December 19, 2006
The No. 18/19-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (7-2) takes on Delaware State (4-4) in a first time meeting between both schools on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Aggies will play their second contest in three days, prior to the Christmas holiday break. After dropping back-to-back road games at Rice on Dec. 1 and at Washington on Dec. 6, A&M picked up its first win in the month of December with a 70-52 victory over North Texas Monday night.
| GAME INFO |
| Wednesday, December 20, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Tickets: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 7-2 Delaware State: 4-4 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 18th by The Associated Press and 19th by ESPN/USA Today. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Leanne South, commentary (broadcast time 6:45 p.m. CST) |
| RADIO |
| KZNE-AM 1150 (Local) Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Leanne South, 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 Sam Houston State Friday, Dec. 29, 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.
THE BUZZ ON THE HORNETS
Not only will it be a first time meeting with Delaware State, it will also mark the first time A&M will face a school hailing from the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference. DSU's current five-game road stretch has not been an easy one. The Hornets lost a close 64-54 decision to UCLA in the opening round of the University of New Mexico Lobo Shootout on Dec. 8. They are currently on a two-game winning streak (and are 2-0 against schools hailing from the state of Texas) after bouncing back with a win over Sam Houston State (57-43) in the consolation game of the UNM tournament on Dec. 9 and later defeating Texas Southern (63-46) on Dec. 17 in Houston. After completing their two-game road swing through the Lone Star State, the Hornets will return home for the holidays and prepare for another top 25 matchup - this time against the likes of second-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 28 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Last season, Delaware State posted a 21-9 overall record, but lost to Coppin State in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the preseason, the Hornets were picked to finish second and received one first-place vote behind Coppin State. Junior forward Azzie Knox, the only Texas native on the squad, was an all-district, all-region and all-Central Texas selection out of nearby Temple High School.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
- TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (5.6 ppg, 6.3 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (14.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (10.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (8.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (6.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
DELAWARE STATE
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#14 Ashlee Burbage, G, 5-6, Jr. (9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
#02 Raquel Collier, G/F, 5-9, Jr. (16.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
#21 Jameka Smith, G, 5-10, So. (4.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#44 Katreem Palmer, F, 6-1, Jr. (9.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
#00 Thea Littlepage, C, 6-2, Fr. (3.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
ON THE DEFENSE
Two of the nation's top defensive teams will take to the court Wednesday night at Reed Arena. The Aggies currently rank sixth-best in the nation in scoring defense allowing only 51.0 points per game, while Delaware State ranks 24th in the nation giving up just 54.6 points per game to opponents. Last season, the Hornets finished sixth among NCAA leaders in the same category (53.4). In 2004-05, DSU became the first NCAA Division I team to allow less than 50 points per game in a single season. A&M has won seven of its nine games played this year, when the Aggie defense has held an opponent to fewer than 52 points.
NORTH TEXAS RECAP
Sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) turned in her third career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds as A&M overcame poor first-half shooting for a 70-52 win over North Texas Monday night at Reed Arena. The Aggies shot 27 percent in the first half, but carried a 29-23 lead into halftime. They improved to 50 percent shooting in the second half and pushed their lead to 27 points with 4:41 remaining. Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) scored 20 points to lead four Aggies in double figures. Junior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) scored 12 off the bench and sophomore La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) had 10. Micheaux also had nine rebounds and five steals for A&M, which scored 36 points off of 26 turnovers committed by the Mean Green.
THE 500 CLUB
Sophomore Takia Starks reached her 500th career point against North Texas on Dec. 18 and has amassed 516 career points to date. She is one of three players on the A&M roster to surpass the 500-point plateau. Junior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) has 890 career points to her credit, while junior A'Quonesia Franklin has tabulated 555 career points. Junior Patrice Reado is 11 points shy of joining her teammates in the 500 club with 489 career points to date.
CLEARING THE GLASS
Texas A&M won the battle of the boards for the sixth time this season, after outrebounding North Texas, 47-33. It marked the fifth time the Aggies cleared 40-or-more rebounds in a contest. Sophomore Danielle Gant led the Aggies in rebounding for the third-straight game with a team-high 11 boards against the Mean Green on Dec. 18. Gant has brought down double-digit boards three times this year, while teammates Patrice Reado and Takia Starks have grabbed 11 apiece in two separate contests. Sophomore La Toya Micheaux has come close on two occasions with nine rebounds against Arizona on Nov. 28 and nine in the North Texas game.
LOOKING AT THE BIG 12
Third-ranked Oklahoma (9-0) is the only team remaining in the Big 12 Conference with an undefeated record. A&M (7-2) is one of only three league schools ranked among the top 25 including OU and No. 9 Baylor (11-1). The Aggies lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage (40.4) and turnover margin (+8.33). Sophomore Danielle Gant is one of only nine Big 12 players to record three or more double-doubles on the year. Teammate Takia Starks currently ranks sixth in scoring averaging 14.9 points per game, while junior A'Quonesia Franklin holds a league-best 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.
AMONG NCAA LEADERS
The Aggies currently rank in the top 10 in four NCAA statistical categories as of Dec. 18. They rank sixth in assists (19.9), sixth in scoring defense (50.9 ppg), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (41.6) and 10th in scoring margin (23.8). Junior A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) is among the best point guards in the country averaging 6.1 assists per game which ranks 14th nationally. She also holds a conference-leading 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. Meanwhile, Delaware State ranks 21st nationally in turnovers per game (14.5).
AGGIES IN THE TOP 25
A&M moved up to No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday and remained at No. 19 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released Tuesday. Their previous No. 10-ranking during Week 3 in both the AP and Coaches Polls marked the highest-ever national ranking in school history. 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. 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 Leanne South (color analyst) calling the action live from Reed Arena on KZNE 1150 AM.