Texas A&M
11-2
North Carolina A&T
7-4
Texas A&M 74, North Carolina A&T 65
Dec 30, 2007 | Women's Basketball
December 30, 2007
Junior Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) registered her third career double-double with a game-high 23 points and career-high tying 11 rebounds to lead No. 12 Texas A&M to a 74-65 victory over North Carolina A&T Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena.
Junior Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) also scored in double figures with 20 points as did senior A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) who had 14. Gant reached two milestones in the contest as she became the 17th player in school history to record 500 career rebounds with nine boards against the Lady Aggies. A&M also shot a school-record 96.0 percent from the free throw line (24-of-25) behind Gant?™s perfect 10-of-10 performance.
For much of the contest, A&M (11-2) had its nation-leading home court winning streak in jeopardy as the North Carolina A&T (7-4) pressure defense gave the Aggies trouble all night. The lead changed 12 times and the score was tied on 13 occasions. A&M went into the lockerroom with a 42-32 advantage on a three-pointer by Starks with seven seconds left to increase the Aggies?™ lead to double digits for the first and only time in the ballgame.
North Carolina A&T began the second half on an 11-3 run and a jumper by Lonise Coulter put the Lady Aggies within two of A&M with 12:11 to go in regulation. Coulter followed up with a jumper in the lane to tie the game up at 45 at the 10:59 minute mark.
A&M hit their first basket with 9:51 remaining on a layup in traffic by Gant. It was A&M?™s first since a three-point play by Franklin in the opening seconds (19:26) of the half.
With under seven and a half minutes to go, Starks drained back-to-back threes to build on A&M?™s late second-half rally. Missed free throw opportunities by N.C. A&T put A&M in the driver?™s seat for the rest of the way. The Lady Aggies had four players score in double figures including a team-high 23 points from Amber Bland and 15 from Ta?™Wuana Cook.
Up next, A&M will ring in the New Year with Stephen F. Austin (3-8) on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Postgame Notes?...For the first time this season, A&M used the starting lineup of A?™Quonesia Franklin, Takia Starks, Morenike Atunrase, Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux (1-0)?...It marked the first time the Aggies played its original starting five from last year?™s NCAA Tournament and Big 12 Champion squad?...Atunrase started for the first time this year after missing nine games of the season recovering from surgery to correct a non-healing stress fracture in her right tibia?...With her 23 points against North Carolina A&T, Starks moved into the top 10 among all-time leading scorers at A&M?...She has tabulated 1,063 career points to date and ranks ninth, while Atunrase ranks 10th with 1,056 career points?...Starks extended her double-digit scoring streak to 19 consecutive games which dates back to the last six games of the 2006-07 season?...She also turned in her third career double-double with a career-high tying 11 rebounds?...The Aggies saw its fourth-largest crowd this season at Reed Arena with 3,010 fans in attendance?...The score was tied 13 times and the lead changed 12 times in the ballgame?...A&M is now 6-1 in first time meetings with opponents this season and take a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with N.C. A&T?...The Aggies outrebounded the visiting Lady Aggies, 44-31?...Senior Patrice Reado did not play against N.C. A&T due to a sprained ankle and is expected to return for the Stephen F. Austin game on Jan. 3?...A&M shot a school-record 96.0 percent (24-of-25) from the free throw line which erased the previous record of 92.9 percent (13-of-14) vs. Panola JC on Jan. 28, 1981 and 92.9 percent (13-of-14) vs. Kansas on Jan. 2, 1999?...Gant (10-of-10) became only the third player in school history to go perfect on 10-or-more attempts from the free throw line next to a school-best 12-of-12 performance by Lisa Branch vs. Notre Dame on Dec. 3, 1995 and 10-of-10 performances by Branch vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 3, 1994 and Janet Duckham vs. Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 4, 1982?...Gant also became the 17th member of A&M?™s 500-Rebound Club with her first board of the night against North Carolina A&T?...She has grabbed 508 career rebounds to date?...With the victory, A&M has now won a school-record 25 consecutive home games at Reed Arena which continues to lead the nation.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the game ?...
?We were in foul trouble, but will still executed and made a run like we did in our previous ballgame. I thought we were in pretty good shape. In the second half, they started mixing up their defenses with a lot of traps. Our turnovers hurt in the second half. I thought we just had poor decision making. Give them credit. They were hitting shots. Our half-court defense was not very good. They shot 42 percent in the second half. It was a ballgame that exploited a lot of weaknesses on our team that will give us something to work on in practice. We have to get better on the practice court and make better decisions and not worry about who we are playing and worry about ourselves. Most of our turnovers were unforced tonight and we have to do a better job. I felt our bench played very well for us.?
On Takia Starks?™ double-double performance ?...
?Tonight, I felt she had a complete ballgame where she played on both ends of the court. She did a lot of little things. She made mistakes like everybody else on the defensive end. But, on the offensive end, she was constantly moving.?
On the team?™s school-record free throw percentage and the strength of A&M?™s schedule ?...
?When you make a school-record in free throws, you look to see who is going to the line. It?™s generally your best shooters. When you are playing a trapping defense, you are going to penetrate and get fouled. I?™m pleased with how we finished the ballgame and finished the first half. There were 20 minutes in the ballgame that wasn?™t pleasant to coach. One thing we are doing is facing good teams. These are not no-name teams. The last two teams we played are NCAA-caliber teams in UTA and North Carolina A&T. We are bringing in teams to get us ready for conference play. Patricia Cage-Bibbs is one of the best coaches around and I am happy for her and what she has done at North Carolina A&T.?
JUNIOR GUARD TAKIA STARKS
On the game ?...
?The game wasn?™t really flowing well for us tonight. We?™re a pressing team and they are a pressing team. It?™s tough when both teams are both pressing. The flow of the game is going to be up and down. Whoever has the most runs will come out on top. We just have to work through the ups and downs.?
SENIOR GUARD A?™QUONESIA FRANKLIN
On what changed in the game for A&M in the second half ?...
?At the end of the first half, we just had more intensity. We got a lot of steals and upped our defense. We made them turn over the ball a lot. They had the momentum for the first 10 minutes of the second half. When T-Kay (Starks) hit that three at seven minutes, we knew we would take over the game.?
NORTH CAROLINA A&T HEAD COACH PATRICIA CAGE-BIBBS
On the game and A&M?™s school-record free throw percentage ?...
?It was great coming in here to play. Our kids played very well. We didn?™t do exactly what we needed to do and had a couple of missed opportunities. We played well against an outstanding team. I have so much respect for Coach Blair and he?™s such a great defensive coach. They play great defense and I enjoy it to. This experience helps us grow. We are going to do some good things this season and I think we were right there with them tonight. It?™s good when you have (Danielle) Gant shooting 100 percent from the free throw line. Free throw shooting is what wins ballgames. We had the opportunity to do the same, but we didn?™t knock them down tonight.?
