January 15, 2008
The 16th-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (12-4, 0-2) looks to get back to its winning ways, but will have yet another tough two-game stretch ahead in Big 12 Conference play. The Aggies will take on the surprise turnaround program of the league and look to get past their second-straight road obstacle at No. 25 Colorado (12-3, 1-1) for a Wednesday, Jan. 16 tilt in Boulder, Colo. Tipoff between A&M and CU is slated for 8 p.m. (CT) at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes were picked to finish 11th in the preseason coaches poll, while the Aggies were selected as the favorite to win their second consecutive league title. Their preseason billing by the Big 12?â„¢s head coaches marked the highest selection in school history. Having been in Colorado?â„¢s shoes three seasons ago, things have shifted in College Station as A&M now has the bull?â„¢s eye on its back and are the hunted in Big 12 terrain. However, expectations remain the same for the fledging program as the always defensive-minded and talented Aggies search for their first league win in their quest for a repeat. Last week, A&M went 0-2 in league play with opening week losses to Kansas State and eighth-ranked Baylor. The Aggie defense is currently limiting opponents to just 55.2 points per game which ranks 23rd nationally.
THE 4-1-1 ON COLORADO
Colorado will be the second of three consecutive top 25 opponents for A&M. The Buffaloes recently had their 11-game win streak snapped with an 84-77 double overtime loss to Iowa State on Jan. 13. It was the seventh-longest winning stretch in school history. They are 2-0 this season versus nationally-ranked foes including upsets of No. 21 Wyoming (69-55) on Dec. 5 and No. 17 Vanderbilt (62-51) on Dec. 9. Those two victories catapulted CU into the national spotlight as they debuted at No. 25 in the Associated Press Poll on Dec. 24 which marked their first appearance in the national polls since the 2003-04 season under former head coach Ceal Barry. Senior Jackie McFarland is averaging a team-leading 18.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and has a supporting cast of freshman Brittany Spears (14.7 ppg) and sophomore Bianca Smith (10.9) who hails from Missouri City, Texas. In fact, CU is probably the only Division I school in the country to boast two pop-princess celebrity monikers with Spears and sophomore Whitney Houston on its 14-player roster. All fun aside, the Buffs present a serious inside and outside threat to the Aggies as they currently rank fourth nationally in three-point field goals per game (8.1) and 13th nationally in blocked shots per game (5.6).
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Help the Aggie women pack Reed Arena for their first nationally-televised home game of the season on Saturday, Jan. 19. A&M will play host to No. 18 Oklahoma State with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. The Aggies will celebrate Local Heroes & Elementary School Day prior to their top 20 showdown with the Cowgirls. There will be fire trucks, police cars and motorcycles set up in the North parking lot of Reed Arena beginning at 11 a.m. All Bryan-College Station police and fire department employees along with their immediate family members will receive free admission to the game by showing their badge or nametag at any Reed Arena ticket window. All elementary school students from the Bryan-College Station area will also receive free admission for two with the flyer that was distributed to each school. Last year, A&M drew its third-largest crowd (7,191) of the season against OSU which helped the Aggies gain an edge on the Cowgirls and pull out a 64-63 victory at home.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.8 ppg, 4.5 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (4.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
COLORADO
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#12 Susie Powers, G, 5-10, Sr. (4.2 ppg, 4.5 apg)
#22 Brittany Spears, G, 6-1, Fr. (14.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#11 Hannah Skildum, G, 6-0, Jr. (3.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
#45 Jackie McFarland, F, 6-3, Sr. (18.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
#33 Aija Putnina, F, 6-3, So. (8.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Colorado may lead 10-5 in the all-time series between the two schools, but A&M has won the last four-straight meetings including a lopsided 74-58 (+16) regular-season victory on Jan. 18, 2007 in College Station. The Buffaloes have not beaten the Aggies since a 70-58 win in Boulder back in 2004. A&M has won by an average scoring margin of 13 points versus CU in its current four-game streak. Both team?â„¢s 2006 regular-season meeting was decided by nine points (55-46) and 2005 regular-season meeting by 10 points (72-62). The Aggies claimed their first-ever win in Boulder in the 2006 matchup.
LAST TIME OUT
Takia Starks scored 16 points as top-seeded Texas A&M beat Colorado, 62-45, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Women?â„¢s Basketball Championship on March 7, 2007 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Texas A&M posted its best defensive outing against a Big 12 opponent of the season to advance to the semifinals against fifth-seeded Iowa State. The then No. 13-ranked Aggies, the league?â„¢s leader in defensive field-goal percentage, held Colorado (13-17) to just 26 percent shooting which marked the Buffaloes?â„¢ worst outing of the season. The Aggies held opponents to fewer than 50 points in two league games of the year in Kansas State (48) and Texas Tech (47). A&M?â„¢s win over Colorado was only their third over any opponent in the tournament?â„¢s 11-year history next to wins in the first round in 1998 and 2006. Colorado trailed by 15 points late in the first half and 26-15 at halftime, but used a 10-4 run to open the second half to pull within 30-25 with 14:41 left. Texas A&M quickly rebuilt the lead to 11 points at 41-30. A three-pointer by Colorado?â„¢s Hannah Kilkdum with 10:25 left cut the Aggies?â„¢ lead to 41-35, but A&M answered with a 19-4 run over the next eight minutes for the win.
BIG 12 NORTH vs. SOUTH
In the opening week, Big 12 North schools compiled a 7-5 record in comparison to Big 12 South schools at 5-7. In fact, four North schools sit among the top half of the latest conference standings with K-State and Nebraska tied for first-place with Baylor and Oklahoma State. A&M will have faced five of those top six schools in two and a half week?â„¢s time with a loaded schedule to start off its Big 12 campaign. Last year, A&M posted a 4-2 record versus the North and an impressive 9-1 record against the South.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1T. Baylor (14-1, 2-0)
1T. Oklahoma State (14-1, 2-0)
1T. Nebraska (13-3, 2-0)
1T. Kansas State (10-5, 2-0)
5T. Colorado (12-3, 1-1)
5T. Iowa State (12-3, 1-1)
5T. Oklahoma (10-3, 1-1)
5T. Missouri (8-7, 1-1)
9T. Texas (12-4, 0-2)
9T. Texas A&M (12-4, 0-2)
9T. Texas Tech (12-4, 0-2)
9T. Kansas (11-4, 0-2)
THE ROAD MOST TRAVELED
A&M?â„¢s first four out of six games in league play will be contested on the road with the majority of the Aggies?â„¢ time spent 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. A&M is currently 2-2 away from the friendly confines of Reed Arena with non-conference victories at SMU and TCU and a pair of top 25 losses at No. 22 George Washington on Dec. 20 and No. 8 Baylor on Jan. 12. Last season, the Aggies went 5-3 in league road games with huge wins over Big 12 South rivals in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Baylor. All four of those contests were decided by five points or less.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 4-2 all-time versus Colorado in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. Of those six meetings, five have been in Big 12 Conference play (4-1) including last year?â„¢s Big 12 quarterfinal matchup in Oklahoma City.
?* The Aggies have played a ranked Colorado squad on four occasions since 1994 including their last loss in the series to the then No. 14-ranked Buffaloes (70-58) on Jan. 21, 2004. However, both teams have never played each other when both teams were ranked in the top 25. CU holds an 4-0 advantage when playing A&M when ranked.
?* For the fourth time this season, Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer will reunite with a player on his U.S. Women?â„¢s Jones Cup Team that won a bronze medal this past summer in Taipen, Taiwan. Colorado?â„¢s Jackie McFarland was a member of Team USA which went 4-2 in tournament pool play with wins over Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand. She is one of three McFarland sisters to continue a family hoops tradition as older sister, Jessica, played for Kansas State from 2003-06 and younger sister, Joanna, is one of the top junior prospects in the country out of Derby (Kan.) High School.
BAYLOR RECAP
In a battle of two of the Big 12 Conference?â„¢s top teams, a last-second three-pointer by Angela Tisdale sealed the victory for No. 8 Baylor as the Lady Bears escaped No. 12 Texas A&M, 59-56, on Jan. 12 at the Ferrell Center. Tisdale, who went 0-of-10 from the three-point line prior to her game-winning shot with 36 seconds left, was one of four Baylor players to reach double figures in the ballgame with 15. Danielle Wilson and Rachel Allison had 16 and 14 respectively. For the game, both the Aggies and Lady Bears played neck-to-neck with the lead changing on 11 occasions and with nine ties. Neither team led by more than six points through two halves. Junior Takia Starks paced A&M with a career-best 16 points in six meetings against BU since her freshman campaign in 2005-06. Seniors Patrice Reado and A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin each had eight points, while junior La Toya Micheaux and senior Morenike Atunrase had seven. After shooting a season-low 30.6 percent against Kansas State in its league opener on Jan. 9, A&M shot a much-improved 49.0 percent from the floor which marked a season-high and best field-goal percentage in the Gary Blair Era. Thirteen fouls were called in the first half of play against A&M, but the Lady Bears were only able to convert 4-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe. They later made up for their free throw misfortunes and went 15-of-16 in the second half to keep them in the ballgame. Franklin converted a three-point play to pull the Aggies to within one with 15 seconds to play, 57-56. Tisdale then made two more free throws with 15 seconds left for the final margin. Starks?â„¢ three-point attempt with two seconds left fell short and Wilson grabbed the rebound to seal the win for the Lady Bears.
LOOKING AT THE RPI AND BRACKETOLOGY
Texas A&M is currently rated No. 15 in the latest RPI index according to CollegeRPI.com as of Jan. 14. The Aggies boasts the nation?â„¢s ninth toughest schedule with 15 of their opponents advancing to postseason play a year ago including Oklahoma State (No. 57) who lost in the NCAA First Round to Bowling Green. A&M also takes on Colorado (No. 71) and Nebraska (No. 21) over the next seven days. With the strength of the league from top-to-bottom, ESPN.com bracketologist Charlie Creme also predicts that the Big 12 could send an unprecedented nine teams to the Big Dance in March with A&M receiving a No. 5 seed in the New Orleans Regional.
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 the Coors Events Center alongside former player Katy Pounds on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.
AGGIES IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
A&M dropped six spots to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and moved four spots to No. 16 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have now appeared a program-best 36-straight weeks in the AP Poll and 31-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. 6/7 Baylor, No. 11/10 Oklahoma, No. 18/19 Oklahoma State, No. 24/23 Texas and No. 25 Colorado. In addition, eight 2007-08 opponents are currently ranked in the top 25 including non-conference foes No. 21/18 Auburn and No. 13/13 George Washington. Texas Tech and Missouri are the only Big 12 teams who are not receiving votes in either national poll. K-State is 27th with 41 votes followed by Nebraska in 32nd (24), Iowa State tied for 36th (6) and Kansas tied for 38th (3) in the AP Poll.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (15-0)
2. Tennessee (14-1)
3. North Carolina (16-1)
4. Maryland (19-1)
5. Rutgers (13-2)
6. Baylor (14-1)
7. Stanford (14-3)
8. California (15-2)
9. LSU (13-3)
10. Duke (13-3)
11. Oklahoma 10-3
12. Georgia 14-2
13. George Washington (13-3)
14. West Virginia (12-3)
15. Old Dominion (12-3)
16. Ohio State (13-3)
17. Notre Dame (13-3)
18. Oklahoma State (14-1)
19. Texas A&M (12-4)
20. Wyoming (14-1)
21. Auburn (13-4)
22. Pittsburgh (13-3)
23. DePaul (12-3)
24. Texas (12-4)
25. Colorado (12-3)
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (15-0)
2. Tennessee (14-1)
3. North Carolina (16-1)
4. Maryland (20-1)
5. Rutgers (13-2)
6. Stanford (14-3)
7. Baylor (14-1)
8. LSU (13-3)
9. California (15-2)
10. Oklahoma (10-3)
11. Georgia (14-2)
12. Duke (13-4)
13. George Washington (13-3)
14. West Virginia (12-3)
15. Notre Dame (12-3)
16. Texas A&M (12-4)
17. Ohio State (13-3)
18. Auburn (13-4)
19. Oklahoma State (14-1)
20. Old Dominion (12-3)
21. Wyoming (14-1)
22. DePaul (12-3)
23. Texas (12-4)
24. Pittsburgh (13-3)
25. Arizona State (11-5)