Texas A&M
19-4, 9-2
Oklahoma
18-4, 8-3
Texas A&M 78, Oklahoma 68
Feb 10, 2007 | Women's Basketball
February 10, 2007
No. 16 Texas A&M came out focused and didn?™t let down as the Aggies swept No. 12 Oklahoma for the first time in school history securing its hold of first-place in the Big 12 Conference title race with a 78-68 win Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena.
With five more games remaining in regular season play, A&M (19-4, 9-2) is tied for first with Nebraska (21-4, 9-2). Leading up to the game, defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma had been tied with both schools in the standings. The Aggies extended their home court win streak to 15-straight games and remain an undefeated 14-0 this season at home.
The Aggie defense forced 24 Oklahoma turnovers in which they converted into 27 points. A&M also got 64 percent of its scoring production from its guard play. Sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) and junior A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) each racked up 25 points apiece.
Starks scored 17 of her 25 points in the first half alone. Franklin dished out a career-high tying 10 assists to record her third career double-double.
Sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 11 points for the Aggies, while Oklahoma (18-4, 8-3) was led by All-American Courtney Paris who registered 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Sooners.
The Aggies shot 5-of-10 from long-range in the first half including a trio of three-pointers by the hot-shooting Starks. A&M lead 37-29 at halftime, but OU would tie the game up at 39-39 with a 10-2 run to start the second half of play.
For the game, A&M shot 45.5 percent from the floor and sophomore La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) grabbed 11 of the team?™s 26 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Sooners went 2-of-11 from beyond the arc and 16-of-28 from the charity stripe.
A&M next travels to Iowa State for a Valentine?™s Day matchup with the Cyclones on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Ames, Iowa.
Postgame Notes?...With the victory, Texas A&M sweeps the regular season series versus defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma for the first time in school history?...The start of the all-time series between the two schools dates back to the 1978-79 season...A&M has now swept four Big 12 South foes in the 11-year history of the league including Oklahoma (2006-07), Texas (2005-06), Baylor (1999-00) and Oklahoma State (1996-97, 2004-05, 2005-06)?...They extend their program-best conference win streak to six-straight games in Big 12 play?...Sophomore Takia Starks knocked down three of six three-point attempts and scored 17 of her 25 points in the first half alone?...Starks has now turned in back-to-back 20-point games for the first time of her career?...She previously had 21 at Missouri on Feb. 7...A&M drained six three-pointers in the game?...The Aggies shot 46.2 percent from long range to mark the seventh time this season to shoot better than 45 percent from beyond the arc?...The A&M defense forced OU to turnover the ball 24 times in the contests?...Aggie opponents have turned over the ball 20-or-more times in 17 of their 22 games played this season?...Junior A?™Quonesia Franklin tallied a career-high 25 points versus the Sooners and has now scored in double figures in eight of the last nine outings for the Aggies?...She also dished out a career-high tying 10 assists to earn her third career double-double?...Of her three double-doubles, it was her second all-time against an Oklahoma squad?...She previously had 20 points and 10 assists versus OU on Jan. 28, 2006, her second 20-point and 10-assist game against the Sooners?...After averaging 30 percent from the floor through Big 12 Conference play, A&M has shot better than 45 percent in its last three contests against Kansas (49.0), Missouri (51.9) and OU (47.5)?...Sophomore La Toya Micheaux brought down 11 rebounds versus OU to mark her fifth time this season to grab double-digit boards?...She had a career-high 12 against OU on Jan. 27?...Oklahoma has gone 1-2 in the Lone Star State this season with a loss to rival Texas on Jan. 31 and a win against Baylor on Jan. 10?...The Aggies become the first Big 12 team to sweep Oklahoma since Texas did so during the 2004-05 season?...Starks and Franklin combined for 50 (64 percent) of the team?™s 78 points...It marked the first time for the Aggies to score 70-or-more points this year since a 74-58 win over Colorado on Jan. 18?...They are now 4-1 against the top 25 this season?...It is the third time this season in which the Aggies have defeated a team ranked higher than themselves in the national polls.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the game ?...
?Every game is the biggest game. I?™m so proud of this team. We played so much better offensively in this ball game then we did when we were at Oklahoma. A lot of that was because of the crowd and because we are very comfortable at home. Takia (Starks) in the first half, was just like Takia against Missouri. She had wide-open shots at Missouri, but they (Oklahoma) were hanging off of her tonight. She made some tough shots down the stretch. We went into halftime and made a couple of adjustments on some sets. We probably did the best job of managing the shot clock, when they took away our first, second and third options. We made the tough pass down the stretch to score."
On the team's guard play against OU ?...
?We had 50 points out of our one and two guards. That?™s a lot of respect for their inside game and that?™s great offense, great transition offense and shooting the ball off the screen. It is post players realizing what their role has to be that night. It?™s really more to stop (Courtney) Paris then for them (guards) to score as much. They did a good job of recognizing that. (Ashlaa) Horton and (La Toya) Micheaux did a great job inside.?
On what's ahead ?...
?We are going to take this win. I?™m going to enjoy it for about 24 hours and then we will have to figure out how to play against the triangle and two, box and one and play against a matchup zone, because we are going to see that in the next two ball games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State. We are going for another first on Wednesday. We?™ve never won in Ames. This team is so good about not getting too high (on themselves). We weren?™t piling on the floor after our win. We respect Oklahoma that much. Our guards did a good job on (Erin) Higgins and (Chelsi) Welch early. They (OU) were rotating so many point guards in the first half. (Jenna) Plumley really did a good job. We answered their run (in the second half) and came back just like we have all season.?
TEXAS A&M SOPHOMORE GUARD TAKIA STARKS
On what has changed with her shooting ?...
?I think it?™s all due to confidence. When you are in a (shooting) slump, a shooter never stops shooting. That?™s what I tried to do. I figured that I would come out of it (slump) sometime. I just stayed confident. My confidence from the Missouri game carried over to today.?
On beating OU in Norman ?...
?Oklahoma is Oklahoma. We were really glad to get a win over there. Not too many people can win at OU. Teams defend their home court very well and to sneak a win like that, we just took it as it came. This is our home court and we have to protect it like we have been doing all year.?
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR GUARD A?™QUONESIA FRANKLIN
On her performance in the second half ?...
?In the first half, Takia (Starks) did a great job and put us on her back and carried us with 17 points. At halftime, Coach Blair said that Takia had done her job and that they were going to pick up the defensive pressure, but who?™s going to step up in the second half? So, that?™s what I tried to do (in the second half).?
On the sweep over Oklahoma and first-place in the Big 12 ?...
?It just means a lot. It shows that the skies the limit for us. It shows that we have as much athleticism as anyone in the Big 12 or even in the country. It?™s a great feeling, but the Big 12 is the Big 12. Every game is going to be a horse race. We have to take one game at a time starting with Iowa State (on Wednesday night).?
On Oklahoma?™s guards ?...
?Kendra (Moore) and Britney (Brown) are great point guards and have been great since they?™ve been in the conference. (Jenna) Plumley is a great shooter. She?™s a good point guard and she got the momentum going for them at the start of the second half.?
TEXAS A&M SOPHOMORE CENTER LA TOYA MICHEAUX
On defending OU All-American Courtney Paris who was playing with four fouls ?...
?When she picked up her second foul, I felt more coming. She was going for the blocks. (When she sat on the bench with four fouls) I knew we had to step up while she was out of the game. We did a good job of that and it was crucial. She was scoring and rebounding and we did not do a good job of stopping her. But, (Courtney) Paris is not OU. We beat the team as a whole and overall, I think we did a good job today.?
OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH SHERRI COALE
On Texas A&M ?...
?I thought Texas A&M?™s guard play was outstanding. (A?™Quonesia) Franklin and (Takia) Starks were really good. Starks went crazy on us in the first half. Amanda Thompson did a nice job on her in the second half. It really was Franklin?™s poise. She just runs the show. We?™d trap her and she was patient. She made some really tough shots in the middle of the lane. I don?™t think it was necessarily poor defense, but it was just her making good plays. She was terrific all night long. We were dismal from the free throw line and could have changed the game, if we had made some free throws. Too many turnovers, too many missed possessions.?
On OU?™s guard play ?...
?Well, in the final 10 minutes of the first half, we didn?™t turn it over one time. That?™s when those young guys were in there. I liked their poise and I liked what they did. I thought they deserved a shot. We put them in the game and they were good. We decided to go with it. We are looking for a field general. There?™s no doubt about that.?
OKLAHOMA SOPHOMORE CENTER COURTNEY PARIS
On Texas A&M ?...
?I thought they played really well. I thought their guards, Franklin and Starks, did a great job and made some shots. You have to really credit them for making big time plays.?
On Oklahoma?™s swagger ?...
?We are not having fun and not being Oklahoma. We have to get swagger and we don?™t have any. I don?™t think we?™ve had it all year. You have to create it. If it us young guys creating it then that?™s what it is. When we do play with it, we are a good team. I think we think things carry over from last year. It?™s just swagger, confidence, playing together and having fun. We don?™t have that yet, but we are going to get it.?
OKLAHOMA FRESHMAN GUARD JENNA PLUMLEY
On the team?™s play ?...
?I felt really confident coming in. Our main goal was to get the ball to Courtney (Paris) and to get to the free throw line and extend it to the baseline, because no one can guard Courtney. Nobody can guard her in the country. That?™s our main thing every game. I felt that we passed up some open things. Turnovers really killed us, our free throws, but what Courtney says, our swagger. We say we have it, but we really don?™t. We see it at points in time, but then it goes away. It is so much harder to gain it back. Our team, we just have to find it.?
OKLAHOMA FRESHMAN FORWARD AMANDA THOMPSON
On her increased minutes in the game ?...
?I think I can bring a lot of energy and penetration. We need to open the game up and get a little bit of momentum. If we all come in with a lot of energy, I think we can pull it out. I was used to the in-and-out type of thing. I had to learn how to play through today. It wasn?™t difficult. When I make a mistake, I have to learn that I cannot do that. You have to learn from those mistakes for the next time.?
