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Wildcats will be the third west coast team the Aggies will face in the month of November. If the Aggies can close out the month with another win, it would mark the first undefeated run in November since the 1999-2000 season (3-0) and the first in the Gary Blair Era. A&M has won its last 17-straight non-conference home contests including a 109-26 rout of McNeese State on Nov. 21. Their No. 10 ranking in this week's Associated Press Poll is the highest-ever in program history.
| GAME INFO |
| Tuesday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 5-0 Arizona: 4-2 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 10th by The Associated Press and 13th by ESPN/USA Today. |
| 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 |
| Arizona leads, 2-0 Last Meeting: (12/10/97) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Rice Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. (CST) Autry Court, Houston, Texas |
GAME PROMOTIONS
Join the nationally-ranked A&M women for Sports Organization Night as the Aggies hit the court against Arizona Tuesday night at Reed Arena. Free admission will be granted to all youths wearing their youth league jersey.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
Arizona improved to 4-2 on the season after holding on to a 72-68 win at UTEP on Sunday night. The Wildcats are currently 0-2 against top 25 competition this season including their only two losses of the year to then No. 25-ranked George Washington (69-65) on Nov. 17 and top-ranked and defending national champion Maryland (75-61) on Nov. 18. In fact, the Aggies will be the fifth 2006 NCAA Tournament participant the Wildcats will face in their current six-game stretch. They are 2-0 against schools hailing from the Lone Star State including a 59-56 overtime victory versus TCU on Nov. 19. Leading scorer Joy Hollingsworth is averaging 15.8 points per game and most recently turned in a near double-double performance with 22 points and nine rebounds against UTEP. The Arizona lineup is unique in Division I women's basketball with two sets of twin sisters on the roster with freshmen Rheya and Rhaya Neabors and junior transfers Suzy and Beatrice Bofia. Half of the team is 6-foot or taller including 6-foot-7 center Beatrice Bofia and 6-foot-6 center Suzy Bofia.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (5.2 ppg, 6.6 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (13.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#21 Morenike Atunrase, G/F, 5-10, Jr. (18.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (6.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
ARIZONA
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#12 Ashley Whisonant, G, 5-8, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 3.5 apg)
#45 Joy Hollingsworth, G, 5-10, Sr. (15.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
#21 Rheya Neabors, F, 6-1, Fr. (6.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#32 Amina Njonkou, F, 6-1, So. (10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
#52 Suzy Bofia, C, 6-6, Jr. (7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Arizona owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series versus Texas A&M. The Aggies last met the Wildcats during the 1997-98 season and suffered a 84-59 (-25) loss in Tucson, Ariz. Their previous meeting was a 96-76 (-20) loss on Nov. 24, 1996, in College Station. UA has defeated A&M by 20 or more points in their last two outings on the basketball court.
AGAINST THE PAC-10
The Aggies are 8-10 all-time against schools hailing from the Pac-10 Conference. They have faced nine of the 10 league schools except for USC. Their best record is an undefeated 3-0 all-time mark versus Arizona State. Arizona will be the first of two Pac-10 opponents A&M will face in the next week and a half with a return date at Washington scheduled for Dec. 6 in Seattle. The Huskies were receiving votes in both national polls when the Aggies defeated them 79-65 on Dec. 4, 2005 in College Station. Last season, the Pac-10 had a conference-best six teams advance to the NCAA Tournament including UW, Stanford, Arizona State, Cal, USC and UCLA.
EXPERIENCE ON THE SIDELINES
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair (22nd overall season) and Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini (28th overall season) bring a combined 50 years of college coaching experience to the sidelines. Blair has reached postseason play 17 of his 21 years as a head coach at A&M, Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin combined, while Bonvicini has taken the Wildcats to nine postseason appearances in 15 seasons at UA. Prior to the 2006-07 season, Bonvicini ranked 14th among active Division I women's basketball coaches in career victories, while Blair ranked 30th. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, ranked 15th, and Blair are the only two active coaches with 21 or less years of coaching experience listed among the top 30. Bonvicini is currently five shy of her 600th career victory (595), while Blair has compiled 461 career victories to date.
AGGIES IN THE RPI
The Aggies are currently rated No. 8 in the latest RPI index calculated by the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings as of Nov. 26. A&M is joined in the top 10 by Purdue (6-0), defending national champion Maryland (7-0), Tennessee (4-0), Baylor (6-1), LSU (7-1), Vanderbilt (6-0), Oklahoma (4-0), Ohio State (4-0) and Cal (4-1). They are also rated No. 16 in the latest CollegeRPI.com ratings index. A&M is one of 33 NCAA Division I schools in the nation currently with unblemished records.
PLAY THE BEST, TO BE THE BEST
The non-conference portion of this year's schedule is highlighted by high-caliber opponents in Pepperdine, Arizona and Washington. Each of the three schools currently have some of the nation's toughest schedules. UW has the 24th toughest schedule in the country, while Pepperdine (41) and Arizona (44) are rated in the 40s. Since a 72-48 season-opening loss at A&M on Nov. 10, Pepperdine has gone on to beat then No. 14-ranked Rutgers, UNLV and Iowa State. Washington has two top 10 opponents on its early schedule including Purdue and Ohio State, prior to its meeting with the nationally-ranked Aggies.
TAKE THE LEAD
Heading into Week 4, Texas A&M still leads the Big 12 Conference in 10 of 19 statistical categories including scoring margin (+37.8), field goal percentage (52.7), scoring defense (43.8), three-point percentage (50.0), three-point percentage defense (23.1), rebounding defense (26.7), assists (23.8), steals (13.0), turnover margin (+10.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.32). The Aggies are also one of three league schools with undefeated records and sit atop the standings at 5-0. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are both 4-0 on the season.
LMU THANKSGIVING CLASSIC RECAP
Junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase was named tournament MVP after leading A&M to the Loyola Marymount Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Classic title last weekend in Los Angeles. The Aggies got past West Virginia (55-52) in the opening round, while downing host LMU (77-52) in the championship game. Junior A'Quonesia Franklin was also selected to the all-tournament team after recording a season-high 16 points versus the Mountaineers. Both contests were first time meetings.
AGGIE BASKETBALL A TOP 10 HIT
What an exciting time for Aggie Basketball. The A&M women climbed up to two spots to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday. The recent AP selection marks the highest-ever national ranking for A&M. Five of the six Big 12 South schools are ranked in this week's poll including No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 13 Baylor, No. 22 Texas and No. 25 Texas Tech. Texas A&M is one of only four schools including Ohio State, North Carolina and Duke with both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked among the top 10 teams in the country.
DOUBLE TAKE
Junior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) registered her second career double-double with 10 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 25. She became the third player this season to record a double-double along with sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) who recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against McNeese State on Nov. 21. Gant reached the milestone in just the first half of play. It marked the fourth time of her career to grab double-digit boards. Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) also had an 11 point and career-high 11 rebound outing against Pepperdine on Nov. 10.
ERROR FREE BALL
There's no doubt about why junior A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) is one of the premier point guards in the league. The Aggies' floor general dished out 20 assists with just one turnover in three games played last week against McNeese State, West Virginia and Loyola Marymount combined. She currently leads the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.50) and ranks second in assists (6.6 avg). Franklin is one of three point guards in the league to commit less than 10 miscues in four or more games played. She turned in her fourth career double-assist game with a career-high tying 10 versus McNeese State on Nov. 21.
AGGIE MO-JO
Junior Morenike Atunrase has put up big numbers in the last five outings for the Aggies. She is currently on a five-game double-digit scoring streak including a season-high 22 points against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 25. It marked her eighth career 20-point game. Atunrase has reached double figures in 45 of her 68 career games played at A&M. She currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring (18.4) and second in three-point field goal percentage (64.7). Last week, Atunrase averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.3 steals against McNeese State, West Virginia and LMU combined. She also shot 51.3 percent from the floor, 72.7 percent (8-11) from beyond the three-point arc and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free throw line.
RIGHT ON TARGET
Last season, sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) shot a team-leading 58.2 percent from the floor which ranked second-best among freshman nationally and in the Big 12. This year, she continues to see her target and is hitting an impressive 68.2 percent (15-22) of her shots from the field which currently ranks second-best in the league. Gant is one of two A&M players shooting better than 60 percent from the floor including freshman Adrian McGowen (Goodrich, Texas) who is shooting 64.7 percent (11-17). McGowen leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage with a 71.4 accuracy (5-7).
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 KZNE 1150 AM.
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.