February 29, 2008
Playing some of its best basketball of the season, the 18th-ranked Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team (21-7, 9-5) is making sure every game counts as two more games remain in the Big 12 Conference race. The Aggies are currently riding a league-best four-game win streak leading into their much-anticipated Battle of the Brazos rematch with eighth-ranked Baylor (24-3, 12-2) on Saturday, March 1 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Lady Bears is set for 1 p.m. as the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net. A&M is on a quest for one of four top seeds which would receive a coveted first-round bye in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 11-15 in Kansas City. In order to do so, the Aggies claimed a 63-57 victory at No. 17 Oklahoma State on Feb. 27 to shake up the league standings and split the home-and-home series with the Cowgirls. They are currently tied for fourth place with OSU. A&M arguably has the toughest final home stretch in the league with a pair of meetings with two of the top 10 teams in the nation in No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 Oklahoma to close out the regular season. Home court advantage may play in favor of the Aggies as they have won 30 of their last 32 contests in the friendly confines of Reed Arena. Meanwhile, Baylor has lost two of their last three road contests at Oklahoma State (77-67) on Feb. 5 and at Texas (61-51) on Feb. 13.
DOLLAR DAY EXTRAVAGANZA
Dollar Day presented by David Gardner?â„¢s Jewelers will be held on Saturday, March 1 as A&M takes on in-state rival Baylor at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena. Dollar Day specials will include $1 admission as well as concession items such as hot dogs, soda and popcorn priced at $1 while supplies last. Dollar Day tickets must be purchased in person at the Kyle Field Ticket Office or Reed Arena Box Office in advance of the game or on game day. Both ticket offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Reed Arena Box Office will open two hours prior to the game on Saturday at 11 a.m. Dollar tickets will not be available for purchase by phone or online. Tickets purchased online or by phone will remain at regular price ranging from $16 (courtside), $14 (mezzanine) and $10 (gallery and loge).
A LOOK AT THE LADY BEARS
Baylor has gone 12-2 against Big 12 opponents this season to sit atop the latest league standings with a one-game lead over Oklahoma and Kansas State. A win would assure the Lady Bears of at least a share of the regular season title which would mark its second since the league?â„¢s inception in 1996-97. BU won its last conference crown in 2005 en route to their NCAA Championship title run. Baylor is 7-3 on the road this season with losses at fifth-ranked Stanford (87-63) on Dec. 16 along with setbacks at OSU and UT in league play. They are 6-2 against top 25 competition and have swept Big 12 South foes in Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The Lady Bears also rank among the top 10 nationally averaging a league-leading 6.1 blocks per game, +18.6 scoring margin and 34.7 field-goal percentage defense.
ON THE AIR
Texas A&M will appear on national television a school-record eight times during the 2007-08 season including Saturday?â„¢s Battle of the Brazos matchup which will mark the fourth of five broadcasts on FSN this year. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Brenda VanLengen (color analyst) will call the action live from Reed Arena on FSN Florida, FSN Midwest, FSN North, FSN Rocky Mountain, FSN Southwest and FSN West. Check your local listings. Delayed broadcasts will be aired on FSN Arizona (2 a.m.), FSN Bay Area (12 p.m.), FSN Detroit (3 a.m.), FSN Pittsburgh (1:30 a.m.) and FSN Wisconsin (2 a.m.).
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 4.9 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (14.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (3.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
BAYLOR
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#20 Angela Tisdale, G, 5-7, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 3.3 apg)
#3 Jessica Morrow, G, 6-0, Jr. (12.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#21 Kelli Griffin, G, 5-8, Fr. (2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
#14 Rachel Allison, F, 6-1, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
#1 Jessika Bradley, C, 6-3, So. (4.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Baylor holds a one-game lead in the all-time series between the two schools, 37-36. The Lady Bears have posted a 20-5 record over the Aggies in Big 12 competition since 1996-97. All five of A&M?â„¢s victories in league play have occurred in the new millennium in 2000, 2001 and 2007. Last season, the Aggies erased a 13-game losing skid in the series with their second-ever series sweep over the Lady Bears. The last four meetings between the two rivals have been decided by eight points or less including a 59-56 (-3) thriller in Waco back in January. A&M is 18-13 all-time when playing Baylor at home in College Station including a 60-52 (+8) victory on Jan. 13, 2007. The Aggies also picked up a 63-58 (+5) road win in Waco on Feb. 25, 2007 to complete the series sweep.
A LOOK BACK
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 lead by more than six points through two halves. Takia Starks paced A&M with a career-best 16 points in five meetings against BU since her freshman campaign in 2005-06. 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.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 8-8 all-time versus Baylor in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. Blair previously posted a 6-0 record against the Lady Bears at Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas combined, while he is 2-8 versus BU during his program rebuild at A&M.
?* Once again, Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer will reunite with players on his U.S. Women?â„¢s Jones Cup Team that won a bronze medal this past summer in Taipen, Taiwan. Baylor?â„¢s Rachel Allison and Jhasmin Player were two of the team?â„¢s top scorers along with the team?â„¢s top rebounder and top shot blocker La Toya Micheaux for A&M. Team USA went 4-2 in tournament pool play with wins over Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
?* The Aggies are one of six schools nationally who can make an argument of having the toughest two-or three-game stretch to finish out regular season play before their conference tournament. A&M will take on No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 Oklahoma in Big 12 play. Washington State and Washington close out the season with No. 7 Stanford and No. 9 Cal in the Pac-10, while Mississippi State ends the season with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 6 LSU in the SEC. North Carolina State plays No. 2 North Carolina and No. 5 Maryland in its last three games prior to the ACC Tournament and DePaul faces top-ranked Connecticut and No. 4 Rutgers in its last three games prior to the Big East Tournament.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Texas A&M and Baylor, both preseason top 15 teams leading into the 2007-08 season, have both turned in successful years despite being bitten by the injury bug this season. The Aggies lost preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyra White (Kansas City, Mo.) to a season-ending torn ACL injury in their season opener at SMU on Nov. 9 as did the Lady Bears with junior guard Jhasmin Player against Kansas State in league play on February 2. Texas A&M senior reserve guard LaToya Gulley (Fayetteville, Ark.) also suffered a torn ACL at Nebraska on Jan. 23, while senior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) missed the first nine games of the season after recovering from surgery in October to correct a non-healing stress fracture in her right tibia. A&M is 13-6 since her return to the lineup against then-No. 14 Auburn on Dec. 14.
FIRST AND TEN
The Aggies are one win away from turning in their third consecutive 10-win season in Big 12 Conference play. A&M has compiled a 9-5 mark against league opponents this season and has won eight out of its last nine games. The Aggies posted a program-best 13-3 record in 2006-07 and an 11-5 record in 2005-06 to register their first-ever back-to-back 10-win seasons in conference play in school history. A&M is assured of its seventh all-time conference season above .500 and has won 33 Big 12 games over the last three years. Historically, no Aggie squad had ever turned in 30-or-more conference wins combined in a three-year span since A&M first began league play in the old Southwest Conference in 1982-83.
BLOCK PARTY
It?â„¢s no wonder why Morenike Atunrase is the school?â„¢s all-time leader in career blocked shots. Atunrase recently made a season-high four blocks at Oklahoma State on Feb. 27. She currently has amassed 166 career blocks which ranks sixth all-time in the Big 12 record books behind Oklahoma?â„¢s 6-foot-4 Courtney Paris (315), Texas Tech?â„¢s 6-foot-3 Cisti Greenwalt (300), Colorado?â„¢s 6-foot-4 Britt Hartshorn (208), Kansas State?â„¢s 6-foot-5 Nicole Ohlde (204) and Texas?â„¢ 6-foot-3 Tiffany Jackson (181). A 5-foot-10 combination guard/forward, Atunrase is the only player among the elite group of big women inside who is under six-feet in height. Atunrase has made a block in 13-of-19 games this season for a total of 21. Teammates Danielle Gant and Damitria Buchanan lead the Aggies with 27 and 25 respectively. Gant currently ranks seventh all-time with 73 career blocks to date followed by Patrice Reado in eighth with 67. As a team, the Aggies have totaled 119 blocked shots this year which is tied for fifth best all-time in a single season in school history.
GETTING TO THE POINT
Senior point guard A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin?â„¢s court vision has been outstanding over the last seven games for the Aggies. She has dished out a total of 41 assists with just 11 turnovers for an impressive 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Franklin is nine assists shy of recording her 600th career assist and could become only the third player in school history and seventh player in Big 12 Conference history to do so. She would join the ranks of league greats such as Texas Tech?â„¢s Erin Grant (844), Oklahoma?â„¢s Stacey Dales (764), Texas A&M?â„¢s Toccara Williams (724), Iowa State?â„¢s Lyndsey Medders (719), Oklahoma?â„¢s Dionnah Jackson (606) and Texas Tech?â„¢s Melinda Schmucker (6-3). She currently ranks seventh all-time among Big 12 career assists leaders (591) and leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.08).
OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
Danielle Gant scored 14 of her team-high 18 points as No. 18 Texas A&M used a second-half comeback to claim their fourth-straight in Big 12 Conference play with a 63-57 road victory at No. 17 Oklahoma State, 63-57, on Feb. 27 at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Down by eight at halftime, Gant sparked a 17-3 run to give A&M a 46-40 lead with 13:16 to go. She scored 10 points including a three-point play to put the Aggies on top for the first time since the early minutes of the first half. Gant also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in 34 minutes of play against the Cowgirls. After trailing by as many as 13 points with 8:10 to go in the first half of play, the Aggies continued to trade baskets with OSU in the second half as both teams tied each other on three occasions. Takia Starks contributed 16 points and two steals in the winning cause, while senior A?â„¢Quonesia Franklin had 14 points and five assists. The road win was crucial as A&M tied Oklahoma State for fourth-place in the league standings behind Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma. The Aggies became only the third team this season to beat the Cowgirls on their home court next to K-State and Iowa State. OSU turned over the ball 16 times in the contest which A&M turned into 21 of its final 63 points. The Cowgirls managed to only convert 17-of-30 from the charity stripe as A&M was called for a total of 24 fouls in the ballgame. OSU was led in scoring by Andrea Riley who scored 23 points and Danielle Green who had 16.
UP NEXT
A&M will celebrate ?Senior Day? in its regular season finale versus Big 12 South rival Oklahoma on Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. Season ticket holders please note that your tickets reflect a game date which was later moved to accommodate television shortly after the season tickets had been printed. The Aggies will face the Sooners on a non-traditional Thursday conference time slot on FSN at Reed Arena. Tickets can still be purchased online or by phone at: 1-888-99-AGGIE.
THE BIG 12 AT A GLANCE
The Big 12 Conference race is heating up as Texas A&M (9-5) has made its way back into the fold with a tied for fourth-place standing with Oklahoma State (9-5). The Aggies are one of four league schools to have reached 20 wins this season along with Baylor, Oklahoma and OSU. BU (12-2) continues to lead the pack with a 12-2 mark, while OU and Kansas State are chasing the Lady Bears with identical 11-3 records for a tie for second place. The top five teams in the league are followed by Nebraska (7-7), Iowa State (6-8), Texas (5-9), Texas Tech (4-10), Colorado (4-10), Kansas (4-10) and Missouri (2-12).
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Baylor (24-3, 12-2)
2T. Oklahoma (21-5, 11-3)
2T. Kansas State (19-8, 11-3)
4T. Oklahoma State (21-6, 9-5)
4T. Texas A&M (21-7, 9-5)
6. Nebraska (18-10, 7-7)
7. Iowa State (17-10, 6-8)
8. Texas (17-11, 5-9)
9T. Texas Tech (16-12, 4-10)
9T. Colorado (15-12, 4-10)
9T. Kansas (15-12, 4-10)
12. Missouri (9-18, 2-12)
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 Reed Arena alongside Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.