November 28, 2007
After a six-day, three-game trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the No. 13/12-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (4-1) returns home to face another tough test against a Big Ten Conference foe. The Aggies will play host to Michigan (4-1) in both program?â„¢s first-ever meeting on the hardwood on Thursday, Nov. 29 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Wolverines is scheduled for 7 p.m. Michigan will pose a challenge to A&M?â„¢s current 19-game home court winning streak as the Wolverines have already pulled off recent road victories at Cincinnati (55-46) and Miami (65-50) this season. However, U-M will have to get past the stingy A&M defense which has held opponents to 49.6 points per game which currently ranks second-best in the Big 12 Conference.
GAME PROMOTIONS
A&M will host Aggie Ring and Texas A&M Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night on Thursday versus Michigan. Fans wearing their Aggie Ring will receive free admission to the contest as well as all Texas A&M faculty and staff members who present their faculty/staff ID at the ticket windows at Reed Arena. TAMU faculty and staff members will also be able to present their ID for free tickets for their immediate family. In addition, a pre-game social complete with a pep talk from Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair and Hungry Howie?â„¢s Pizza will be held in the Above the Rim Club located on the third floor of Reed Arena.
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
First-year head coach Kevin Borseth was hired in April 2007 to revive the Michigan women?â„¢s basketball program which finished 10-20 overall in 2006-07. Borseth previously led Wisconsin-Green Bay to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and has poised the Wolverines for a turnaround this season. Two of their players, both of whom are Canadians, are coming off the bench to lead U-M in both the scoring and rebounding columns. Sophomore center Krista Phillips is averaging a team-leading 11.4 points, while junior forward Stephany Skrba is averaging 5.6 boards per game. The Wolverines lost their only game of the season to fellow Big 12 school Iowa State (67-43) in the opening round of the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament on Nov. 23 in Nashville, Tenn. ISU snapped U-M?â„¢s three-game win streak as the Cyclones drained 12 three-pointers in the contest.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (5.6 ppg, 4.6 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (15.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (8.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
#33 Ashlaa Horton, F, 6-1, So. (4.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
MICHIGAN
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#34 Jessica Minnfield, G, 5-5, Jr. (8.6 ppg, 2.6 apg)
#40 Janelle Cooper, G, 5-9, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#24 Krista Clement, G, 5-9, Sr. (2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
#21 Carly Vincent, F, 6-2, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#44 Ta?â„¢Shia Walker, C, 6-0, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Thursday?â„¢s matchup will mark a first time meeting between the two schools in the 34-year history of the program at A&M. The Aggies are 4-7 all-time against opponents hailing from the 11-member Big Ten Conference. They have faced six Big Ten schools including Michigan State (0-1), Minnesota (2-3), Northwestern (0-1), Purdue (0-2) and Wisconsin (1-0). A&M recently picked up its fourth all-time win over a Big Ten foe with a 60-48 victory over Indiana (1-0) on Nov. 24 at the 2007 Paradise Jam held in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Texas A&M associate head coach Kelly Bond is all too familiar with the Big Ten. A former point guard for the University of Illinois from 1995-98, she helped the Illini to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 1997 and 1998. Bond also led the squad to the program?â„¢s first Big Ten Championship title in 1997. During her four-year playing career, Illinois went 4-2 against league rival Michigan.
?* A&M posted its second-most victories in school history last year (25) which were four wins more than the 21 victories Michigan totaled in the last three seasons combined in 2004-05 (5-23), 2005-06 (6-23) and 2006-07 (10-20).
?* Thursday?â„¢s meeting will mark only the second time the Aggies have met two Big Ten opponents during the same season next to playing fifth-ranked Purdue on Dec. 1, 1995 and Minnesota on Dec. 13, 1995. A&M went 1-1 in that exchange with a two-point loss to the Boilermakers (74-72) and 43-point victory over the Golden Gophers (92-49).
LOOKING AHEAD
A&M will have a quick turnaround with three games scheduled in the next eight days against Michigan (Nov. 29), TCU (Dec. 2) and Florida State (Dec. 6). The Aggies last faced the Horned Frogs in a 69-65 NCAA First Round loss in 2006 and will return to the Fort Worth area for the first time in 11 years since beating TCU on its home court (92-67) on Jan. 30, 1996. Meanwhile, A&M will begin a new home-and-home series with the No. 21-ranked Seminoles.
GOING FOR 20 ?...
The Aggies will look to extend their home court win streak versus Michigan Thursday. Last season, A&M turned in the best Division I home-court record in the nation going an undefeated 16-0 at Reed Arena. The Aggies have compiled 19 consecutive home wins at Reed Arena which includes two home victories against Big 12 rivals Texas and Iowa State at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season.
?STAR?KS WATCH
Texas A&M junior guard Takia Starks is known for her consistency as she is currently on an 11-game double-digit scoring streak which dates back to the last six games of the 2006-07 season. A preseason All-Big 12 selection and one of the top guards in the league, she is currently the team?â„¢s leading scorer averaging 15.2 points per game. Starks is 88 points shy of reaching the 1,000 career-point plateau and would become only the 19th player in school history to do so. She has scored in double figures in 53 of 69 career games played.
BOARD OPERATORS
The Aggies currently have three players who are looking to gain entrance into the 500-Rebound Club at A&M. Junior center La Toya Micheaux is averaging a team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game and has brought down 422 career boards to date followed by junior guard/forward Danielle Gant (450) and senior forward Patrice Reado (407). The trio account for 40 percent of the team?â„¢s offensive rebounds which ranks second-most in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State. Last week, Reado was A&M?â„¢s second-leading scorer and top rebounder at the 2007 Paradise Jam averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Micheaux missed her first game of her A&M career with migraine headaches against Indiana on Nov. 24. She previously appeared in 68 consecutive contests since the state of her freshman campaign in 2005-06.
TURNOVER MANIA
The A&M defense has forced all five of its 2007-08 season opponents to commit 20-or-more turnovers in a contest. Indiana became the latest victim having turned over the ball 21 times versus the Aggies on Nov. 24. A&M is currently tied for second in the Big 12 in steals (62) and third in turnover margin (+6.4). They have converted 133 points off of opponent turnovers which equates to 43 percent of the team?â„¢s overall scoring through five games played.
AGGIES IN THE RPI
Texas A&M is currently rated No. 28 in the latest CollegeRPI.com index with one of the nation?â„¢s top 50 toughest slates including five opponents with RPI indexes of 25 or better. Michigan enters the contest with a No. 48 RPI rating as a member of the fifth-toughest league in the country. Upcoming A&M opponents Florida State (88), Auburn (17) and George Washington (12) are rated in the top 100 of 339 Division I schools.
PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST
Three of A&M?â„¢s next six opponents are currently ranked in the national polls including dates with No. 21 Florida State (Dec. 6), No. 18 Auburn (Dec. 15) and No. 14 George Washington (Dec. 20). Of the six, three advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago including TCU, FSU and GW. Ironically, A&M has its last three NCAA Tournament opponents booked on the 2007-08 slate including TCU (2006 NCAA First Round), Texas-Arlington (2007 NCAA First Round) and George Washington (2007 NCAA Second Round). Four Aggie opponents are also receiving votes in the national polls including Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
PARADISE JAM RECAP
Texas A&M went 2-1 in tournament play in the St. John Division of the 2007 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands over the Thanksgiving holiday break. The Aggies defeated Wichita State (70-36) and Indiana (60-48) to finish in second-place behind divisional champion Wake Forest. All-Big 12 Conference performers Takia Starks and Danielle Gant were named to the all-tournament team.
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. Play-by-play announcer Tom Turbiville will call the action live from Reed Arena alongside color analyst Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
A&M dropped two spots to No. 13 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and two spots to No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have appeared a program-best 29-straight weeks in the AP Poll and 24-straight weeks in the Coaches Poll since the 2005-06 season. They were ranked No. 11 in both preseason national polls which marked their second-highest ever ranking in school history. A&M is one of four Big 12 schools ranked among the top 25.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee (4-0)
2. Connecticut (5-0)
3. Maryland (8-0)
4. North Carolina (7-0)
5. Rutgers (3-1)
6. Stanford (5-1)
7. Georgia (6-0)
8. LSU (4-2)
9. Oklahoma (2-2)
10. Baylor (5-0)
11. Duke (5-1)
12. California (4-1)
13. Texas A&M (4-1)
14. Arizona State (3-2)
15. West Virginia (5-1)
16. George Washington (5-1)
17. DePaul (4-0)
18. Auburn (6-0)
19. Ohio State (5-1)
20. Michigan State (4-1)
21. Florida State (5-1)
22. Notre Dame (4-1)
23. Vanderbilt (5-1)
24. Texas (4-2)
25. Wyoming (4-0)
ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee (5-0)
2. Connecticut (5-0)
3. Maryland (8-0)
4. North Carolina (7-0)
5. Stanford (5-1)
6. Rutgers (3-1)
7. LSU (4-2)
8. Georgia (6-0)
9. Oklahoma (2-2)
10. Duke (5-1)
11. Baylor (5-0)
12. Texas A&M (4-1)
13. California (4-1)
14. George Washington (5-1)
15. Arizona State (3-2)
16. West Virginia (5-1)
17. Ohio State (5-1)
18. Vanderbilt (5-1)
19. Michigan State (5-1)
20. Auburn (6-0)
21. DePaul (4-0)
22. Florida State (5-1)
23. Notre Dame (4-1)
24. Wyoming (4-0)
25. Texas (4-2)