January 16, 2007
Riding a two-game winning streak with milestone victories over Big 12 South rivals Texas Tech and No. 9 Baylor last week, the No. 17/18 Texas A&M women's basketball team (12-3, 2-1) looks to continue their winning ways as they play host to Colorado (8-7, 2-1) on Thursday at Reed Arena. The Aggies and Buffaloes are scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.
The game was moved from its original Wednesday date due to inclement weather and icy conditions in the Bryan/College Station area.
| GAME INFO |
| Thursday, January 18, 6 p.m. (CST) Reed Arena (12,500), College Station Ticket Info: |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 12-3, 2-1 Big 12 Colorado: 8-7, 2-1 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 17th by The Associated Press and 18th by ESPN/USA Today. |
| TELEVISION |
| None |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Tap Bentz, commentary |
| RADIO |
| KZNE-AM 1150 (Local) Tom Turbiville, play-by-play Tap Bentz, commentary (broadcast time 5:45 p.m. CST) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| Colorado leads, 10-3 Last Meeting: (1/24/06) Last at Reed: (2/5/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at (#22) Texas Sunday, Jan. 21, 2 p.m. (CST) Frank Erwin Center, Austin TV: FOX Sports Net |
Both A&M and Colorado are currently in a six-way tie for second place in the Big 12 Conference with 2-1 marks in league play. This will be the first time in 13 all-time meetings between the two schools in which a ranked A&M squad will go up against CU. Last year when both teams met in Boulder, the Aggies were receiving votes in both national polls. The A&M defense has held opponents to 35.8 percent shooting from the field this season and will have to defend the No. 2 shooter in the country in Colorado's Jackie McFarland who is hitting on 69.2 percent of her attempts (101-of-146) from the floor.
THINK PINK
Fans can join in on the Texas A&M athletic department's efforts to "Beat the Hell Outta Breast Cancer" as the nationally-ranked Aggie women host Kansas on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. Tickets are priced from $10-$8 and will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition, there will be official "BTHO Breast Cancer" shirts available in the concourse. This is a special opportunity to make a difference in the community. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink to the game in support of the cause.
COLORADO SCOUTING REPORT
Colorado turned a few heads last week after claiming convincing victories over Missouri (71-59) and Iowa State (81-67) in Boulder to open Big 12 play with a 2-0 mark. A&M will be the second-straight Big 12 South opponent the Buffaloes will have faced on the road including a 68-49 loss at Texas on Jan. 13. Under second-year head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller, CU is on course to capturing its first 10-win season since 2003-04 with 13 games remaining on its schedule. McConnell-Miller is currently one of three Big 12 coaches in their second or first year at a conference school along with Texas Tech's Kristy Curry and Oklahoma State's Kurt Budke. Over the last two seasons, the Buffs have only reached nine wins (9-21 in 2005-06 and 9-19 in 2004-05) and fewer than three wins in conference play (3-13 in 2005-06 and 2-14 in 2004-05). Next to Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, Colorado junior forward Jackie McFarland is the only other player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double with a team-leading 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. She ranks in the top 25 nationally in both statistical categories. Meanwhile, the Buffs rank among the top four teams in the conference when making their shots count from the free throw line. They are shooting 69.6 percent from the charity stripe behind senior Jasmina Ilic's 87.8 percent accuracy in free throw makes.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A'Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (7.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (14.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
#21 Morenike Atunrase, G/F, 5-10, Jr. (14.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, So. (9.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (7.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
COLORADO
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#3 Susie Powers, G, 5-10, Jr. (4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
#2 Bianca Smith, G, 5-9, Fr. (7.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
#21 Jasmina Ilic, G/F, 6-1, Sr. (12.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
#45 Jackie McFarland, F, 6-3, Jr. (19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
#44 Kara Richards, C, 6-4, So. (9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado leads 10-3 in the all-time series against Texas A&M. The last two meetings between the two schools have been decided by less than 10 points in favor of the Aggies with a 55-46 (+9) win in 2005-06 and a 72-62 (+10) win in 2004-05. Two of the three A&M victories in the series have occurred in Big 12 regular season play as the Buffs hold an 8-2 advantage. Last year's result marked only the first road win in Boulder for the Aggies since the league's inception in 1996-97 and since the all-time series first began during the 1991-92 season.
AGAINST THE BIG 12 NORTH
Big 12 North opponents have always posed a challenge for its Southern counterparts even despite only facing each other once a year during conference play. Only three of the past Big 12 Champions in league history have hailed from a North school including Kansas in 1997, Iowa State in 2000 (share) and Kansas State in 2004 (share). Last year, A&M went a program-best 6-0 versus the Big 12 North and previously had not posted more than three victories against North schools except for a 3-3 mark during the 2001-02 season. The Aggies are 18-43 all-time and 0-1 this season against the Big 12 North with a league-opening loss at Kansas State on Jan. 6. The Wildcats are currently the only North school ranked in the national polls with a No. 25 ranking in this week's AP Poll.
SERIES FLASHBACK
A'Quonesia Franklin scored 13 points to lead Texas A&M to a 55-46 victory over Colorado on Jan. 24, 2006. Franklin hit five of her six free throw attempts in the final minute to give the Aggies their first win in Boulder. The Aggies overcame a sloppy start in the second half after holding a 26-18 advantage at halftime. A&M started the second half shooting just 2-of-14 from the field as Colorado battled back and tied the game at 37-37 when Whitney Law hit a pair of free throws with 8:02 to play. The Buffs took their only lead of the game, 40-39, when Yari Escalara hit a long three-point basket from the left wing with 6:50 remaining. The Aggies caught on fire as La Toya Micheaux converted a three-point play for A&M to retake the lead, 41-40, with 4:56 to go. Late in the game, the Aggies switched to a zone defense and Colorado managed just five points in the final 3:56. A&M outscored the Buffs 16-6 over the final six minutes. The Aggies had an 8-of-12 effort from the free throw line during the stretch to seal the win. Blair used a smaller lineup for the majority of the game which featured a combined 48 fouls and 25 turnovers by the Buffs. Morenike Atunrase led the Aggies with 15 points and five rebounds. Takia Starks added 11 points for A&M. Danielle Gant had a solid outing for the Aggies with six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Colorado used a 20-of-30 showing from the free throw line to maintain its position in the game. A 10-0 run by the Aggies midway through the first half featured six points from Gant to give them a 17-7 lead. A&M's defense forced 15 turnovers by the Buffaloes which were converted into 12 points. The Buffs also suffered a scoring drought from the field over the last 10 minutes of the half as Escalera hit the lone field goal during the stretch.
BAYLOR RECAP
Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) had 12 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds as No. 19 Texas A&M beat ninth-ranked Baylor, 60-52, before the second largest crowd in school history with 8,886 fans at Reed Arena on Jan. 13. It was the Aggies' first win over a top-10 ranked team in five years. Junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) scored 13 and junior A'Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) sank three 3-pointers and added 12 for the Aggies who overcame 32 percent shooting and 19 turnovers to snap a 13-game losing streak in the series. The Aggies beat a ranked team for the first time this season and defeated a top-10 opponent for the first time since an 88-71 win over then-No. 5 Iowa State in January of 2002. Bernice Mosby had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Baylor. The Bears never solved A&M's league-leading scoring defense, shooting 35 percent (17-of-49). A&M's league-leading three-point defense also limited Baylor to 0-for-3 from behind the line in the second half and 2-for-7 for the game. It marked only the fourth win over the Lady Bears in Big 12 Conference regular season play for the Aggies. It was also A&M's first top 25 win in the Gary Blair Era and first over a top 25 opponent since 2003. The Aggies became the only Big 12 team this season to hold Baylor to a tie at halftime. The Lady Bears previously led No. 8 Oklahoma by eight and unranked Texas Tech by five heading into the lockerroom. A&M was just the third of 18 Baylor opponents this year, who did not trail the Lady Bears at the half along with No. 9 LSU (+2) and No. 12 Purdue (+14).
BACK TO FINE FORM
Junior Morenike Atunrase returned to the starting lineup against No. 9 Baylor, making her first start since fracturing her left foot at Rice on Dec. 1. She ended a productive night across the board with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists versus the Lady Bears. Atunrase is currently averaging 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. The preseason All-Big 12 Team selection missed five contests of the season as the Aggies went 4-1 in her absence. Atunrase has averaged 27.3 minutes on the court since her return. Teammate Ashlaa Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas), a redshirt freshman, also saw seven minutes of action against Baylor after missing seven contests of the season with a stress fracture.
PLAYING D
The Aggie defense has held its last 15 opponents to 48.5 points per game which ranks tops in the Big 12 and third nationally behind top-ranked Duke (46.8) and No. 8 LSU (45.8). They have consistently led the Big 12 in steals over the last six seasons and have made a league-leading 188 steals this season which ranks 14th nationally as of Jan. 14. The Aggies recorded a season-high 20 steals against Western Illinois on Jan. 2 and have stripped the ball more than 11 times in 11-of-15 games played this season including twice in conference action. The Aggie defense has caused eight opponents this season to turn over the ball more than 24 times in a contest including Pepperdine (34), Mercer (34), McNeese State (28), West Virginia (29), North Texas (26) Sam Houston State (37), Western Illinois (29) and Kansas State (24). Sophomore Danielle Gant ranks third in the league in steals (2.3 avg), while junior Patrice Reado is seventh-best (2.0), junior A'Quonesia Franklin 11th-best (1.9) and sophomore Takia Starks 12th-best (1.7) through all games played. Reado stole the ball a season-high six times at K-State which is tied as a league single-game high.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Aggies had their second-largest crowd in school history turn out to witness their 60-52 victory over No. 9 Baylor on Jan. 13 at Reed Arena. In fact, three of A&M's top five all-time attended home games have occurred this season along with its season-high attendance mark of 8,886 fans versus the Lady Bears. The Aggies are one of only three Big 12 teams along with Oklahoma State (10-0) and Kansas State (9-0) who remain undefeated at home this season with a perfect 9-0 mark. They currently rank 24th nationally in attendance averaging 4,159 fans per game. A&M has won 11-straight contests played at Reed Arena dating back to last season's 64-53 Senior Day victory over Iowa State on Feb. 26, 2006. It marks the third-longest home court winning streak in school history behind 17 games set in 1994-95 and 13 games set in 2005-06.
IT'S GOOD FROM THREE
Texas A&M has been on fire from downtown shooting a conference-leading 39.4 from beyond the arc. The Aggies also rank 11th nationally when dropping down the three. Leading the way from three-point land is junior A'Quonesia Franklin who has drained 21 three-pointers this season including three against No. 9 Baylor on Jan. 13. She is hitting on 38.2 percent of her three-point attempts and has drained three-or-more three-pointers four times this season. Franklin currently ranks ninth all-time in career three-pointers made (79). In three-point accuracy, freshman Adrian McGowen (Goodrich, Texas) is shooting a team-best 52.4 percent (11-of-21) followed by junior Morenike Atunrase (42.4) and sophomore Takia Starks (36.6). Against the Lady Bears, the Aggies were hot from beyond the arc knocking down five three-pointers in the game after starting off slow from long range in its first two Big 12 games of the season at Kansas State (1-of-13) on Jan. 6 and at Texas Tech (2-of-7) on Jan. 10.
STATE FARM LONE STAR SHOWDOWN AHEAD
The much-anticipated State Farm Lone Star Showdown looms ahead for Texas A&M and Texas as both teams meet for the 70th time in the all-time rivalry series. The Aggies will battle the Longhorns on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. in nearby Austin, Texas. Last season, A&M swept the home-and-home series and claimed sole possession of the Lone Star Showdown trophy with a 73-53 upset on the road and a 79-67 victory at home. The game will be televised to a national audience on Fox Sports Net.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Not only does Texas A&M rank among the top 25 teams in the nation in scoring defense and three-point field goal percentage, but also in three other NCAA statistical categories including scoring margin (8th, 21.7), assists per game (7th, 18.7) and steals per game (14th, 12.5) as of Jan. 14. Junior point guard A'Quonesia Franklin also ranks 25th nationally in assists per game (5.5 avg).
STARKS NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the first time this season, sophomore Takia Starks was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 15 one day shy of her 20th birthday. The Houston native was joined by Texas' Carla Cortijo who was selected as Rookie of the Week by a media voting panel for conference games played from Jan. 8-14. It marked her first career player of the week honor after being named rookie of the week twice last season. Starks, who was honored on last year's inaugural All-Big 12 Rookie Team, becomes only the sixth player in school history to earn the weekly honor next to current teammate Morenike Atunrase (2006), Toccara Williams (2004), Jaynetta Saunders (2001), Prissy Sharpe (1997) and Melissa Rollerson (1997). Last week, she led No. 19 Texas A&M to a 2-0 mark in Big 12 play with the team's first-ever league win on the road at Texas Tech (49-47) on Jan. 10 and first-ever win in the Gary Blair Era against No. 9 Baylor (60-52) on Jan. 13. The Texas Tech victory was of significance as A&M had never beaten the Lady Raiders on their home court since 1980 and in Big 12 regular season competition. Starks scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Aggies in Lubbock. Three days later, she turned in her second career double-double with 12 points and career-high tying 11 rebounds to lead the Aggies to the upset of No. 9 Baylor. The victory ended a 13-game losing skid versus the Lady Bears in the all-time series dating back to 2001. It also marked the team's first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since 2002. For the week, Starks averaged a near double-double with a team-leading 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals against the Lady Raiders and Lady Bears combined. She shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Starks averaged 34.5 minutes on the court and is one of only two Aggies to have played and started in all 15 games of the season. She is currently one of the top 10 scoring leaders in the Big 12 averaging a team-leading 14.7 points per game which ranks eighth-best in the league. Starks is one of three underclassmen (all of which are sophomores) among the top 10 along with league-leader Courtney Paris of OU (23.4) and Kelsey Griffin of Nebraska (16.2). Starks has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has led the team in scoring on six occasions. She has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games, the longest double-digit scoring streak of her career.
LOOKING AT THE RPI
The Aggies are currently No. 25 in the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings as of Jan 16. Nine Big 12 opponents are rated among the top 100 RPI teams including Oklahoma (9), Kansas State (18), Baylor (22), Texas (25), Missouri (34), Nebraska (43), Iowa State (51), Texas Tech (57) and Colorado (79) according to CollegeRPI.com. A&M also played top 100 non-conference opponents in Washington (24), West Virginia (75) and Arizona (93). The first official NCAA RPI index will be released on Jan. 17.
AROUND THE BIG 12
A&M is one of five Big 12 schools now ranked among the top 25 in the nation along with No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 13 Baylor, No. 22 Texas and No. 25 Kansas State. The Aggies will have faced three of those ranked teams in their first five outings of league competition. The same goes for BU, Nebraska, Colorado and K-State. In fact, A&M will compete against all seven teams in the top half of the league in three weeks time. OU stands alone at the front of the pack with a 3-0 record. The nearest challenger to the Sooners' current domination in conference play is a six-way tie for second-place between A&M, CU, K-State, NU, Oklahoma State and UT.
1. Oklahoma (13-1, 3-0)
2T. Kansas State (14-2, 2-1)
2T. Oklahoma State (14-2, 2-1)
2T. Nebraska (14-3, 2-1)
2T. Texas A&M (12-3, 2-1)
2T. Texas (13-4, 2-1)
2T. Colorado (8-7, 2-1)
8. Baylor (15-3, 2-2)
9. Texas Tech (10-7, 1-2)
10T. Iowa State (13-4, 1-3)
10T. Missouri (13-4, 1-3)
12. Kansas (5-11, 0-4)
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 Tap Bentz (color analyst) will call the action live from Reed Arena on KZNE 1150 AM.