December 29, 2007
The 12th-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (10-2) continues its four-game homestand with another defensive-minded squad in North Carolina A&T (7-3) on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. In a first time meeting between the two schools, A&M will look to defend its home court once more prior to the start of the New Year. The Aggies currently hold the nation?â„¢s longest home-court winning streak having won 24 consecutive games in the friendly confines of Reed Arena. They will look to close out 2007 with 15-straight wins at the venue dating back to a Jan. 2 victory over Western Illinois. It will be a tough task as the visiting Aggies will look to pull off the upset behind an aggressive defensive attack that mirrors A&M. Ranked among the nation?â„¢s top 15 in scoring defense annually, A&M currently ranks third in the Big 12 Conference in the category holding opponents to 53.2 points per game and a league-best 21.5 percentage from beyond the arc. The home-hosting Aggies are also 5-1 this season when meeting an opponent for the first time on the hardwood including wins over No. 14 Auburn, Florida State, Indiana, Michigan and New Orleans.
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 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. Sunday?â„¢s contest versus North Carolina A&T will feature the ?Have a Little Faith? promotion as fans who attend church in the Bryan-College Station area will receive free admission to the game by presenting a program or bulletin from their morning services at the ticket window.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T
North Carolina A&T has won six of its last eight contests including a 66-41 win over Campbell on Dec. 19 prior to the holiday break. The Aggies?â„¢ three losses of the season came against Liberty (68-64) on Nov. 16, Virginia Tech (85-56) on Dec. 5 and North Carolina State (75-61) on Dec. 16. All three of those schools have advanced to the NCAA Tournament over the last two years including a 2007 Sweet 16 appearance for N.C. State. Last season, N.C. A&T?â„¢s second-place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference was the school?â„¢s highest in 12 years. They finished an impressive 17-13 overall and 12-6 in league play. Junior guard Amber Bland, a first-team All-MEAC selection a year ago, is the team?â„¢s leading scorer averaging 13.5 points per game. She notched a season-high 26 points in the team?â„¢s last outing versus Campbell. N.C. A&T will close out non-conference play with a stop at Big 12 rival Baylor on Jan. 2 to ring in the New Year. The Aggies are also led by returning MEAC Freshman of the Year Ta?â„¢Wuana Cook who is the team?â„¢s floor general and second-leading scorer (11.0 ppg).
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.7 ppg, 4.8 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (13.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, So. (5.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
NORTH CAROLINA A&T
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#5 Ta?â„¢Wuana Cook, G, 5-8, So. (11.0 ppg, 2.3 apg)
#23 Amber Bland, G, 5-11, Jr. (13.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
#3 Tyronnica Alford, G, 5-8, So. (4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
#32 Jaleesa Sams, F, 5-11, Fr. (8.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
#45 Lamona Smalley, F, 6-0, So. (8.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
AGAINST THE MEAC
Texas A&M is 1-0 all-time against schools hailing from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Last season, A&M defeated Delaware State (70-43) on Dec. 20, 2006 at Reed Arena. The Lady Hornets went on to win the MEAC Tournament Championship and earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. North Carolina A&T was picked to finish third behind Coppin State and Delaware State by the league?â„¢s head coaches and sports information directors in the MEAC preseason poll.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair has never faced a North Carolina A&T squad in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. However, he is 4-0 all-time against MEAC schools with wins over Florida A&M (1-0), Hampton (1-0) and Howard (1-0) during head coaching stints at Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin.
?* North Carolina A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs is also in her 23rd year as an NCAA Division I head coach after rebuilding jobs at her alma mater Grambling State and Hampton. With an 88-62 victory over UNC Asheville on Nov. 23, Cage-Bibbs became the 38th active Division I women?â„¢s basketball coach to record 400 career wins and just the second-ever women?â„¢s basketball coach to do so at a historically black college or university. Meanwhile, Blair currently ranks 24th among active D-I coaches with 491 career victories to date.
?* For the second time this season, Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer will reunite with one of his U.S. Women?â„¢s Jones Cup Team players. Over the summer, Schaefer led the U.S. women to a bronze-medal finish with a 4-2 record in tournament pool play defeating the likes of Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in Taipei, Taiwan. The 12-player squad included Texas A&M junior center La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) as well as North Carolina A&T junior combination guard/forward Brittanie Taylor-James who is a transfer from UC Santa Barbara. Taylor-James has played in all 10 games of the season and is the team?â„¢s third-leading scorer averaging 9.4 points per game.
GIG ?'EM AGGIES?
A&M is one of five Division I schools nicknamed the Aggies along with North Carolina A&T, New Mexico State, UC Davis and Utah State. However, North Carolina A&T is the only Division I school east of the Mississippi River to be nicknamed the Aggies and is located in the largest city of all five universities with a population of more than 200,000 in Greensboro, N.C. In fact, this will be A&M?â„¢s third all-time meeting with another Aggie squad next to playing Utah State (1-0) in 2005 and New Mexico State (1-0) in 1981.
OOPS, THEY DID IT AGAIN!
The A&M defense has caused havoc on the court for opponents as 10 of the team?â„¢s 12 opponents this season have turned over the ball 20-or-more times in a ballgame. UT Arlington last turned over the ball an opponent season-high 35 times versus the Aggies on Dec. 28. Overall, A&M has converted 314 points off of opponent turnovers which equates to 39 percent of the team?â„¢s overall scoring through 12 games played. UTA became the seventh opponent over the last two seasons to turn the ball over 30-or-more times against the Aggies. The Mavericks came into the contest averaging just 18.7 turnovers per game.
COUNTDOWN TO THE NEW YEAR
The Aggies will ring in the New Year by closing out non-conference play with Stephen F. Austin (3-7) on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. A&M will then open up Big 12 Conference play against Kansas State (6-5) on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. Both games will conclude a four-game homestand for the Aggies at Reed Arena.
UT ARLINGTON RECAP
Three players scored in double figures to keep No. 12 Texas A&M?â„¢s home court win streak alive with a 69-55 victory over UT Arlington on Dec. 28. Junior Danielle Gant turned in a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while senior Patrice Reado contributed 12 points and five rebounds to extend the Aggies?â„¢ home court win streak to 24 consecutive games which leads the nation. The Mavericks may have been seeking a little revenge from a 58-50 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago in Los Angeles. UTA outrebounded the Aggies by a margin of 40-33 on the glass, but A&M countered by scoring 34 points off of an opponent season-high 35 turnovers in the ballgame. In the first half of play, both teams seemed a little rusty after the Christmas holiday break committing 31 combined turnovers in the first period alone. A&M was coming off an eight-day layoff since an overtime loss at No. 22 George Washington on Dec. 20, while UTA last played on Dec. 21. The Aggies could not shake off the Mavs as the lead changed six times including an eight-point deficit with 6:19 to go in the first half. A&M later went on a 17-4 run to reclaim the advantage. A three-pointer by junior Takia Starks in the final seconds of the first period gave the Aggies a 34-29 lead at halftime. In the second half, A&M picked up its defense and minimized turnovers. The Aggies never trailed as Starks ended the night with 13 points, two blocks and three steals. Despite the loss, UTA used a balanced scoring attack which included 12-point efforts by Shalyn Martin and Erin Dixon. Leading scorer Maryann Abanobi was limited to 11 points, while Tiffeny Riles added 10.
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 Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.