Texas A&M
12-3, 2-1
Baylor
15-3, 2-2
Texas A&M 60, Baylor 52
Jan 13, 2007 | Women's Basketball
January 13, 2007
Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) had 12 points and 11 rebounds as No. 19 Texas A&M beat ninth-ranked Baylor, 60-52, Saturday before the second largest crowd in school history with 8,886 fans at Reed Arena. 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 (12-3, 2-1) 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 (15-3, 2-2). The Bears never solved A&M's league-leading scoring defense, shooting 35 percent (17-of-49). A&M also leads the Big 12 in three-point defense and 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?™ 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?™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?™s lead to 54-47, but the Bears got no closer than five after that.
The Aggies improved to 9-0 this season at Reed Arena. They are only one of four Big 12 teams still undefeated at home.
A&M will next host Colorado (8-7, 2-1) on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Reed Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Postgame Notes?...With the victory, Texas A&M ended a 13-game losing skid against Baylor in the all-time series dating back to an 87-81 Aggie win on Jan. 20, 2001 in College Station, Texas?...BU, however, still holds a one-game lead in the series, 36-35?...It marked only the fourth win over the Lady Bears in Big 12 Conference regular season play for the Aggies?...Three of the four have all been victories at home?...A&M picked up its first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since an 88-71 win over No. 5 Iowa State on Jan. 12, 2002 in College Station?...It was also the Aggies?™ first top 25 win in the Gary Blair Era (2003-Present) in 27 opportunities?...Their last win over a top 25 opponent was a 69-61 victory over No. 24 Oklahoma on Feb. 5, 2003?...Junior All-American candidate Morenike Atunrase returned to the starting lineup against Baylor, her first 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?...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)?...The Aggies tied their opponent at the half for the third time this season including a 29-29 tie vs. Pepperdine on Nov. 10 and a 25-25 tie at Texas Tech on Jan. 10?...They won all three ballgames and their second-straight when tied at the half with their opponent?...Sophomore Takia Starks turned in her second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds?...She has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games, the longest double-digit scoring streak of her career?...For the fourth-time this season, junior A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) drained three 3-pointers in a single game?...She currently ranks ninth all-time in career three-pointers made (79)...Three of A&M?™s top five all-time largest crowds in school history have occurred this season along with today?™s season-high attendance mark of 8,886 fans at Reed Arena?...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) and at Texas Tech (2-of-7)?...A&M outrebounded the Lady Bears, 48-35, marking the 11th time this season to do so against an opponent?...The Aggies?™ upset of Baylor was the second win in seven all-time matchups versus a top 25 team when being ranked themselves?...Redshirt freshman Ashlaa Horton (Cedar Hill, Texas) entered the game at the 15:01 minute mark of the first half, her first appearance off the bench since suffering a stress fracture after the Rice game on Dec. 1?...She missed seven games during her recovery and played seven minutes versus the Lady Bears.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the game ?...
?Plus 13 rebounds never happens against Baylor, especially against a very quick and agile team. They play hard when getting on the boards. That?™s what Coach Mulkey teaches. Both teams have so much respect for each other, because they each play hard. Aqua (Franklin) did a great job on (Angela) Tisdale and her three was huge in the first half. We weren?™t getting calls earlier, because we weren?™t being aggressive. In the second half, the key was that we went inside. (La Toya) Micheaux made some big baskets.?
On what?™s left on the to-do list for A&M ?...
?What I care about is winning championships, because that?™s what I was hired to do. We have a long way to go. Sure, beating Baylor meant something to me. We just beat a defending national champion who won it two years ago and that?™s pretty special. They (Baylor) know how to do the little things right. We have a long way to go. We are going to live off of it. The crowd got us back into it. We kept on hitting the shots in that run and the kids stepped up.?
On what?™s changed since last year and the second-largest crowd in school history ?...
?We kept picking away to see what would work for us. Our best shot is the offensive rebound. We are also leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage. It?™s not about how many you shoot, but how many you make. Baylor had those seniors last year that knew how to play the game. That?™s experience. But, when you are on the road, seniors win for you. Last year?™s Baylor team was very good. They have done more for any ranked team in our conference. They have lived up to who they can be and we are still trying to reach that. We are not going to be a gimic. We have a good product here. We (Big 12) lead the nation in attendance. We have a program. We play hard with good basketball that starts with defense. We just have so far to go. This win was for the fans, we would not have won this one on the road.?
SOPHOMORE GUARD TAKIA STARKS
On her double-double with a career-high tying 11 rebounds and the upset of Baylor ?...
?Coach (Vic) Schaefer challenged all of us guards to rebound and I think I exceeded his challenge. I was just trying to come out and rebound if my shot wasn?™t going in and help my team a little bit. The numbers (Baylor?™s top 10 national ranking) didn?™t matter coming into the game. It was a home game for us and we felt like we had the advantage, because how we play at home. Shots seem to go our way and we get the hustle plays. Coach (Blair) said if we could get the hustle plays, loose balls and rebounds, we were going to win. That?™s what we did tonight.?
JUNIOR GUARD A?™QUONESIA FRANKLIN
On being behind in the early part of the first half and the team?™s defense ?...
?We had to get the jitters out and once we got into it, we knew we had been there before. I got the five on the floor together and said, ?'we are in this together, let?™s go get it.?™ Our job on defense was to keep (Bernice) Mosby from touching the ball. If she couldn?™t touch it, than she couldn?™t score. In the first half, we held Mosby to six (field goal attempts). Baylor is a great team. We kept switching our defense from zone to man. We didn?™t give up and we believed in ourselves. We knew we were in this together and we just pulled together and got back into the game. That was the main key of our defensive plan.?
On fellow Big 12 point guard Angela Tisdale ?...
?She?™s one of the top point guards in the league, but tonight we had her frustrated. She?™s a great point guard. We just tried to pressure her and limit her touches and we played intense defense on her.?
SOPHOMORE CENTER LA TOYA MICHEAUX
On the game and upsetting No. 9 Baylor ?...
?We were playing stick ?'em up defense. It was just our job to finish it. We were able to get rebounds and go back up with it. It?™s a confidence builder. Numbers (Baylor?™s top 10 national ranking) mean something, but they aren?™t everything. May the best team win. We prepared ourselves the day after the Texas Tech game and came in with the mentality that, ?'we can do it, it?™s ours.?™?
