February 24, 2007
To remain in the hunt for its first-ever Big 12 Conference crown, the No. 16-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (21-5, 11-3) will have to get past the likes of Baylor (24-4, 11-3) who poses one of two obstacles for the Aggies in its last two games of the regular season. A&M travels to Waco for the second installment of the Battle of the Brazos on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. There is a lot at stake as the Aggies and Lady Bears are both situated in a three-way tie for first place with Oklahoma. A&M will face back-to-back rivals in Baylor and Texas in its final two outings, while BU has the daunting task of A&M and OU ahead. Meanwhile, the Sooners have the comfort of playing at home with Missouri and Baylor left on their schedule. OU is looking to repeat, while BU is seeking its second title since 2005. Both teams have not played each other since a 60-52 victory in favor of A&M on Jan. 13. The odds may not be in favor of the Aggies this time around as they have only beaten the Lady Bears once in Waco in the Big 12 era. The Aggies will have played three of its last five games of the season on the road including Sunday?â„¢s showdown. They are 5-5 away from the friendly confines of Reed Arena this season, but their three losses in conference play have all occurred on the road at Kansas State on (48-45) on Jan. 10, Texas (64-45) on Jan. 21 and Iowa State (61-54) on Feb. 14. However, this has been a season of firsts for the fledging program as the Aggies have already put their stamp on history with back-to-back 20-win seasons and the likelihood of seeing their name once again on Selection Monday. The Lady Bears will have to find a way to fend off the nation?â„¢s sixth-best defense as the Aggies have held opponents to a conference-best 53.3 points per game. In their last meeting, the A&M defense held Baylor to its lowest point total of the season (52).
ON THE DEUCE
Texas A&M will make its second all-time appearance on ESPN2 next to last year?â„¢s NCAA First Round matchup against TCU. Playing their best basketball of the season, the Aggies will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in back-to-back national television games. The talented broadcast crew of Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Nancy Lieberman (color analyst) will call the action live from the Ferrell Center in Waco. The game will be leading up to the network?â„¢s extensive coverage of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women?â„¢s Basketball Championship which is exclusively aired on ESPN and ESPN2. Not shy of the limelight, Texas A&M has been successful this season when playing in front of a national television audience with a 4-1 record when on the tube.
STATE FARM LONE STAR SHOWDOWN PART 2
Up next, Texas A&M hosts rival Texas in both team?â„¢s regular season finale and second installment of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown between the two storied rivals on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in College Station. Fans are encouraged to pack Reed Arena as the game between the Aggies and Longhorns will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net and could decide Texas A&M?â„¢s quest for its first-ever Big 12 Conference title. The Aggies are the only Big 12 team who remains undefeated at home this season with a 15-0 record. The Texas A&M athletic department will host another Aggie Basketball doubleheader at Reed Arena as the No. 8-ranked Texas A&M men?â„¢s basketball team takes on rival Texas in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at 8 p.m. in Austin. The men?â„¢s game will be shown immediately following the women?â„¢s game on the 12th Man TV big screens at Reed Arena. Join the Aggies for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch both nationally-ranked basketball programs battle for conference supremacy. Tickets for the women?â„¢s game can be purchased in advance by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE or online at AggieAthletics.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Reed Arena Box Office and Kyle Field Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
TRACKING THE LADY BEARS
Like the Aggies, Baylor has turned it up a notch and played its best basketball in the second half of the Big 12 regular season. The Lady Bears have won nine of their last 10 games since falling on the road at Texas A&M on Jan. 13. Their three losses of the season have come against three of the top four teams in the league including Oklahoma (76-63) on Feb. 10 and Nebraska (76-67) on Feb. 3. They currently lead the nation in blocked shots per game (7.7) behind freshman post player Danielle Wilson?â„¢s team-leading 75 on the season. The Lady Bears have won their last five-straight contests by an average margin of 12.4 points per game. Only eight of the team?â„¢s league games have been decided by less than 10 points having won 5-of-8 in comparison to 10 of A&M?â„¢s league games (8-of-10). BU has beaten all three of the teams the Aggies have lost to this season including K-State, Iowa State and Texas. Senior forward Bernice Mosby will be a force to reckon with once again as she leads the Lady Bears in points (17.9) and rebounds (9.5). She recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds as Baylor pulled out a close 75-67 win at Colorado on Feb. 21. Baylor is 4-4 against top 25 competition this season.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Jr. (9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, So. (14.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#21 Morenike Atunrase, G/F, 5-10, Jr. (11.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, So. (6.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
BAYLOR
No. Name (2006-07 Stats)
#20 Angela Tisdale, G, 5-5, Jr. (11.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
#15 Jhasmin Player, G, 5-10, So. (7.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#03 Jessica Morrow, G/F, 6-2, So. (8.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
#32 Bernice Mosby, F, 6-1, Sr. (17.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg)
#14 Rachel Allison, F/C, 6-1, So. (7.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
SERIES HISTORY
Baylor holds a one-game advantage over Texas A&M in the all-time series, 36-35. The Aggies have only won 15 out of the 34 all-time meetings between the two schools in Waco. Their first and only road win in the Big 12 era last occurred with a 62-59 victory on Feb. 9, 2000. With their 60-52 upset of Baylor on Jan. 13, the Aggies ended a 13-game losing skid in the all-time series. Last season, BU swept the regular season series and defeated A&M in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship (53-52). The Lady Bears still own a commanding 17-4 lead in Big 12 regular season play. Three of the Aggies?â„¢ four victories in the series have been won at home.
AGGIE SWEEPSTAKES
It may be February sweeps for executives in television land, but in Aggieland, the term ?sweeps? has not become a normal occurrence in Big 12 competition until late. A&M has now swept each of its five Big 12 South counterparts a total of eight times including Texas (2005-06), Baylor (1999-2000), Oklahoma (2006-07) and Oklahoma State (1996-97, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) in the 11-year history of the league. They added Texas Tech (2006-07) to the sweepstakes list with a 67-51 victory on Feb. 21 in College Station. Last season, the Aggies swept the regular-season series versus rival Texas for the first time since 1995 as members of the Southwest Conference. They have gone a program-best 7-1 against foes from the Big 12 South this season and will be gunning for only their second sweep of BU in league history. Meanwhile, A&M is the only conference school this year to sweep defending Big 12 champion OU.
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Two of the league?â„¢s top point guards and top 10 scorers will be on hand in Sunday?â„¢s showdown on the hardwood. Sophomore guard Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) and junior point guard A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) provide a spark to the A&M offense, while senior forward Bernice Mosby and junior point guard Angela Tisdale provide a one-two punch to the Baylor offense. Starks ranks eighth among Big 12 scoring leaders averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game, while Mosby ranks third (17.9). As for both team?â„¢s floor generals, Franklin continues to lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98) and needs to distribute the ball 23 more times to record three-straight 150+ assist seasons. She is only the third player in school history to dish out 100+ assists over three consecutive seasons. Franklin ranks fourth-best in the Big 12 in assists (4.9), while Tisdale ranks seventh (3.7). A&M (+5.96) and Baylor (+4.04) rank No. 1 and 2 respectively in turnover margin in the league.
MOVE OUT OF THE WAY
Preseason All-Big 12 Team selection Morenike Atunrase recorded her 1,000th career point with 18 points against Texas Tech on Feb. 21. She became only the 18th player in school history to reach the milestone and the first since A&M standout Toccara Williams did so during her senior campaign in 2003-04. Her 18 points against Tech marked her 12th double-digit game of the season and tied a personal best as the second-most points scored in Big 12 play. Atunrase has been back in star form scoring in double figures over last two games for the Aggies. She suffered a left foot fracture (broken bone) against Rice on Dec. 1 and missed five games of the season. A&M went 4-1 during her absence. She later suffered a sprained right ankle at Oklahoma on Jan. 27. Prior to the two injuries, she had never been injured in both her high school and college careers combined. Atunrase has tabulated 1,010 career points to date and is one block shy of becoming Texas A&M?â„¢s all-time leading shot blocker with 136 career blocks to her credit.
DELIVERING THE BAKER?â„¢S DOZEN
The Aggies will be looking for their 12th win in Big 12 Conference play with tough tests against Baylor and Texas remaining on the slate. A victory over the Lady Bears Sunday would give A&M its most victories in league competition all-time. Their current 11-3 record marks only the third time in school history in which the Aggies have recorded 11 wins in conference play including the 1993-94 season (11-3) while members of the Southwest Conference and the 2005-06 season (11-3) as members of the Big 12. Of their three 11-win seasons in league competition, the 2006-07 squad was the fastest to reach 11 wins. Last season, A&M claimed their 11th victory in Big 12 play in the regular season finale at Oklahoma State on March 1, 2006 and their 11th victory in SWC play against Baylor on March 2, 1994.
THE 40/40 CLUB
Hip Hop mogul Jay-Z may own the 40/40 club in New York City, but Texas A&M has its own 40/40 club in College Station. Known as a benchmark for power and speed in baseball for home runs and stolen bases, in basketball terms it would be comparable to every statistical category other than points scored. Three A&M players currently rank among the top 10 in the Big 12 in steals including sophomore Danielle Gant (2nd, 56), junior Patrice Reado (T9th, 45) and junior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin (T9th, 45). The trio has scored more than 190 points each and are averaging more than 7.5 points per game. Gant (56) and Franklin (127) have distributed the ball more than 55 times this season, while Gant (188) and Reado (101) have grabbed more than 100 rebounds. Speaking of the number 40, the Aggies have shot better than 40 percent in five of their last six outings after shooting just 30 percent in seven of their first eight games in Big 12 play.
PRIDE IN AGGIE DEFENSE
Texas Tech became the latest victim of the A&M defense as the Aggies held the Lady Raiders to just 32.7 percent shooting from the floor on Feb. 21. Thirteen of A&M?â„¢s opponents this season have shot 35 percent or worse from the field including Texas Tech twice (29.3), Baylor (34.7), Nebraska (34.0) and Oklahoma (32.7) in league play. Three of those four teams are currently in contention for the Big 12 Conference title and one of four top seeds in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Women?â„¢s Basketball Championship on March 6-8 & 10 in Oklahoma City. A&M is tops in the league in scoring defense (53.3) and three-point field goal percentage defense (27.5). Opponents are averaging 22.8 turnovers per game when going up against the Aggie defense.
MAKING A POST PRESENCE
Against one of the more physical teams in the Big 12, the Aggies will have to rely on their post play to contain the Lady Bears inside. Sophomore center La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) is five boards shy of recording 200 rebounds for the season. Last year, she grabbed 162 during her freshman campaign for a grand total of 357 career rebounds to date. Only nine A&M players have brought down 200-or-more rebounds on 13 all-time occasions. Micheaux would become only the 10th player in school history to get over the double century mark in the category. She is averaging a team-leading 7.5 boards per game which ranks 10th-best in the Big 12. Micheaux also ranks fourth with a team-high 89 offensive boards. One of the most improved players in the league, she has brought down double-digit boards seven times this season including a career-high 13 against Texas Tech on Feb. 21. She also swatted a career-best five blocked shots versus the Lady Raiders. Teammate Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) is right behind Micheaux averaging 7.2 rebounds per game and is 12 short of 200. Gant grabbed a team-leading 190 boards in 2005-06.
KEY TO NICKNAMES
Mo = Morenike Atunrase
T-Kay = Takia Starks
D.G. = Danielle Gant
Aqua = A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin
Micheaux = La Toya Micheaux
Reado = Patrice Reado
SHOOTING STARS
Sophomore Danielle Gant, the team?â„¢s Sixth Man, has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine contests for the Aggies. She is shooting a team-best 55.4 percent from the floor which ranks fourth-best in the Big 12. Gant has registered six double-doubles this season, the most of any A&M player and the eighth-most in the Big 12. Gant has come off the bench four times this season and notched double figures. She has played in all 26 games of the season with 13 starts and is one of three Aggies to average double figures in scoring (10.4 ppg). Texas A&M currently ranks 10th nationally in three-point field goal percentage shooting a conference-leading 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore Takia Starks has been hot from downtown knocking down 40.4 percent of her shots from long range which ranks fourth-best in the league. Junior Morenike Atunrase ranks ninth-best with a 36.4 accuracy.
IN UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
With two games remaining on the Big 12 Conference slate, the Aggies have never been in a closer position to be in the running for a conference title since 1994 when A&M (11-3) posted a second-place finish in the Southwest Conference behind league champion Texas Tech (12-2). The Aggies have never won a regular season conference title, but won their first-ever conference tournament title in 1996. A&M would outlast Texas Tech, 72-68, in the championship game in the final year of the SWC. Not since his days at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) where he collected seven-straight conference championships has Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair been able to grasp the elusive conference title at Arkansas (1993-03) or A&M (2003-Present). Blair squads at both schools have never posted back-to-back seasons finishing among the top three in the conference. Last season, he led the Aggies to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996 and program-best tied for third finish in the Big 12.
BAYLOR FLASHBACK
Sophomore Takia Starks recorded a double-double with 12 points and 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?â„¢ first win over a top-10 ranked team in five years. Junior Morenike Atunrase scored 13 and junior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin 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 of the 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). With the Big 12?â„¢s top three-point defense, A&M limited Baylor to 0-for-3 from behind the line in the second half and 2-for-7 for the game. The Bears opened the game with a 17-5 spurt as the Aggies missed 14 of their first 16 shots, many of them uncontested. A&M also coughed up four turnovers in the first 8 minutes. After a timeout, the Aggies mounted a quick 7-0 burst, finished by Starks?â„¢ steal and pull-up jumper with 9:55 left in the first half. Mosby and Rachel Allison scored inside to stretch Baylor's lead back to nine, but then the Aggies' defense took control, holding the Bears without a field goal for 8 minutes. Franklin finished a fast break with a layup and sank a three-pointer, while junior Katy Pounds (Shallowater, Texas) added a turnaround with 2:13 left in the half to give A&M its first lead at 26-24. Baylor lost four turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half and A&M built a five-point lead. But, the Aggies went cold again, going four minutes without a field goal, and Jhasmin Player?â„¢s free throws with 10:27 left tied the game at 42-all. Franklin ended the A&M drought with her third three-pointer and triggered a decisive 7-0 spurt. Mosby hit two free throws with 8:23 to go, but Atunrase sank a three-pointer with 5:05 left to put A&M up 52-44. The Bears went nine minutes without a field goal and got beaten up along the way. Danielle Wilson bloodied her nose going for a rebound and Latara Darrett twisted her right ankle with 4:01 left. Darrett, Baylor's top three-point shooter, spent the rest of the game on the bench with an ice pack on her ankle. Wilson hit a jumper from the wing with 3:44 left to cut A&M?â„¢s lead to 54-47, but the Bears got no closer than five after that.
TEXAS TECH RECAP
Junior Morenike Atunrase had 18 points and five rebounds to lift No. 16 Texas A&M to a 67-51 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday night. The Aggies scored the first 10 points of the game and led 37-24 at halftime. They went 5-of-6 from the floor in their game-opening 10-0 stretch. A&M picked up its first-ever sweep over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference era and in the all-time series. They also extended their home court winning streak to a program-best 17 consecutive games at Reed Arena. Atunrase went 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. She recorded her 1,000th career point against the Lady Raiders. Sophomore Danielle Gant added 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Aggies. Sophomore La Toya Micheaux led Texas A&M with a career-high 13 rebounds. Jordan Murphree had 19 points and six rebounds to lead the Lady Raiders. She hit 6-of-14 from the field and made all seven of her free throws. Texas Tech pulled to 39-32 with 15:42 remaining in the game but could get no closer. Texas A&M went on an 8-2 run, with Atunrase scoring all eight points, to take a 47-34 lead with 12:02 left. The Aggies?â„¢ lead grew to 19 points with 3:08 remaining. Both teams struggled from the field. The Aggies hit only 40 percent of their shots for the game, but the Lady Raiders fared even worse. Tech shot only 33 percent and turned the ball over 20 times. A&M scored 16 of its final 67 points off Tech miscues.
MAKING A SPLASH ON THE NATIONAL SCENE
Things keep on getting better and better for Texas A&M. Aggie Basketball may dominate the headlines, with recent visits and exposure from national media outlets such as Sports Illustrated, USA TODAY and CSTV, but A&M continues to be among the national leaders in four NCAA statistical categories including scoring defense (6th, 53.3), three-point field goal percentage (10th, 37.9), scoring margin (21st, 14.0) and assists (24th, 16.3) per game as of Feb. 22. Junior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin ranks 41st nationally in assists per game (4.9).
LOOKING AT THE RPI
The Aggies are currently No. 20 in the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women?â„¢s College Basketball Ratings as of Feb. 21. Eleven Big 12 schools are rated among the top 100 RPI teams in the nation including Baylor (10), Oklahoma (15), Texas A&M (24), Nebraska (30), Iowa State (28), Texas (35), Texas Tech (39), Missouri (43), Oklahoma State (63), Kansas State (65) and Colorado (88) according to CollegeRPI.com. The Big 12 is rated the second-toughest conference in the country behind the SEC. The Aggies have posted a 4-0 record against teams rated in the top 30 of the indexes. A&M has also played top 100 non-conference opponents in Washington (44), West Virginia (50) and Rice (95). In the latest RPI report released by the NCAA on Feb. 19, A&M is the third-highest rated team in the Big 12 at No. 27.
AGGIES IN CONTENTION FOR BIG 12 CROWN
Texas A&M remains tied for first place with Baylor and Oklahoma with 11-3 marks in Big 12 Conference play. Should A&M win out in its last two games of the season, the Aggies will be in the hunt for at least a share of the conference regular season title. They are one of only five league teams to reach 20 wins this season including Baylor (24-4), OU (21-4), Nebraska (21-7) and Iowa State (20-7). A&M has come so far since the league?â„¢s inception in 1996-97. Prior to last season?â„¢s 11-5 campaign in conference play, the Aggies annually finished ninth or worse in the league standings. For the first time in school history, A&M has posted back-to-back winning seasons in Big 12 competition after being picked to finish a program-best second in the preseason coaches poll.
1T. Baylor (24-4, 11-3)
1T. Oklahoma (21-4, 11-3)
1T. Texas A&M (21-5, 11-3)
4. Nebraska (21-7, 9-5)
5. Iowa State (20-7, 8-6)
6T. Texas Tech (15-13, 6-8)
6T. Oklahoma State (18-9, 6-8)
8T. Missouri (17-10, 5-9)
8T. Texas (16-12, 5-9)
8T. Colorado (11-15, 5-9)
11. Kansas State (16-11, 4-10)
12. Kansas (9-18, 3-11)
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. Tom Turbiville (play-by-play) and Amy Wright (color analyst) will call the action live from the Ferrell Center on KZNE 1150 AM The Zone.