Texas A&M
#21 (15-4, 5-2)
Oklahoma
#6 (17-2, 7-1)
Texas A&M 54, Oklahoma 52
Jan 27, 2007 | Women's Basketball
January 27, 2007
Junior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) scored 18 points before leaving with an injury and junior A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) added 13 points as No. 21 Texas A&M ended sixth-ranked Oklahoma?™s 26-game Big 12 Conference winning streak with a 54-52 upset before a crowd of 11,486 Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Texas A&M overcame a seven-point deficit with a 13-0 run, taking a 46-40 lead on sophomore Danielle Gant?™s two free throws following a technical foul on Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale.
From there, the Aggies (15-4, 5-2) had to prevent the Sooners (17-2, 7-1) from staging their second rally this week from a five-point deficit in the final minute.
After Erin Higgins?™ 3-pointer from the right wing pulled the Sooners within 50-48, sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) answered with a three at the other end. After a series of misses by the Sooners and a turnover by Starks, Higgins drilled another three from the left sideline for a two-point difference with 55.1 seconds to play.
Leah Rush made one of two free throws to get Oklahoma within one, but sophomore La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) was fouled after grabbing the rebound on Rush?™s miss and also hit 1-of-2 to put the Aggies up 54-52 with 3.5 seconds left.
Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) then blocked Kendra Moore?™s desperation three-pointer from the right wing to seal the win.
Rush scored 16 points to lead Oklahoma and Courtney Paris ended up with a season-low 12 points and 20 rebounds for her 47th straight double-double. Oklahoma?™s scoring output was its lowest of the season and the Sooners committed a season-high 28 turnovers.
Texas A&M will have another quick turnaround as the Aggies next host Oklahoma State (15-5, 3-4) on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Postgame Notes?...Texas A&M snapped Oklahoma?™s 24-game winning streak against Big 12 Conference opponents in regular season games?...It was the Aggies?™ first win in Norman since the league?™s inception in 1996-97?...It marked only the second road victory in Norman in the all-time series next to an 83-71 win in 1990?...With the upset of No. 6 Oklahoma, the Aggies claimed back-to-back wins against top 25 opponents for the first time in school history?...They are only the second team and second-ranked team to upend Oklahoma this season along with No. 8 Ohio State on Dec. 20?...A&M defeated No. 25 Nebraska on Wednesday night?...The Aggies played before the largest crowd this season (home or away contests) with 11,486 fans in attendance at Lloyd Noble Center?...A&M shot 27.6 percent in the first half, which marked its second-lowest shooting percentage in the first half this season next to a 27.0 first-half percentage against North Texas on Dec. 18?...OU shot 26.9 percent in the first half, which was the lowest percentage by an A&M Big 12 opponent in the first half this season?...It was the second-lowest shooting output by any A&M opponent this season in the first half next to 12.0 percent by Delaware State on Dec. 20?...OU became the 15th victim of the Aggie defense turning over the ball more than 20 times in the ballgame?...The Sooners committed a season-high 28 turnovers versus A&M?...It was the most miscues by an A&M conference opponent this season?...A&M?™s 20 first-half points were the third-fewest points scored in a half this season?...A&M became the fifth Big 12 team this season to trail within single-digits at halftime (26-20) versus the Sooners?...It was the second fewest (-6) behind Texas Tech (-1) who went into the lockerroom trailing by one (33-32) on Jan. 22?...A&M opponents have been sent to the free throw line more than 20 times in the last six-straight games?...OU converted 15-of-22 from the charity stripe?...Junior Morenike Atunrase moved into second all-time in career blocked shots with three stops against OU for 135 career blocks to date?...She needs two more blocks to tie former A&M player Kelly Cerny (137) and three more to become the school?™s all-time leading shot blocker?...Atunrase is also 26 points away from surpassing the 1,000 career-point plateau with a game-high 18 points at OU?...The Aggies drained eight three-pointers in the game to mark the ninth time to hit five-or-more from beyond the arc this season?...It was the most combined three-pointers in a single game this season by both schools (13)?...A&M knocked down eight, while OU had five?...It was the closest game (under 10 points) in the last three meetings between the two schools since a 81-72 (-9) loss to OU on Jan. 28, 2006?...The A&M defense held OU to its worst shooting performance (32.7 percent) of the season?...The Sooners shot 40 percent or better all season long until the A&M game?...Atunrase went down with an injury with 2:31 remaining on the clock...Sophomore La Toya Micheaux brought down a career-high 12 rebounds as the A&M defense held OU All-American Courtney Paris to under her conference-leading scoring average (22.6) with 12 points?...It was the seventh game this season for the Aggies to be decided in 10 points or less?...The victory marked A&M?™s second win over a top 10-ranked opponent next to a 60-52 victory over then-No. 9 Baylor on Jan. 13 and highest-ever ranked opponent in the Gary Blair Era (2003-Present)?...The Aggies improve to 3-1 against top 25 competition this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the game ?...
?On this team, there are no Parade All-Americans here. They are just hardworking young people that believe in a system. When you believe in a system, defense and rebounding come first and just learning how to make plays under pressure. I?™m so proud of these young ladies, because we just beat a great team. We took them out of a lot of things they wanted to run and took them deep into the shot clock. When you take a team deep into the shot clock, sometimes you don?™t get your first or second option. We made stop after stop on the defensive end. Give them credit. I see (Chelsi) Welch, (Erin) Higgins and (Leah) Rush. I?™m happy for those kids, because they are winners and still have a great chance of going to the Final Four. We are just trying to find out who we are right now. The nation doesn?™t know who we are. They don?™t know our kids?™ first names like a lot of kids who are known by their first names. Hopefully, we are known as Texas A&M. We are going to get our share as long as I can keep finding kids who can play hard like this.?
On the team?™s defense ?...
?We are a defensive-minded team. As you can see in the first half, I thought we were getting beat by 25 and we were down by six. We played enough defense to make up for our poor shots. In the second half, we made some big time shots. Why does defense always have to be ugly? Why does full-court pressure have to be there? Basketball is a contact sport. You get right back up and go. Physical is part of the game. We made bad plays and they made bad plays. Give the officials credit for not determining the outcome at the end of the game. The kids determined the outcome at the end of the game.?
On the upset and the team waiting for a win like this ?...
?I?™m not here to win these type of games (upsets). That comes with the territory. This isn?™t my first rodeo. We?™re here to win championships and that?™s what A&M is all about and that is why (Texas A&M Athletics Director) Bill Byrne hired me. There are a lot of coaches who can win ball games. It (the victory) puts us with national credibility, since people have said they we have been over-rated all year. How many teams can come in here to shoot 33 percent and 58 percent from the line and still win ball games? This was huge, because win or lose, we wanted to make sure we played well, because we have Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all coming to our place on the backside. We have played four out of seven on the road so far. There are some good teams (in this conference) and there is parity. You have to give credit to the rest of the teams in this league. Oklahoma is better this year than they were last year, but you have to give credit to the coaches and players. We are trying to raise the bar to Oklahoma?™s side. Oklahoma has raised the bar, now other teams are getting better to be able to compete with them. We owe Oklahoma a lot in that.?
JUNIOR GUARD/FORWARD MORENIKE ATUNRASE
On what the team changed in the lockerroom from the first half ?...
?I think aggressiveness was there in the first half. We were getting open shots and wide open looks, but we just weren?™t making them. Coach (Blair) told us to stay positive and keep shooting them and they will fall and that?™s what they did in the second half. We didn?™t change anything. We just kept our intensity up on defense and kept shooting.?
SOPHOMORE CENTER LA TOYA MICHEAUX
On the battle inside with Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris ?...
?We played solid defense and if she doesn?™t touch it, she?™s can?™t score. I tried to limit her touches. To limit her to just 12 points, I am fine with keeping her below her scoring average of 22 (points). It was a battle. We were going down the court and both of us were huffing. It was tough to rebound and I was just trying to box her out. It was a battle and she?™s a great player.?
JUNIOR GUARD A?™QUONESIA FRANKLIN
On the end of the game ?...
?You have to keep playing until the time says zero. We just kept playing with intensity and kept putting on pressure. We got four stops in a row right after that. We tried to keep the defense up.?
