No. 14/15 Texas A&M Travels To Washington
Dec 05, 2006 | Women's Basketball
December 05, 2006
Looking to rebound from a 79-66 loss at Rice, the No. 14/15-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (6-1) travels to the Emerald City of Seattle for a much-anticipated rematch against Washington (3-4) on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. (CT). Last season, the Aggies claimed a 79-65 win over UW at Reed Arena. The Huskies were receiving votes in both national polls at the time to give A&M its best non-conference victory of the 2005-06 season. The Aggies and Huskies are both coming off tough road losses with each team vying to get back in the win column.
| GAME INFO |
| Wednesday, Dec. 6, 9 p.m. (CST) Bank of America Arena (10,000), Seattle, Wash. |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 6-1 Washington: 3-4 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 14th by ESPN/USA Today and 15th by The Associated Press. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| None |
| RADIO |
| KZNE-AM 1150 (Local) Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Steve Miller, commentary (broadcast time 8:45 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (gohuskies.com) |
| SERIES |
| A&M leads, 1-0 Last Meeting: (12/4/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts North Texas Monday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena, College Station |
WEST COAST ROAD SWING
This will be the second road trip of the season where a West Coast city has been the final destination for the Aggies. A&M previously racked up frequent flyer miles as one of four teams to participate in the Loyola Marymount Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 24-25 in Los Angeles. A&M would go on to win the tournament title with victories over West Virginia and host LMU. In fact, four of the Aggies' first eight contests have included an opponent hailing from the West Coast with Pepperdine, LMU, Arizona and Washington. Once again, A&M will enjoy local sightseeing opportunities including Pike Place Market and views of the scenic Seattle skyline topped by the world-famous Space Needle from Alki Point.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
Washington is 3-4 on the season with all but one of their road contests ending in a loss. Two of the Huskies' blemishes have come at the hands of Top 25 competition in No. 12-ranked Purdue (88-64) on Nov. 17 and sixth-ranked Ohio State (84-79) on Dec. 3. Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week Cameo Hicks is averaging a team-leading 18.9 points per game and scored a career-high 29 points last week in an 81-78 overtime loss at Kent State on Nov. 30. Hicks also had a 29-point outburst versus the nationally-ranked Buckeyes. She currently ranks 42nd nationally in scoring and was an All-Pac-10 First Team selection a year ago. Last week, Hicks averaged 29.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and a block per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field (21-36), 57.1 percent from three-point range (4-7) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (12-15). UW is picked to finish tied for fourth in the Pac-10 behind Stanford, Arizona State and USC. The Huskies are an undefeated 2-0 at home this season at Bank of America Arena with wins over Saint Louis (96-69) and Northern Iowa (81-63). UW owns the nation's 36th toughest schedule and is 0-2 when facing a top 25 opponent this year.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 6.6 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (13.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (7.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (5.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
WASHINGTON
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#04 Emily Florence, G, 5-5, Jr. (4.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#05 Cameo Hicks, G, 5-10, Sr. (18.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#22 Stefanie Clark, G, 5-9, RS-So. (8.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#03 Breanne Watson, F, 6-1, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
#01 Jill Bell, F/C, 6-0, RS-Sr. (9.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M leads 1-0 in the all-time series versus Washington. Both teams met for the first time in A&M's 14-point win over the Huskies just a little over a year ago in College Station. A&M head coach Gary Blair owns a 2-2 all-time coaching record against the Huskies and has yet to lead a team to victory at Washington in his illustrious 22-year coaching career at A&M, Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin combined. The Aggies and Huskies both advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. UW lost in the second round to NCAA Final Four participant and top-seeded LSU.
SERIES FLASHBACK
Takia Starks scored a career-high 25 points to lead Texas A&M over Washington, 79-65, at Reed Arena on Dec. 4, 2005. Starks made her first career start and helped the Aggies overcome a 13-point deficit in the first half as she scored 14 of her 25 points in the second half of play. A&M would outscore Washington, 43-17, over a 15-minute stretch. The Aggies' largest lead was 16 points in the second half. Patrice Reado came off the bench for the Aggies to score 11 points and a career-best nine rebounds. After hitting the first three-pointers they attempted to start the game, the Huskies put together an 11-2 run to take a 20-7 lead midway through the half. The Aggies closed the gap to 28-24 with 5:34 to go as Starks drained a three-pointer to cap a 17-8 run. Morenike Atunrase hit a short jumper from the right baseline to bring the Aggies within 31-28 with 4:16 to play in the half. Atunrase finished by matching her career-best with 21 points. A&M would later tie the game at 34-34 with 2:32 remaining, as Reado put back a missed free throw by Atunrase. Reado was fouled on the make and followed that with a free throw to tie the game. A&M took its first lead seconds later as Starks hit another jumper to make the score, 36-34. The Aggies closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 39-37 lead at the break. A&M dominated in the second half, as they outscored the Huskies, 40-28. The Aggies scored 29 points off of Washington's 20 turnovers for the game. After shooting above 52 percent from the field in the first half, the Aggie defense held the Huskies to just 32 percent shooting in the second. Andrea Plouffe and Kayla Burt each had 13 points for the Huskies.
GARY'S ANATOMY OF THE GAME
Seattle may be the backdrop for the hit television show (and head coach Gary Blair favorite) Grey's Anatomy, but it will serve as a much different backdrop for A&M on Wednesday night. The Aggies will play without the services of junior All-American candidate and All-Big 12 first team performer Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) who suffered a foot fracture in the second half of play at Rice on Dec. 1. She will be out for four-to-six weeks of competition during the rehabilitation process. Her absence from the lineup will give several Aggies a chance to step-up to the plate and showcase this year's depth on the 14-player roster. When dissecting the nationally-ranked Aggies, there's one common thread - the A&M defense. The Aggies currently rank fifth-best in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 48.9 points per game. Washington has yet to score under 61 points this season.
AGAINST THE PAC-10
The Aggies are 9-10 all-time against schools hailing from the Pac-10 Conference. They have faced nine of the 10 league schools all-time except for USC. Their best record is an undefeated 3-0 all-time mark versus Arizona State. Washington is the second Pac-10 opponent A&M will face this season along with Arizona who the Aggies defeated 66-44 on Nov. 28 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.
FROM LONG RANGE
The Aggies are currently the eighth-best team in the nation when it comes to three-point marksmanship. They are shooting a conference-leading 43.9 percent from long range including two games over 70 percent from beyond the arc. A&M's three-point specialists include junior Morenike Atunrase (54.2), sophomore Takia Starks (40.0), junior A'Quonesia Franklin (31.8) and freshman Adrian McGowen (71.4).
GOOD DISTRIBUTION
Team basketball and defense are one of the many trademarks of Aggie Basketball. Led by the floor leadership of junior point guard A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas), the Aggies rank third nationally in assists per game (21.3) behind national leader Indiana State (21.8). A&M has dished out 20-or-more assists in four games this season including a season-high 33 against McNeese State on Nov. 21. Franklin currently ranks 14th nationally in assists per game (6.6 avg) behind a conference-leading 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio on the court. With 46 assists already to her credit, Franklin is looking to record her third-straight 100-assist season.
STUDY BREAK
Upon their return to College Station from Seattle, the Aggies will enjoy a 12-day break between games to prepare and study for final exams prior to the Christmas holiday break. A&M will then return to action against North Texas on Dec. 18 and Delaware State on Dec. 20. Both games will be played at home in the friendly confines of Reed Arena.
AGGIES IN THE RPI
Despite their loss at Rice, the Aggies still remain strong in the RPI indexes with a No. 19 rating in the latest Jeff Sagarin/College Basketball News Women's Basketball Ratings and No. 37 rating by CollegeRPI.com. Washington is rated No. 97 in this week's index.
AROUND THE BIG 12
In the latest Big 12 Conference standings, A&M sits in a four-way tie for fifth with a 6-1 non-conference record. Each of the Oklahoma schools are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively with Oklahoma State off to a program-best 7-0 start to lead the conference. Just a year ago, the Cowgirls recorded an 0-16 record in league play. The Aggies are one of five league schools ranked among the top 25 this week including No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 12 Baylor, No. 22 Texas and No. 25 Nebraska. A&M still tops the league in five statistical categories including three-point percentage (43.9), scoring defense (48.9), assists (21.3), turnover margin (+9.57) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27).
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Oklahoma State (7-0, 0-0)
2. Oklahoma (6-0, 0-0)
3. Baylor (8-1, 0-0)
4. Missouri (7-1, 0-0)
5T. Kansas State (6-1, 0-0)
5T. Nebraska (6-1, 0-0)
5T. Texas (6-1, 0-0)
5T. Texas A&M (6-1, 0-0)
9. Iowa State (5-1, 0-0)
10. Texas Tech (6-3, 0-0)
11. Kansas (4-2, 0-0)
12. Colorado (5-3, 0-0)
RICE RECAP
A&M suffered its first loss of the season dropping a 79-66 decision at Rice on Dec. 1. The Aggies shot a season-low 35.7 percent (25-70) for the game. It marked the first double-digit defeat since a 19-point loss at then-No. 9-ranked Oklahoma (73-54) on Feb. 15, 2006. Junior A'Quonesia Franklin played the entire 40 minutes of the game for the second time this season and sixth time of her career. She tied a season-high with 16 points including three second-half three-pointers against the Owls. Franklin was joined in double figures by sophomore Danielle Gant (14), junior Patrice Reado (10) and Morenike Atunrase (10). Rice forward Lauren Neaves turned in a career-best 20 points and 20 rebounds. It was the Owls' first victory over a top 10-ranked team since beating then-No. 6 Louisiana Tech in February of 2002. Behind stellar post play by Neaves and Valeriy Berezhynska, Rice outrebounded the Aggies, 44-26.
ON THE NATIONAL FRONT
Not only do the Aggies rank in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (8th, 43.9), scoring defense (5th, 48.9) and assists (3rd, 21.3), they are among the nation's top 25 leaders in scoring margin (7th, 28.0), field goal percentage (17th, 48.5) and scoring offense (22nd, 76.9) as of games played through Dec. 3. A&M also ranks among the top 30 NCAA Division I attendance leaders with an average of 3,475 fans per game at Reed Arena this season.
AGGIES STILL HOLDS STRONG TOP 25 PRESENCE
The A&M women dropped five spots to No. 15 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday and four spots to No. 14 in the USA/TODAY Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. Last week's No. 10-ranking 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 six schools including Ohio State, North Carolina, LSU, Connecticut, Michigan State and Duke with both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked among the top 25 teams in the country. Meanwhile, the Aggies are the only Big 12 school to hold that distinction.
THE SEASON OF GIVING
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 to a future home contest.
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. Tom Turbiville (play-by-play) and Steve Miller (color analyst) will call the action live from Washington's Bank of America Arena on KZNE 1150 AM.
