No. 12 Aggies Host Kansas State In Big 12 Conference Opener

January 08, 2008

The Big 12 Conference race begins as the 12th-ranked and defending league champion Texas A&M women?™s basketball team (12-2, 0-0) hosts Kansas State (8-5, 0-0) on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. A&M is primed for its second consecutive run at the league title completing one of its best non-conference showings in the Gary Blair Era. Once again, K-State will face a veteran Aggie squad rebounding from injuries as senior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) continues to see more time in the lineup after recovering from surgery to correct a non-healing stress fracture in her right tibia. Last year, Atunrase made her first appearance back from a foot fracture against K-State in the team?™s league-opening loss in Manhattan, Kan. A&M awaits its rematch versus the Wildcats and will look to defend its home-court win streak of 26 consecutive games which currently leads the nation. K-State will present both an inside and outside attack shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 32.6 percent from beyond the arc. However, the stingy Aggie defense has held opponents to just 54.1 points per game which ranks 19th nationally and 23.8 percent from three-point range which ranks second-best in the league.

GAME PROMOTIONS

Individual game tickets range from $11-$5 and can be purchased by calling the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE. Students who attend women?™s Big 12 Conference games this season will have a chance to win cool prizes like iTunes, iPods and even a $10,000 scholarship courtesy of Mac Resource Computers. Look for the Mac Resources T-Shirt throw during the game, catch the Gary Blair autographed shirt and bring it down to the scorers table for a chance to shoot for the scholarship. Ashley Furniture Homestore is also offering fans the opportunity to win furniture shopping sprees in increments of $250, $500 and $1,500. Entry forms will be available on the Reed Arena concourse at the first four women?™s conference home games and must be returned to the Ashley Furniture Homestore to be eligible. The winners will be drawn at halftime of the women?™s basketball game against rival Texas on Feb. 9.

THE WILDCATS AT A GLANCE

A&M will be the first of three-straight dates for Kansas State through the Big 12 South with the likes of Texas and Texas Tech ahead. The Wildcats have three players averaging double figures in scoring including senior Kimberly Dietz?™s team-leading 13.4 points per game. Dietz is one of two three-point threats for K-State shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc next to sophomore Ashley Sweat?™s 38.5 percentage from downtown. The Wildcats are on a season-best three-game win streak which includes victories over Arkansas-Little Rock (52-40), Loyola Marymount (70-47) and Western Illinois (68-53). They are 1-3 on the road this season and 0-1 against the top 25 with a 68-65 loss to No. 19 Michigan State at the Caribbean Classic on Nov. 22 in Cancun, Mexico. K-State was one of only three times to beat A&M last season next to Iowa State and Texas, all of which were road losses for the Aggies. The Wildcats make few mistakes on the basketball court as they lead the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.08) and average just 15.6 turnovers per game.

AGGIES IN BIG 12 OPENERS

The Aggies are 3-8 all-time in Big 12 Conference openers. In the 12-year history of the league, A&M has only opened Big 12 play at home on three occasions prior to Wednesday night?™s contest. They are 1-2 at home when opening up league play. Ironically, they have faced K-State in back-to-back seasons and will compete against a Big 12 North opponent for only the fourth time. The Aggies previously opened up with Kansas during the 1998-99 and 2001-02 campaigns. A&M?™s three victories in Big 12 openers include a 62-59 win at Baylor in 1999-00, a 58-51 win at Kansas in 2001-02 and a 74-52 win versus Oklahoma State in 2005-06.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

TEXAS A&M

No. Name (2007-08 Stats)

#10 A?™Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (8.0 ppg, 4.8 apg)

#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg)

#21 Morenike Atunrase, G/F, 5-10, Sr. (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg)

#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (14.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg)

#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (4.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

KANSAS STATE

No. Name (2007-08 Stats)

#5 Shalee Lehning, G, 5-9, Jr. (9.6 ppg, 6.2 apg)

#13 Kimberly Dietz, G, 5-9, Sr. (13.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg)

#41 Kari Kincaid, G, 5-10, So. (6.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg)

#4 Ashley Sweat, F, 6-2, So. (10.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg)

#51 Marlies Gipson, F, 6-0, Jr. (10.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg)

SERIES NOTES

Kansas State leads 10-4 in the all-time series against Texas A&M. The Aggies have only won once in the last eight meetings between the two schools claiming a 66-39 victory in College Station on Jan. 11, 2006 which snapped a six-game losing skid to the Wildcats. A&M is 3-8 versus the Wildcats since the league?™s inception in 1996-97. Two of those three wins occurred at Reed Arena as the Aggies are 2-4 when playing K-State in College Station. Seven of their 14 all-time meetings have been decided by five points or less including last year?™s 48-45 (-3) loss in Manhattan.

LAST TIME OUT

In the Big 12 Conference opener, Takia Starks and Danielle Gant each scored 10 points as No. 17 Texas A&M dropped a 48-45 decision to Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 6, 2007. Claire Coggins scored a game-high 20 points for the Wildcats and recorded her 1,000 career point in the process. The Aggies had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Coggins stole the ball and then hit one free throw to give the Wildcats a 48-45 lead with seven seconds left. A?™Quonesia Franklin's desperation shot at the buzzer didn't fall and A&M dropped to 0-3 on the road. K-State won its 13th consecutive game at Bramlage Coliseum, dating back to March 17, 2006. It was the Wildcats?™ first win over a ranked opponent since a 72-69 victory over No. 11 Texas in the 2005 Big 12 Championship. Coggins hit a three-pointer with 9:09 left in the first half to reach the 1,000-point mark. She scored the final nine points of the half for the Wildcats, who trailed 26-24 at the break. Both teams exchanged leads eight times in the contest. The largest Aggie lead was six points with 13:44 left to play in the first half. Ashley Sweat scored 11 points for the Wildcats, who shot 47.5 percent from the field. Marlies Gipson posted her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Aggies shot a season-low 31.7 percent from the floor but forced the Wildcats to turn over the ball 24 times in the game. A&M missed its first 11 shots from beyond the arc, before Franklin hit a three-pointer with 5:13 remaining to pull the Aggies within a point. They also finished 1-of-13 from three-point range.

DID YOU KNOW?

?* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 2-4 all-time versus Kansas State in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. A&M has only beaten K-State once in the Gary Blair Era during the 2005-06 campaign (66-39) which previously marked the fewest points ever scored in a Big 12 game for the Wildcats prior to 34-point output versus Texas on Feb. 3, 2007.

?* Wednesday?™s Big 12 opener will feature three players who were honored on the inaugural Big 12 All-Defensive Team a year ago including Texas A&M?™s Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux and Kansas State?™s Marlies Gipson. All three are a triple threat on the boards as Gant is averaging a team-leading 6.9 boards per game and Micheaux 5.4 rpg, while Gipson ranks fifth in the league at 8.2 rpg. Gipson is returning to the K-State lineup after missing the final 18 games of last season due to a knee injury.

?* Five teams on A&M?™s slate advanced to the Postseason WNIT last season including Kansas State who lost in the semifinals (89-79) to eventual champion Wyoming in a triple overtime thriller. 2007-08 opponents Auburn, Indiana, Stephen F. Austin, Missouri and K-State all earned postseason berths and the Aggies are 3-0 versus WNIT teams this season.

?* Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer (Class of ?™84) will be one of three coaches on Wednesday?™s sidelines who are currently coaching at their alma mater in the Big 12 Conference. Schaefer is joined by Kansas State assistant coaches Kelly Moylan (?™94) and Andria Jones (?™97) who played for the Wildcats. They are one of only seven coaches who graduated from a Big 12 school, but are the only ones to currently coach at their alma mater. Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is a 1972 and 1974 graduate of Texas Tech, Oklahoma State assistant coach Kenya Larkin is a 2002 graduate of Texas, Texas Tech assistant coach Kelly Curry is a Class of ?™90 graduate of Texas A&M and Kansas State associate head coach Kamie Ethridge is a 1987 graduate of Texas.

?* Ethridge is the lone Texan representing the Wildcat program having starred at rival Texas from 1982-86. The Lubbock native played under former UT head coach and Hall of Famer Jody Conradt and led the Longhorns to a perfect 34-0 record en route to a national title in 1986.

?* Texas A&M continues to make its mark as a basketball powerhouse as one of only six schools in the country to have both its men?™s and women?™s basketball teams ranked in the top 25 polls. The Aggie women are ranked No. 13 and No. 12, while the Aggie men are ranked No. 11 and No. 10. A&M is among the likes of traditional basketball powers North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Stanford and Texas. All but one of those six schools (Stanford) are ranked No. 15 or higher in both polls.

BATTLE OF THE GUARDS

Two of the conference?™s top point guards will be on hand in Wednesday?™s league opener. Texas A&M?™s A?™Quonesia Franklin and Kansas State?™s Shalee Lehning currently rank among the top 15 career assists leaders in the Big 12 with 521 and 448 respectively. Franklin is averaging 4.8 assists per game this season (67), while Lehning is on the cusp of turning in her third-straight 100+ assist season with 80. Both rank No. 1 (Lehning) and No. 4 (Franklin) in season assists and No. 5 (1.86) and No. 6 (1.81) in assist-to-turnover ratio. Franklin ranks third all-time in career assists in the A&M annals and 10th all-time in the Big 12. Over the last three seasons, she has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and will be challenging Lehning and several other league point guards for the coveted spot at the end of the year. Franklin is also 67 points away from joining Takia Starks and Morenike Atunrase in A&M?™s 1,000-Point Club.

ROCKY ROAD AHEAD

Talk about starting the New Year off right. A&M?™s first four games in league play features three of the nation?™s top 25-ranked teams including No. 8 Baylor on Jan. 12, No. 23 Colorado on Jan. 16 and No. 24/25 Oklahoma State on Jan. 19. The Aggies are 1-1 this season against nationally-ranked opponents including a non-conference victory over No. 14 Auburn on Dec. 15 and a one-point overtime loss at No. 22 George Washington on Dec. 20. In fact, the Aggies will have to bear the winter weather conditions in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions as they spend the majority of the month of January on the road against the better half of their Big 12 North slate with dates at Colorado on Jan. 16, Nebraska on Jan. 23 and Kansas on Jan. 26.

GIVE ME 20!

With 16 games remaining in regular season play, A&M has already had four players combine for 10 20-point games this season including Morenike Atunrase, A?™Quonesia Franklin, Danielle Gant and Takia Starks. Last season, the same foursome reached 20-or-more points in a single contest on 13 occasions in 32 games played. Atunrase recently notched a season-high 22 points against Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 3 which marked her first 20-point game since scoring 22 at Loyola Marymount on Nov. 25, 2006. Teammate Danielle Gant reached 20 points in 4-of-6 games played in the month of December including a career-high 28 points versus New Orleans on Dec. 9. She averaged a conference-leading 20.2 points last month and is currently on a seven-game double-digit scoring streak. Meanwhile, Starks turned in back-to-back-to-back 20-point games with a career-best 28 against Florida State on Dec. 6. She notched 23 and 24 points respectively versus Michigan and TCU in that particular three-game stretch.

COUNTDOWN TO 500

Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is closing in on his 500th career victory with 493 wins to date. He currently ranks second all-time among A&M women?™s basketball coaches with 85 victories behind former head coach Lynn Hickey (154). The 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year has led the Aggies to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, their first-ever conference title and the program?™s highest national ranking (No. 10) in school history. Last year, he was one of four Naismith College Coach of the Year finalists next to Tennessee?™s Pat Summitt, Connecticut?™s Geno Auriemma and Duke?™s Gail Goestenkors who is now the head coach at Texas. Blair is one of only five active Division I women?™s basketball coaches to lead three different schools to a top 25 ranking next to Rutgers?™ C. Vivian Stringer, Ohio State?™s Jim Foster, Mississippi State?™s Sharon Fanning and Arkansas?™ Tom Collen.

SHARP SHOOTERS

A&M features two of the conference?™s top 10 scorers in juniors Takia Starks (2nd, 17.5 ppg) and Danielle Gant (10th, 14.5 ppg). The Aggies are one of only two schools with two players ranked among the league?™s top 10 scoring leaders next to Missouri?™s Alyssa Hollins (5th, 16.8 ppg) and Jessra Johnson (7th, 16.4 ppg). Gant currently ranks 26th nationally in free throw percentage (88.2) and has made 21 consecutive makes from the charity stripe including a perfect 3-of-3 performance against Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 3. Gant is also one of two Aggies to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor (52.2) this season along with senior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) who leads the team with a 55.8 accuracy from the field.

CLOSE TO PERFECT

In its last outing, A&M played flawless ball in 40 minutes of play against Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 3. The Aggies committed their second-fewest turnovers of the season (12) versus the Ladyjacks as senior A?™Quonesia Franklin (5-to-1), freshman Sydney Colson (5-to-2) and junior Danielle Gant (5-to-1) each distributed five assists with two turnovers or less. A&M also minimized its turnovers to only 12 against 2007 NCAA Sweet 16 participant Florida State on Dec. 6 and a season-low 11 versus New Orleans on Dec. 9. Franklin, Colson and Gant all contributed to the team?™s season-high of 21 assists versus SFA.

AGGIES IN THE RPI

Texas A&M is currently rated No. 8 in the latest RPI index according to CollegeRPI.com as of Jan. 6. The Aggies boast one of the toughest schedules in the nation with 15 of their opponents advancing to postseason play a year ago including upcoming opponents Kansas State (No. 97) and Baylor (No. 32). K-State lost to eventual Postseason WNIT champion Wyoming in the WNIT Semifinals, while Baylor lost to NCAA Sweet 16 participant North Carolina State in a second-round overtime loss. A&M paces all Big 12 schools in the RPI which is rated as the nation?™s second toughest conference. In fact, league members have won 81 percent of their contests this season and only trail the Big East Conference in stature. All but three Big 12 schools (Nebraska, Kansas State and Missouri) have lost three-or-more games prior to league play.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN RECAP

Senior Morenike Atunrase scored a game-high 22 points to lead No. 12 Texas A&M to a 31-point rout of Stephen F. Austin, 84-53, Thursday night at Reed Arena. Playing in just her fifth game of the season since surgery to correct a non-healing stress fracture in her right tibia, Atunrase was back in form shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and adding six rebounds in 25 minutes of play against the Ladyjacks. Junior Danielle Gant added 15 points for Texas A&M which extended its home court win streak to 26 consecutive games which continues to lead the nation. Senior Patrice Reado was the third Aggie player to score in double figures with 10. A&M trailed the Ladyjacks for just the opening minutes of the ballgame, but stretched its lead out to 20 points and beyond with 14:28 remaining in regulation. The Aggies took a 16-point lead into halftime, 43-27. The A&M defense also forced SFA to commit 28 turnovers which was converted into 37 points. Whitney Cormier was the only Stephen F. Austin player to score in double figures with a team-high 14. Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair previously coached SFA from 1985-93 and improved his career record to 3-0 against his former school.

AGGIES ON THE RADIO

All Texas A&M women?™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.

ON THE NATIONAL SCENE

A&M remained at No. 13 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and remained at No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have now appeared a program-best 35-straight weeks in the AP Poll and 30-straight weeks in the Coaches Poll since the 2005-06 season. A&M is one of six Big 12 schools to be ranked in the national polls next to No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Baylor, No. 15 Texas, No. 23 Colorado and No. 24/25 Oklahoma State. In addition, eight 2007-08 opponents are currently ranked in the top 25 including non-conference foes Auburn and George Washington.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL

1. Connecticut (13-0)

2. Tennessee (12-1)

3. North Carolina (14-1)

4. Maryland (18-1)

5. Rutgers (11-2)

6. Oklahoma (9-2)

7. Stanford (12-3)

8. Baylor (12-1)

9. California (13-2)

10. Georgia (13-1)

11. LSU (11-3)

12. Duke (12-3)

13. Texas A&M (12-2)

14. Notre Dame (12-2)

15. Texas (12-2)

16. West Virginia (11-2)

17. George Washington (12-3)

18. Old Dominion (10-3)

19. Ohio State (11-3)

20. Arkansas (15-0)

21. Wyoming (12-1)

22. Auburn (12-3)

23. Colorado (11-2)

24. DePaul (11-3)

25. Oklahoma State (12-1)

USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES TOP 25 POLL

1. Connecticut (13-0)

2. Tennessee (12-1)

3. North Carolina (14-1)

4. Maryland (18-1)

5. Rutgers (11-2)

6. Oklahoma (9-2)

7. Stanford (12-3)

8. Baylor (12-1)

9. California (13-2)

10. Georgia (13-1)

11. LSU (11-3)

12. Texas A&M (12-2)

13. Duke (12-3)

14. Notre Dame (12-2)

15. Texas (12-2)

16. West Virginia (11-2)

17. George Washington (12-3)

18. Arkansas (15-0)

19. Ohio State (11-3)

20. Auburn (12-3)

21. DePaul (11-3)

22. Old Dominion (10-3)

22. Wyoming (12-1)

24. Oklahoma State (12-1)

25. Arizona State (10-5)