December 17, 2006
With 12 days to study for final exams and tune up for a four-game homestand, the No. 19-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (6-2) gets back into action and plays host to North Texas (3-6) on Monday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. Santa Claus will make a special appearance at the game and will be available for photo opportunities with fans of all ages. A&M is searching for its first win in the month of December after dropping back-to-back contests at Rice on Dec. 1 and at Washington on Dec. 6. The Aggies will play two games in the next three days as Delaware State comes to town for a Wednesday, Dec. 20 matchup at 7 p.m. prior to the Christmas holiday break.
| GAME INFO |
| Monday, December 18, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 6-2 North Texas: 3-6 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 19th by both The Associated Press and 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 |
| A&M leads, 11-4 Last Meeting: (1/2/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Delaware State Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station Tickets: |
HALF-PRICE HOLIDAY HOOPS
Fans can enjoy Aggie Basketball throughout the holiday season with "Half-Price Holiday Hoops" games available. Half-price admission can be purchased for upcoming women's basketball games versus North Texas (Dec. 18), Delaware State (Dec. 20), Sam Houston State (Dec. 29) and Western Illinois (Jan. 2) during the Christmas holiday break. Tickets can be purchased online at AggieAthletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE
Aggie Athletes Involved and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will sponsor a toy drive at the women's game versus North Texas on Dec. 18. New or gently used toys can be donated before the game to benefit the Toys for Tots Program. Toys will be collected near the main entrance of Reed Arena. Donors at the women's game will be entered in a drawing for courtside tickets at a future home contest.
A LOOK AT NORTH TEXAS
North Texas snapped a three-game losing skid with a 68-52 win at New Orleans on Dec. 16. The Mean Green have played four-straight contests on the road and have not played at home since a 77-74 win over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 28. In fact, the Mean Green will remain on the road for the entire month of December and the first two games of the New Year for a total of nine consecutive road contests. A&M will be the second top 25 team North Texas will face this season. They previously opened the year with an 84-47 loss in the Preseason WNIT First Round to then No. 18-ranked Baylor on Nov. 10. UNT returns only one senior and one returning starter from last year's 19-9 Sun Belt Conference West Division Championship squad. Sophomore guard Sanetra Jackson is averaging a team-leading 11.2 points per game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
- TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (5.9 ppg, 6.1 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (14.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (9.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (8.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (5.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
NORTH TEXAS
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#3 Tricia Lee, G, 5-8, So. (7.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#4 Sanetra Jackson, G, 5-8, So. (11.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
#10 DiDi Wali, G, 5-9, Sr. (2.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
#31 Amber Jackson, F, 6-2, So. (10.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
#33 Talicia Sanders, F, 6-2, Jr. (8.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg)
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M leads 11-4 in the all-time series versus North Texas. The Aggies have won the last two meetings between both schools in a series dating all the way back to the 1974-75 season. They have hosted the Mean Green on eight occasions posting a 7-1 all-time record when playing the series in College Station. Head coach Gary Blair is an undefeated 16-0 lifetime versus North Texas including a 2-0 record in his first two seasons with the Aggies. Three of their last four meetings have been decided by 10 points or less. A&M last claimed a 15-point victory over the Mean Green (75-60) on Jan. 2, 2005 in College Station.
SERIES REPLAY
In both team's last meeting, Patrice Reado scored a career-high tying 20 points to lead Texas A&M over North Texas, 75-60, on Jan. 2, 2005. The victory over the Mean Green marked the ninth-straight win for the Aggies and remains the third-longest winning streak in school history. Reado, then a freshman, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and tallied two steals. It was the second time in three games for Reado to score 20 points. A&M jumped out to a 16-7 lead before using a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 25-11 with 11:15 to play in the first half. Former A&M standout Tamea Scales tallied 10 points, five steals, two assists and two blocks while shooting 5-of-6 from the field in just 13 minutes of play in the first half. She finished with 13 points. A&M closed the half on a 16-5 run and led 47-31 at the break. UNT finished strong in the first half with three baskets and carried that momentum into the second half. They cut into A&M's lead with a 15-4 run. A&M started the second half in a shooting slump as they were 1-of-13 from the field. The Aggies suffered a scoring drought until the 7:52 minute mark. The Aggies also committed five turnovers in that same stretch. Erika Bobo led the Mean Green with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. UNT closed the A&M gap to seven points, 55-48, before the Aggies' defense and press took over. A&M outscored UNT, 20-12, over the final 9:12 of the game. Four Aggies scored in double figures including Ashley Bolden with 11 points and A'Quonesia Franklin with 10 points and six assists. For the game, A&M scored 31 of its points off of 31 turnovers committed by North Texas.
DEANS OF LONE STAR STATE BASKETBALL
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair and North Texas head coach Tina Slinker rank second-and third-most when it comes to overall years of head coaching expertise among coaches at a Division I basketball school in the state of Texas. University of Texas head coach Jody Conradt leads the Lone Star State bunch with 38 overall seasons of coaching experience under her belt. Blair is in his 22nd overall season (fourth season at A&M), while Slinker is in her 18th season at North Texas. The top five coaches in the state is rounded out by SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola and Houston head coach Joe Curl who have 16 overall seasons in the coaching ranks apiece.
THE BLAIR 100
Head coach Gary Blair will coach his 100th game from the Texas A&M sidelines against North Texas on Monday night. Blair coached his 100th game at Stephen F. Austin which resulted in a 78-63 win versus SMU during the 1988-89 season and his 100th game at Arkansas with a 93-59 victory against Pacific during the 1996-97 season. Both occurred during his fourth season at each school. SFA was ranked No. 17 in the nation and Arkansas was ranked No. 21 at the time of his 100th game. A&M will mark his third with its current No. 19 national ranking. Blair holds the distinction of being one of only four coaches in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Tournament.
WASHINGTON RECAP
Sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) recorded a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds in a 65-59 loss at Washington on Dec. 6 in Seattle. In just her fifth career start for the Aggies, Gant shot 11-of-13 from the floor and made 12 of the team's final 14 points of the contest. Foul trouble and turnovers plagued the Aggies throughout the first half of play. Both teams committed 30 turnovers combined with the Huskies scoring 22 of its first-half points on miscues. A total of 25 fouls were called on A&M with Washington converting 79 percent (22-28) of their makes from the free throw line. A&M couldn't convert its own baskets from the charity stripe going 4-of-14. However, the Aggies shot 47.4 percent from the floor to the Huskies' 37.7 percent for the game. Three Washington players scored in double figures including team leading scorer Cameo Hicks with 16 points and Andrea Plouffe (13) and Chari Craddock (11). Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) ended the night with 17 points for the Aggies, including the first five points of the game. The Aggies committed a season-high 22 turnovers and came within two points of UW with 5:48 remaining in regulation. It marked the first time A&M suffered back-to-back losses since falling to then No. 12 Baylor and No. 9 Oklahoma on Feb. 15 and 18, 2006, in Big 12 Conference play.
NO SLANT FOR GANT
Sophomore Danielle Gant made only her fifth career start at Washington on Dec. 6 in Seattle. She replaced junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) in the starting lineup, after the A&M's top player suffered a foot fracture at Rice on Dec. 1. Gant recorded her second career double-double with a career-high 24 points and season-high 13 rebounds against the Huskies. In A&M's two losses of the season, Gant has averaged 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 steals combined versus Rice and UW. She continues to shoot a team-best 65.3 percent (32-49) from the floor and is the team's leading rebounder averaging 6.5 boards per game. Her previous career-high was 19 points versus DePaul a year ago as a freshman.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Junior point guard A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) is a big reason why the Aggies are currently ranked fifth nationally in assists per game with a 19.9 average. She currently leads the Big 12 Conference with a 2.88 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranks sixth all-time with 354 career assists to date. Franklin has 15 career games without a miscue to her credit including twice this season against West Virginia on Nov. 24 and Loyola Marymount on Nov. 25. Seven players on the A&M roster are currently in double digits in the assists column.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Aggies currently rank among the top 10 teams in the country in four NCAA statistical categories through Dec. 10. They are fifth-best in assists, sixth-best in scoring defense (50.9 ppg), ninth-best in three-point field goal percentage (41.6) and 10th-best in scoring margin (23.8). Individually, North Texas' Sanetra Jackson ranks 45th nationally in free throw percentage with an 87.5 percent accuracy from the charity stripe this season.
CAREER WATCH
Junior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) is one board away from recording her 300th career rebound, while sophomore Takia Starks is four points shy of her 500th career point. Last season, Starks broke the freshman single-season record with 382 points. She is the team's second leading scorer averaging 14.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Reado is fourth in scoring (9.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (4.3 rpg) on the team.
AGGIES IN THE TOP 25
A&M is ranked No. 19 in both national polls as of Dec. 11. Their previous No. 10-ranking during Week 3 in both the AP and USA TODAY/Coaches Polls marked the highest-ever national ranking for A&M. Texas A&M is one of only eight schools including Ohio State, North Carolina, LSU, Connecticut, Michigan State, Duke and Marquette with both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked among the top 25 teams in the country. However, the Aggies are the only Big 12 school to hold that distinction.
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.