Texas A&M
(22-5, 12-3)
Baylor
(24-5, 11-4)
Texas A&M 63, Baylor 58
Feb 25, 2007 | Women's Basketball
February 25, 2007
Sophomore Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half to lead No. 16 Texas A&M past No. 14 Baylor, 63-58, Sunday at the Ferrell Center.
Texas A&M (22-5, 12-3) won both games against Baylor this season and can capture its first-ever conference title with a win Wednesday against Texas. It can also clinch the title with an Oklahoma loss.
Gant hit all seven of her shot attempts in the second half and combined with sophomore Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) to score 32 of Texas A&M?™s 35 points after halftime.
Bernice Mosby scored 24 points for Baylor (24-5, 11-4). She scored 18 in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting, but she struggled to get open looks in the second half and missed five of six shots.
The Lady Bears only had one field goal in the final 8:09. Baylor shot 20 percent (6-of-30) in the second half and missed all 12 three-pointers it attempted. The Lady Bears were the third A&M opponent this season to go without a three-pointer. The Aggies came into the game as the Big 12 leader in three-point field goal defense (27.6).
Starks, Texas A&M?™s leading scorer at 14 points per game, scored all 14 of her points in the second half. She didn?™t score until hitting a 15-foot jumper with 12:44 left. Starks hit a jumper with 5:40 left that gave the Aggies the lead for good at 55-54. Two possessions later, she nailed a 15-footer to put Texas A&M ahead by three points.
Baylor got within 57-56 on Danielle Wilson?™s layup with 3:34 left. But Gant hit two consecutive short jumpers ?- the last of which put Texas A&M ahead 61-56 with 1:48 remaining.
The Lady Bears then got a pair of free throws from Angela Tisdale and forced the Aggies into a shot clock violation. That gave Baylor a chance to tie the game in the final minute.
But Starks stole a pass from Mosby and drove for an uncontested layup that gave Texas A&M a 63-58 lead with 30.5 seconds remaining. That capped a second half in which neither team led by more than five points. Baylor led 32-28 behind Mosby?™s 18 points.
Texas A&M led 13-4 in the game?™s first five minutes thanks to early 10-0 flurry. But Mosby scored seven points a 15-2 run that put Baylor ahead 19-15 midway through the opening half.
The Aggies will vie for its first Big 12 Conference title as they host rival Texas (17-12, 6-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Reed Arena at 6 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net.
Postgame Notes...For only the second time in league history, Texas A&M swept Baylor in the home-and-home series?...The Aggies previously swept Baylor during the 1999-2000 season?...Both teams are now tied 36-36 in the all-time series?...They have now gone a program-best 8-1 against the Big 12 South this season?...A&M had never swept conference giants such as Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma during the same season?...The Aggies claimed their program-best 12th victory in Big 12 Conference play and conference competition all-time (Southwest Conference and Big 12 combined)?...Junior Morenike Atunrase was one of three A&M players to score in double figures with 11 points?...It marked her the third-straight game in double figures for the Aggies?...Sophomore Danielle Gant scored a team-high 22 points with 18 in the second half of play?...She is currently on an eight-game double-digit scoring streak?...It marked her second 20-point game of her career?...A&M shot 38.3 percent from the floor, while Baylor shot 33.3 percent?...Both teams shot 30 percent in their last outing on Jan. 13?...The Aggies knocked down six three-pointers against the Lady Bears?...It marked the ninth time this season to drain six-or-more three-pointers in a game?...Baylor (0-of-12) was the third A&M opponent this season to be held without a three-pointer in a game next to Sam Houston State (0-of-9) Dec. 29 and Texas (0-of-3) on Jan. 21?...Junior Patrice Reado fouled out for the seventh time this season with 5:58 left in regulation?...Sophomore Takia Starks scored all of her 14 points in the second half of play including two clutch three-pointers?...This was the third White Out game in which the Aggies won this season including a 54-52 upset at Oklahoma on Jan. 27 and 78-68 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 10.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the team?™s shooting in the first half and what changed in the second half ?...
?What we missed in the first half, there was no excuse. Maybe, it was the magnitude of the moment. Give Baylor a lot of credit. We had the shots, but we didn?™t make them. The game changed in the second half by execution, not by effort. Both teams had effort the whole 40 minutes. We executed our half court offense very well in the second half. We had a couple of easy baskets that we had to have. Our pressure outside did not give them the open looks that they wanted to have and they just missed the shots.?
On keeping composure on the road ?...
?Our team is learning to play smart. Last year, we played well and this year, we have become a lot smarter basketball team. When you have your top six returning, they make better decisions. They can afford to have a bad half and come back and still have a great game. It was a good game for television. We had thirteen turnovers apiece and 26 turnovers combined and the defense was pretty good for both teams.?
On Danielle Gant ?...
?This kid plays with heart. It doesn?™t matter if she is hurt. She finds a way and we started dialing her number. We dialed her number in the first 10 minutes of the second half. I?™m so proud of these two young ladies here (Takia Starks and Danielle Gant). You just saw the best set of guards in the league in Texas A&M and Baylor.?
On the possibility of winning a Big 12 Championship ?...
?We have a chance to play for the whole thing at our place (on Wednesday). I am hoping we can get the same crowd you all had here today. We are going to have our hands full with Texas. We are still in the education part of what basketball is all about on the men?™s and women?™s side (in College Station). We have a ways to go. You?™ll see tailgating for our basketball games and see people out in lines before the game. You?™ll see teams wanted to put us on their schedule and you?™ll see us on television. We feel good about that, because we are sort of like the little team that could.?
SOPHOMORE GUARD TAKIA STARKS
On her second half play ?...
?The pressure from Baylor didn?™t change. What changed was how I came off their screens. I was moving more and it helped me get open (for shots). I was feeling like I was on a roll and everything was perfect. I came in and got the follow threw and went from there. I was starting to the look for the ball more compared to the first half. I was more aggressive and wanted the ball more in the second half.?
On what the win means to the program ?...
?Of course, it means a lot. We are tied for first in the Big 12. This is a great win to come on Baylor?™s floor and get a win like this. They are a great home court team just like we are a great home court team. We knew that they would come out to defend it as well as they could. To come on the road and get a win like this, I?™m speechless. We have another game left, but it was a great win for us.?
SOPHOMORE GUARD/FORWARD DANIELLE GANT
On her explosive offense in the second half ?...
?The difference was getting into the heart of basketball and getting in the center where it was open. Coach Blair told us at halftime that our post players were scared. We weren?™t aggressive in the first half. I came out in the second half and showed that I was not scared. Coach just told us to play solid defense and rotate to someone else?™s man. We were looking to get open and not foul. After my first layup, I wanted the ball more and down low.?
