December 28, 2006
Before ringing in the New Year, the No. 16/17-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (8-2) returns to the hardwood to face Highway 30 rival Sam Houston State (3-8) on Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Aggies have won the last 11-straight meetings between both schools dating back to 1980. Despite the close proximity, both teams renewed the 31-year-old series a year ago with A&M claiming a 94-52 victory over the Bearkats in their first meeting since 2001. Friday?â„¢s contest will mark only the third meeting between A&M and SHSU in the new millennium. The Aggies are currently on a two-game winning streak with recent victories over North Texas (70-52) on Dec. 18 and Delaware State (70-43) on Dec. 20.
HOLIDAY TICKET SPECIALS
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?â„¢s basketball games versus Sam Houston State (Dec. 29) and Western Illinois (Jan. 2) during the holiday break. The Texas A&M athletics department is also offering free tickets to university faculty and staff for the Jan. 2 doubleheader as the women take on Western Illinois at 6 p.m. and the men face Winthrop at 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at AggieAthletics.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.
SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE
Under the direction of first-year head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols, Sam Houston State is currently 3-8 on the season after falling 58-48 to the University of Albany on Dec. 28, a day prior to the Texas A&M game. The Bearkats are looking to snap a six-game losing skid and are allowing an average of 77.2 points per game to opponents. Of their eight losses, the last three contests have marked the fewest in margin of victory by an opponent: Delaware State (-14) on Dec. 9, Centenary (-14) on Dec. 17 and Albany (-10) on Dec. 28. The Bearkats have been defeated by an average margin of 30.8 points per game. SHSU lost by 43 points to Rice (91-48) on Nov. 27 and by 67 points to then No. 12-ranked Baylor (117-50) on Dec. 4. The Lady Bears reset a school record for most points scored in a single game versus Sam Houston. Freshman forward Whitney Smith is one of 10 underclassmen on the 16-player roster. In fact, the entire Sam Houston lineup is comprised of in-state talent. Smith currently leads the Bearkats in scoring and rebounding averaging 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 6.4 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (14.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (10.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#44 Katrina Limbaha, F, 6-3, Fr. (2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (5.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
SAM HOUSTON STATE
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#1 Ratysha Alexander, G, 5-4, So. (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
#3 Kendall Homesley, G, 5-7, Sr. (4.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
#10 Erica Parker, F, 5-9, Sr. (8.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#24 Whitney Smith, F, 5-11, Fr. (9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
#23 Adah Wells, C, 6-1, Jr. (4.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas A&M leads 21-3 in the all-time series versus Sam Houston State. The Aggies have won the last 11 consecutive meetings between both schools dating back to a 94-52 road win on Jan. 17, 1980. Sam Houston?â„¢s three wins in the series all occurred in the late ?'70s and on the road. They last beat the Aggies in a close 58-57 victory on Feb. 5, 1979 in Huntsville, Texas. None of the current players on the A&M or Sam Houston rosters were even born at the time. In their current 11-game stronghold in the series, the Aggies have scored 90-or-more points on five occasions, 80-or-more points three times and 70-or-more points once. Head coach Gary Blair owns an undefeated 19-0 all-time record against Sam Houston which includes an eight-year stint at Southland Conference member Stephen F. Austin from 1985-93.
COMMON LINKS
Texas A&M and Sam Houston State share five common opponents during the 2006-07 season including Baylor, Texas, Rice, Delaware State and Western Illinois. SHSU head coach Brenda Welch-Nichols, a 1988 graduate, coached for four seasons at Mercer University, prior to returning to her alma mater on Aug. 23, 2006. In their second game of the season, the Aggies downed Welch-Nichols?â„¢ old team by a final score of 95-41 versus Mercer on Nov. 16 at Reed Arena. Thus far, Sam Houston is 0-2 against opponents hailing from the Big 12 Conference and 2-4 against schools from the Lone Star State. Meanwhile, Big 12 schools have gone an undefeated 13-0 versus Southland Conference opponents this season. Western Illinois will play back-to-back road contests at Sam Houston on Dec. 31 and A&M on Jan. 2.
SAM HOUSTON TIES
Prior to joining Gary Blair?â„¢s coaching staffs at A&M and Arkansas, associate head coach Vic Schaefer served as head coach at Sam Houston State from 1990-97. Schaefer was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year in 1996, after leading the Bearkats to the most wins in over a decade with an 18-10 record. He also served as an assistant coach for the men?â„¢s basketball team from 1987-89. Texas A&M assistant coach Amy Tennison (formerly Amy Sherion) also played college basketball at SHSU from 1995-99. She was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and an all-conference second team performer. Friday?â„¢s contest will mark only the second time Schaefer and Tennison will coach against their alma mater. Schaefer earned his master?â„¢s degree from the school in 1990.
LOOKING BACK
Lenka Zimova scored a career-high 12 points to lead Texas A&M to a 94-52 rout of Sam Houston State at Reed Arena on Dec. 10, 2005. Every available player for the Aggies saw action in the first 16 minutes of the game and all scored points in the contest. A&M started the game on a 10-2 run before embarking on a 24-0 streak to lead 34-4 with 7:10 to play in the first half. The Bearkats hit a field goal in the opening two minutes, but did not score a field goal for a stretch of 14 minutes. They missed 15-straight attempts before Ratysha Alexander connected from the floor at the 3:40 minute mark. A&M led 48-20 at halftime. After shooting 16 percent in the first half, the Bearkats connected above 60 percent for much of the second half of play. But, they could not come closer than, 58-36. A&M?â„¢s largest lead was 46 points. Jamila Ganter added 11 points for the Aggies as she ran the point guard position for 19 minutes. She dished out five assists and recorded zero turnovers while draining a pair of three-pointers. LaToya Gulley scored seven points over 14 minutes of action and dished out three assists and grabbed three rebounds. Morenike Atunrase and Tamea Scales each scored 10 for A&M. Erica Parker led Sam Houston with 14 points. A&M shot a season-best 57 percent from the field, while recording a season-high 29 assists. The Aggies also scored 39 points off of 24 turnovers committed by the Bearkats.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
In non-conference play, the Aggies have won their last 20 consecutive home games against non-conference foes dating back to a 92-48 win against Texas State on Jan. 3, 2004. With two non-conference games remaining on the slate, A&M will look to post its third-straight undefeated record against non-conference opponents at Reed Arena. The Aggies went 8-0 in 2005-06 and 5-0 in 2004-05.
HOME RECORD vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS IN BLAIR ERA
2003-04: 5-2
2004-05: 5-0
2005-06: 8-0
2006-07: 6-0
Totals: 24-2 (.923)
DELAWARE STATE RECAP
Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) and freshman Adrian McGowen (Goodrich, Texas) both scored 13 points to lead Texas A&M to a 70-43 victory over Delaware State on Dec. 20. The Aggies led 39-11 at halftime, holding Delaware State to three field goals and an opponent season-low 12 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Four minutes into the second half, A&M led by 33 points, its largest lead of the game. Freshman Katrina Limbaha (Riga, Latvia) registered a career-high 12 points and five rebounds for the Aggies, while sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Sophomore La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) led both teams with nine rebounds and three blocks. The Aggie defense held Delaware State to 11 first-half points, the lowest scoring half by an opponent this season. It also marked a Reed Arena record for lowest scoring half by an opponent.
LOOKING AT THE RPI
The Aggies are currently rated No. 33 in the latest Jeff Sagarin/Women?â„¢s College Basketball Ratings and No. 71 in the latest CollegeRPI.com index as of Dec. 28. Out of 335 NCAA Division I women?â„¢s basketball schools, four of A&M?â„¢s non-conference opponents are rated in the top 100 including Washington (24), Arizona (55), West Virginia (82) and Rice (91) by CollegeRPI.com.
AROUND THE BIG 12
Eight Big 12 Conference schools have fewer than two losses on the season including Texas A&M at 8-2 as of Dec. 21. League leaders Baylor and Missouri have each posted 11-1 records and are on a conference-leading eight-game winning streak. Big 12 play is on the horizon as the league gets set for its 11th season of competition on Jan. 3. The Aggies open conference play at Kansas State on Jan. 6.
1T. Baylor (11-1, 0-0)
1T. Missouri (11-1, 0-0)
3T. Kansas State (10-1, 0-0)
3T. Oklahoma State (10-1, 0-0)
5T. Iowa State (9-1, 0-0)
5T. Oklahoma (9-1, 0-0)
7. Nebraska (10-2, 0-0)
8. Texas A&M (8-2, 0-0)
9. Texas (8-3, 0-0)
10. Texas Tech (9-4, 0-0)
11. Kansas (5-5, 0-0)
12. Colorado (5-6, 0-0)
AGGIE BASKETBALL - A TOP 25 MAINSTAY
A&M moved up two spots to No. 16 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday and to No. 17 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?â„¢s and women?â„¢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. A&M has appeared in the national polls for eight-straight weeks since the preseason polls came out on Nov. 1 and 8. The school record for consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 Poll is 12-straight weeks during the 1994-95 campaign under former head coach Candi Harvey. A&M went on to win the NWIT that season. The Aggies also appeared in the AP Poll for seven-straight weeks in 1995-96.
2006-07 USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL
1. Maryland (13-0)
2. North Carolina (13-0)
3. Duke (12-0)
4. Tennessee (11-1)
5. Connecticut (9-0)
6. LSU (12-1)
7. Oklahoma (8-1)
8. Ohio State (10-1)
9. Baylor (10-1)
10. Georgia (11-1)
11. Arizona State (11-1)
12. Vanderbilt (11-1)
13. Purdue (11-2)
14. Louisville (13-0)
15. Stanford (7-3)
16. George Washington (9-2)
17. Texas A&M (8-2)
18. DePaul (10-2)
19. California (9-2)
20. Michigan State (9-2)
21. Bowling Green (8-2)
22. Marquette (11-1)
23. Pittsburgh (12-1)
24. Arkansas (13-1)
25. New Mexico (10-2)
2006-07 ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL
1. Maryland (13-0)
2. North Carolina (13-0)
3. Duke (12-0)
4. Tennessee (11-1)
5. Connecticut (9-0)
6. LSU (12-1)
7. Ohio State (10-1)
8. Oklahoma (8-1)
9. Baylor (10-1)
10. Arizona State (11-1)
11. Georgia (11-1)
12. Vanderbilt (11-1)
13. Purdue (11-2)
14. Stanford (7-3)
15. Louisville (13-0)
16. Texas A&M (8-2)
17. George Washington (9-2)
18. California (9-2)
19. DePaul (10-2)
20. Marquette (11-1)
21. Michigan State (9-2)
22. New Mexico (10-2)
23. Arkansas (13-1)
24. Pittsburgh (12-1)
25. Bowling Green (8-2)
AGGIES ON THE RADIO
All Texas A&M women?â„¢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.