December 14, 2007
The No. 12/11-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (8-1) is off to one of its best starts in the first nine games of the season as the Aggies similarly opened the 2004-05 campaign with an 8-1 record. It will be a tale of two top 15 programs as A&M hosts its first tilt against a nationally-ranked opponent with No. 14/14 Auburn (9-0) on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena. A&M will look to defend its school-best 22 consecutive home court winning streak against a mirror image of themselves with a quick and athletic Auburn squad. The Aggie defense is currently holding opponents to 50.9 points per game which ranks 10th-best in the country, while the Tigers rank 11th in scoring offense averaging 78.6 points per game. A win will likely secure either team?â„¢s position in the top 15 and possible advancement into the top 10. A&M has not hosted a top 25 non-conference opponent at home since a 78-59 loss to No. 10 Vanderbilt on Nov. 18, 1997. Furthermore, Auburn will be the first top 25 non-conference women?â„¢s basketball opponent A&M will host in the 10-year history of Reed Arena. Saturday?â„¢s face-off between the Aggies and Tigers will mark the first regular-season game versus a top 25 non-conference opponent since A&M lost to No. 17 DePaul (84-71) in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 26, 2005 in Honolulu.
GAME PROMOTIONS
The Half-Price Holiday Hoops promotion continues as tickets will be available for purchase for as low as $2 (general admission and gallery), $4.50 (mezzanine) and $5.50 (courtside) for the Auburn, Texas-Arlington, North Carolina A&T and Stephen F. Austin women?â„¢s games. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE. Saturday?â„¢s contest will also mark the fourth of five men?â„¢s and women?â„¢s basketball games that Aggie Athletes Involved will conduct their annual Toy Drive during the holiday season. All donations will benefit Toys for Tots and fans who donate an item will receive half-price admission into the game. Santa Claus will also make a special appearance at Reed Arena. Children of all ages are invited to meet Santa one hour prior to tipoff at the Blair Kids Court. Fans are encouraged to bring their cameras for photo opportunities with Santa.
EYEING THE TIGERS
Auburn remains one of nine unbeaten squads in the country with the likes of three fellow league teams from the always powerful Southeastern Conference including defending national champion Tennessee (8-0), Georgia (9-0), Arkansas (10-0), DePaul (8-0), Baylor (7-0), VCU (7-0), Oklahoma State (8-0) and Connecticut (7-0). The Tigers are tied for the second-most victories among the unbeatens with a total of six teams hailing from both the SEC and Big 12. A&M will mark the Tigers?â„¢ third top 25 opponent of the season next to road victories over No. 15 Ohio State (67-58) on Nov. 25 in the championship game of the Buckeye Classic in Columbus, Ohio, and No. 14 Arizona State (75-69) on Dec. 2 in the championship game of the ASU Classic in Tempe, Ariz. OSU and ASU have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in the last three years. Auburn currently ranks among the top 25 NCAA statistical leaders in eight categories including scoring margin (7th, 23.6), field-goal percentage (21st, 46.7), three-point field goal percentage (5th, 40.7), assists per game (17th, 17.6), personal fouls per game (10th, 13.9) and assist turnover ratio (9th, 1.14). Junior guard Whitney Boddie has dished out a team-best 6.6 assists per contest which ranks 15th nationally, while junior combination guard/forward DeWanna Bonner is averaging near double-double numbers with 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Last season, the Tigers lost to Kansas State (67-54) in the Postseason WNIT quarterfinals to end the season with a 21-13 overall record. Auburn?â„¢s current top 25 status marked its first appearance in the national polls since being ranked No. 24 in 2003-04. The Tigers were not ranked in the preseason, but made their debut at No. 25 in the Coaches Poll during week 2 and have steadily climbed in the national polls ever since.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.9 ppg, 4.6 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
#33 Ashlaa Horton, F, 6-1, So. (3.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (5.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
AUBURN
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#44 Whitney Boddie, G, 5-9, Jr. (11.7 ppg, 6.6 apg)
#12 Sherell Hobbs, G, 5-11, Jr. (13.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
#4 Tamela McCorvey, G, 5-9, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
#24 DeWanna Bonner, G/F, 6-4, Jr. (17.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg)
#21 Jordan Greenleaf, F, 6-1, So. (5.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
AGAINST THE SEC
Texas A&M is 8-31 all-time against teams hailing from the SEC. The Aggies last met an SEC school 10 years ago with a 82-79 loss to Mississippi in the consolation game of the Northern Lights Invitational on Dec. 20, 1997 in Anchorage, Alaska. A&M lost in the opening round of the tournament to another SEC opponent in top-ranked Tennessee (105-81). Ironically, that was the same season (1997-98) in which the Aggies hosted their last top 25 opponent at home in 10th-ranked Vanderbilt on Nov. 18, 1997 at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M moved into Reed Arena a year later. Their longest standing series versus an SEC foe is a 2-20 all-time series with Arkansas, a former old Southwest Conference rival. A&M has faced LSU (4-7), Florida (1-0), Vanderbilt (0-2), Tennessee (0-1) and Ole Miss (1-1).
BACK-TO-BACK TOUGHNESS
No. 22 George Washington (7-3) is up next for the Aggies as the team visits our nation?â„¢s capital for a Dec. 20 rematch with the Colonials. Last year, GW knocked A&M out of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-47 second-round loss in Los Angeles. The Aggies will take time out to visit the White House, the Pentagon and other national monuments while in the District of Columbia. Since 1994, A&M has only faced two-or-more top 25 opponents in non-conference play on two occasions including No. 16 Duke, No. 5 Purdue and No. 20 Ole Miss during the 1995-96 season and No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Stephen F. Austin, No. 8 Arizona and No. 1 Tennessee during the 1997-98 season.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 6-6 all-time versus Auburn in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. He previously held SEC ties as the head coach at Arkansas from 1993-2003. Blair compiled a 198-120 record (.623) with the Lady Razorbacks who reached the NCAA Final Four in 1998 under his watch. Associate head coaches Vic Schaefer and Kelly Bond were also a part of Blair?â„¢s coaching staff at Arkansas, while first-year assistant coach Johnnie Harris most recently spent the last three seasons at Arkansas under former head coach Susie Gardner.
?* A&M is 4-1 this season against first-time opponents including victories over Indiana, Michigan, Florida State and New Orleans and a loss to Wake Forest. The Aggies have a total of seven first time meetings scheduled on this year?â„¢s slate including Auburn and North Carolina A&T. In fact, A&M?â„¢s non-conference scheduling has looked very football school friendly with the likes of the Michigan?â„¢s from the Big Ten, the Florida State?â„¢s from the ACC and Auburn?â„¢s of the SEC.
?* The Aggies became the first Big 12 school this season to defeat an ACC opponent with a 81-67 victory over 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 participant Florida State on Dec. 6. They could up the conference?â„¢s current record against SEC opponents (5-4) with a win Saturday. Colorado recently upset No. 20 Vanderbilt (62-51) on Dec. 9 to give the Buffaloes back-to-back wins over top 25 opponents. In the month of November, Nebraska beat Ole Miss and Florida, Texas defeated Kentucky and Oklahoma beat Mississippi State.
?* Both A&M and Auburn had time away from the court to focus on final exams this week. The Aggies are coming off a six-day break between games having last played New Orleans (73-44) on Dec. 9, while Auburn enjoyed a 10-day break having last played Colgate (99-47) on Dec. 5. The final grades for each coaching staff will be given out after Saturday?â„¢s game according to Coach Blair in his weekly press conference.
FRIEND AND FOE
Who would have thought a friend could become a foe? But often times in the basketball world, friendships are put aside until the final buzzer sounds on the court. Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair will take on two of his closest friends in the coaching fraternity in back-to-back games with Auburn head coach Nell Fortner and George Washington head coach Joe McKeown. A former standout at rival Texas, Fortner played for Hall of Famer Jody Conradt from 1978-81 and remains one of the top scoring leaders for the Longhorns. After graduation, she served as a graduate assistant coach under Coach Blair at Stephen F. Austin in 1987-88 and later as a full-time assistant coach from 1988-90. She is most noted for leading the U.S. Women?â„¢s National Team to a gold-medal finish at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Like Blair, she served as an assistant coach under legendary coach Leon Barmore at Louisiana Tech from 1991-95 prior to becoming the head coach at Purdue in 1997. Blair credits Fortner for instilling the run and jump defense at SFA and calls her a, ?heck of a coach and a heck of a competitor.? Fortner is in her fourth season at Auburn.
THE 500 CLUB
Senior point guard A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) looks to become the third A&M player in school history to surpass the 500-career assist mark with 495 career assists to date. In fact, only 10 league players have dished out 500-or-more assists in Big 12 Conference history including all-time leaders Erin Grant of Texas Tech (844), Stacey Dales of Oklahoma (764) and Toccara Williams (724) of Texas A&M (724). Franklin currently ranks 11th all-time among Big 12 assist leaders. She is averaging 4.6 assists per game and is one of two Aggies to start and play in all nine games of the season. A preseason All-Big 12 selection and an AP All-America honorable mention in 2007, Franklin ranks third all-time in career three-pointers made (121) and third all-time in career assists behind former All-American Lisa Branch (795) and Toccara Williams. Franklin has dished out a season-high six assists on three occasions this year against Prairie View A&M, Indiana and Florida State. A&M?â„¢s floor general has also gone without a turnover in the last two contests versus FSU and New Orleans.
STARKS CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Junior Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) is close to becoming the 19th women?â„¢s basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau as she is three points shy of the milestone with 997 career points to date. Senior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) has already accumulated 1,030 career points and the pair could become only the sixth Aggie 1,000-career point duo in school history. Starks has registered three 20-point outbursts in the last four-game stretch and is averaging a team-leading 17.9 points per game which ranks third-best among Big 12 scoring leaders.
1,000 Career-Point Duos and Trios In School History
Lisa Langston, Michelle Tatum and Jenni Edgar in 1984-85
Donna Roper and Lisa Jordon in 1988-89
Prissy Sharpe and Kera Alexander in 1999-00
Lisa Branch and Martha McClelland in 1994-95
Brandy Jones and Jaynetta Saunders in 2000-01
THE GRADUATES
Senior LaToya Gulley (Fayetteville, Ark.) will graduate in three and a half years from A&M with a bachelor?â„¢s degree in agricultural leadership with future aspirations of obtaining a master?â„¢s degree in leadership. She is one of two Aggies to participant in December commencement this weekend along with former player Jamila Ganter (Texarkana, Texas) who will graduate with a degree in human resources with a business minor. Gulley is one of two scholars on this year?â„¢s roster to graduate in three and a half years or less next to senior Katy Pounds (Shallowater, Texas) who graduated in the spring with a bachelor?â„¢s degree in sport management. Pounds and Ganter are currently serving on the sidelines as student assistant coaches with career-ending injuries. Ganter played three seasons as a back-up point guard from 2004-06, while Pounds was a three-point scoring threat for the Aggies from 2005-07. Gulley is averaging a career-best 8.6 minutes on the court this season and has become one of the team?â„¢s top defensive stoppers off the bench. All three were a part of Blair?â„¢s first recruiting class at A&M.
DOUBLE DOSE OF GANT
Junior Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) is currently on a four-game double-digit scoring streak having picked up her fourth career 20-point game with a career-high 25 points against NCAA Sweet 16 participant Florida State on Dec. 6. She shot a season-best 10-of-16 from the floor versus the Seminoles including 17 first-half points. Gant later reset her career-high with a 28-point outburst against New Orleans on Dec. 9. She also turned in her first double-double of the season with a season-high 14 rebounds versus UNO. It marked her eighth career double-double and fifth 20-point game at A&M. Last week, she averaged a team-leading 26.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks against the Seminoles and Lady Privateers combined. Gant shot an impressive 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the floor and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the charity stripe and recorded back-to-back 20-point games for the first time of her career. The Big 12?â„¢s inaugural Sixth Man Award winner a year ago, Gant has started in eight games this season after making only 19 starts in 64 career games played prior to the start of her junior campaign.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Player vs. Opponent (Date) Statistics
Ashlaa Horton at SMU (11/9/07) 10 points, 15 rebounds
La Toya Micheaux vs. Prairie View A&M (11/15/07) 15 points, 10 rebounds
Danielle Gant vs. New Orleans (12/9/07) 28 points, 14 rebounds
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
The Aggies have compiled a school-record 22 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. Last season, A&M turned in the best Division I home-court record in the nation going an undefeated 16-0 at Reed Arena which marked the program?â„¢s first-ever unblemished record at home. The Aggies previously won 17 consecutive home games during former head coach Lynn Hickey?â„¢s final season in 1993-94 and former head coach Candi Harvey?â„¢s first season in 1994-95. The streak began with a 75-74 win over Texas on Jan. 11, 1994 to a 101-47 victory over TCU on Jan. 28, 1995. A&M is currently one of nine Big 12 schools which remain undefeated at its home venue with a perfect 4-0 mark.
AGGIES IN THE RPI
Texas A&M is currently rated No. 8 in the latest RPI index according to CollegeRPI.com. The Aggies boast the nation?â„¢s 19th strongest schedule with upcoming opponents Auburn and George Washington rated No. 40 and No. 25 respectively. A&M is the highest-rated Big 12 school in the RPI and one of two league members in the top 10 along with Kansas at No. 9. The Big 12 is rated the nation?â„¢s top conference with league members winning 80 percent of their games, while the SEC is ranked fourth best behind the Big East and ACC.
NEW ORLEANS RECAP
Junior Danielle Gant scored a career-high 28 points to lead No. 11 Texas A&M to a 29-point rout of New Orleans, 73-44, at Reed Arena. Gant shot 10-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line to extend the Aggies?â„¢ win streak to its fifth-straight of the season. She recorded her eighth career double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds which was two short of her career-best in the category. Gant scored 16 of her 28 points in the second half of play. Junior La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) contributed 11 points to the winning cause including seven of A&M?â„¢s first 13, while junior Takia Starks had 10. A&M took a 13-point lead into halftime, 37-25. Jada Frazier came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points for the Lady Privateers. A three-pointer by teammate Candice McGee cut the lead to 10 points in the second half, 38-28, but UNO never got within single digits for the remainder of the game. The Aggie defense held the Lady Privateers to an opponent season low 27.7 (13-of-47) shooting from the floor, while A&M shot 41.7 percent. The Aggies also dished out a combined 17 assists, nine blocks and 10 steals.
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.
TEXAS A&M IN THE TOP 25
A&M remained in the No. 12 spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have appeared a program-best 31-straight weeks in the AP Poll and 26-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 five Big 12 schools ranked among the top 25 including No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Baylor, No. 20/23 Texas and No. 22/24 Oklahoma State. League rivals Iowa State, Texas Tech, Colorado and Kansas are also receiving votes in the polls.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee (7-0)
2. Connecticut (7-0)
3. North Carolina (10-1)
4. Maryland (13-1)
5. Stanford (7-1)
6. Rutgers (6-2)
7. Georgia (9-0)
8. LSU (6-2)
9. Oklahoma (6-2)
10. Baylor (6-0)
11. California (8-1)
12. Texas A&M (8-1)
13. West Virginia (8-1)
14. Auburn (9-0)
15. Duke (7-3)
16. DePaul (7-0)
17. Notre Dame (8-1)
18. Arizona State (5-3)
19. Ohio State (6-2)
20. Texas (7-2)
21. Michigan State (7-2)
22. Oklahoma State (8-0)
23. Vanderbilt (8-3)
24. Wyoming (8-1)
25. Old Dominion (6-3)
ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Tennessee (7-0)
2. Connecticut (7-0)
3. North Carolina (10-1)
4. Stanford (7-1)
5. Maryland (13-1)
6. Rutgers (7-2)
7. Georgia (9-0)
8. LSU (6-2)
9. Oklahoma (6-2)
10. Baylor (6-0)
11. Texas A&M (8-1)
12. California (8-2)
13. West Virginia (8-1)
14. Auburn (9-0)
15. Duke (7-3)
16. DePaul (7-0)
17T. Notre Dame (8-1)
17T. Ohio State (6-2)
19. Arizona State (5-3)
20. Vanderbilt (8-3)
21. Michigan State (7-2)
22. George Washington (7-3)
23. Texas (7-2)
24. Oklahoma State (8-0)
25. Wyoming (8-1)