No. 10 Texas A&M To Meet Pitt In State Farm Tip-Off Classic Sunday On ESPN2
Nov 15, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2008
#11/10 TEXAS A&M (1-0) vs. PITTSBURGH (0-0)
Game #2
State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic
November 16, 2008 • 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,472)
at Baton Rouge, La.
Television: ESPN2
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Internet: ESPN360.com
STATE FARM TIP-OFF CLASSIC PREVIEW
One of the most prestigious tournaments in all of women's college basketball, the 16th annual State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic will present the No. 11/10-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (1-0) with the challenge of an early marquee matchup versus No. 23-ranked Pittsburgh (0-0) on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. (CT) in Baton Rouge, La. No. 22-ranked and host LSU and No. 14-ranked Notre Dame will precede the Aggies and Panthers in the opener at 1:30 p.m. (CT). Both contests will be aired on ESPN2 with Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (color analyst) calling the action live from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A&M will play two games in the course of three days and is fresh off a 73-45 rout of Mercer in its season opener Friday night in College Station. The Aggies embark on a six-game road campaign trail which will take them through the tough battle ground states of Louisiana, Michigan, Arizona and California against top Big East, Big Ten and Pac-10 Conference competition. A&M looks to increase its standing in the national polls with the platform of veteran leadership, experienced All-America candidates, fledging youth and its signature in-your-face defense.
THE LUCKY CHARM OF BATON ROUGE
The prologue to A&M's historic NCAA Elite Eight chapter in 2007-08 began in Baton Rouge where the Aggies were welcomed with Southern hospitality by the LSU faithful. Second-seeded A&M defeated 16th-seeded UTSA, 91-52, in the NCAA First Round and backed it up with a 63-39 win over Hartford in the second round to send the Aggies to their second-ever Sweet 16 appearance in the Oklahoma City Regional where they eventually beat third-seeded Duke, 77-63, and faced top-seeded Tennessee in the regional final. A&M won 16 of its last 18 games of the season to turn in a school-record 29-8 campaign.
A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Texas A&M and Pitt are each making first-ever appearances in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic this weekend. Traditionally, Big 12 Conference members schools have been selected to play in the Tip-Off Classic in each of the last eight years. In all, the league has been represented 14 times in 16 all-time classics. A&M joins Baylor (2004 and 2005), Kansas (1998), Kansas State (2003), Oklahoma (2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007), Texas (2003 and 2004) and Texas Tech (1993, 2001 and 2002) as current and past invitees.
SEE YOU IN ST. LOUIS?
All four of the teams in this year's Tip-Off Classic were ranked among the top 16 in the final USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll. LSU finished No. 4, Texas A&M No. 8, Notre Dame No. 13 and Pittsburgh No. 16. Additionally, the basketball quartet made some noise in the NCAA Sweet 16 with the Tigers and Aggies moving one step further to the Elite Eight and beyond. It may be too early for predictions, but this weekend's tournament field could potentially be a preview of the NCAA Women's Final Four to be held on April 5 & 7, 2009, in St. Louis, Mo.
A LOOK AT THE PANTHERS
Pitt's story is similar to A&M's progression to elite status - a program not full of tradition in women's basketball until the last three or four seasons. Last year, the Panthers reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history in only their second all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They upset third-seeded and Big 12 rival Baylor (67-59) in the second round, but later fell to second-seeded Stanford in the semifinals of the Spokane Regional. In fact, Pitt beat four ranked teams last season including No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 12 Baylor, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 15 DePaul. Not bad for a program which finished 6-20 overall in 2003-04 and 13-15 in 2004-05. In preparation for this weekend's matchup with the Aggies, the Panthers went 2-0 in exhibition play with a 73-58 victory over the Ohio Legends on Nov. 5 and a 76-65 win over Premier Players on Nov. 11.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Sr. (16.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Jr.-Tr. (None)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Sr. (14.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Fr. (None)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Sr. (3.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
PITTSBURGH
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#14 Jania Sims, G, 5-7, Jr. (5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#1 Shavonte Zellous, G, 5-11, Sr. (19.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
#25 Shayla Scott, F, 6-1, So. (3.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#33 Xenia Stewart, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#40 Pepper Wilson, C, 6-6, Fr. (None)
AGAINST THE BIG EAST
Texas A&M is 4-3 all-time against schools hailing from the Big East Conference including Cincinnati (1-0), DePaul (0-1), Louisville (0-1), Notre Dame (1-0), Seton Hall (1-0), South Florida (0-1) and West Virginia (1-0). The Aggies are 2-1 versus Big East opponents in the Gary Blair Era having last met West Virginia (W, 55-52) in the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic during the 2006-07 season.
SHOOTING STARS2
The national audience will receive quite a show on ESPN2 with three of the top returning players in the country stepping foot on the hardwood in Sunday's much-anticipated matchup. Texas A&M boasts returning All-Big 12 First Team standouts in Takia Starks and Danielle Gant, while Pitt is headlined by two-time All-Big East First Team selection Shavonte Zellous. All three seniors have the potential to be first-round WNBA Draft picks in March and have racked up over 1,000 points in their careers. Starks and Zellous are up for the prestigious Wade Trophy and John R. Wooden Awards, while Gant was recently honored as a preseason third-team All-American by Sports Illustrated.
AGGIE SIDEBARS
• Although Texas A&M has never met Pitt in 35 all-time seasons of Aggie Basketball, head coach Gary Blair is 1-0 all-time versus the Panthers. Blair's Arkansas squad opened up the 1994-95 season by defeating Pitt on a last-second shot, 76-75, in the opening round of the 7-Up/Desert Classic in Las Vegas on Nov. 25, 1994.
• Current Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett is a Class of '78 graduate of Texas A&M and was a second-team All-Southwest Conference defensive end as a senior in 1977. Prior to his coaching stint with the Panthers, he served as the head football coach at SMU from 2002-07. Coach Blair is good friends with Bennett's wife, Julie (White) Bennett, who lives in College Station.
• Blair and his family used to travel with Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato and her family on Reebok and Nike trips back in the 90's, when Berenato was the head coach at Georgia Tech (1989-2003) and Blair the head coach at Arkansas (1993-2003). Both sixth-year head coaches have come a long way, building their respective programs from the ground up and into national contenders. Blair went 9-19 in his first season at A&M and Berenato 6-20 at Pitt. After year three, they have both successfully completed three consecutive 20-win seasons including both program's highest-ever advancement in the NCAA Tournament.
BIG BROTHER, LITTLE SISTER
Texas A&M women's basketball freshman forward Chinemelu Elonu, could become only the second known brother-sister combination to ever compete and start for the Aggies at the same time. The Houston natives were both highly-recruited players out of Alief Elsik High School and hail from a family of five children with Nigerian roots. The A&M men and women will play simultaneously on Sunday with the Aggie men hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 4 p.m. (CT). The most famous and memorable Aggie brother-sister combo was former NFL linebacker and second-round draft pick John Roper (1985-87) and All-Southwest Conference Decade Team member and third all-time leading scorer Donna Roper (1986-89) in the late 80's. Ironically, the Ropers were both from the Houston area and attended Jack Yates High School. The Elonus are one of just three current Aggie siblings who are competing for A&M this season. The list includes sisters Natalie and Cydne Currie in women's soccer and brothers Jamie and Terrence McCoy in football.
TENACIOUS D
Last season, the magic number was 68 as the Aggie defense held numerous opponents throughout the season to either their fewest or second-fewest points of the season including NCAA Elite Eight opponent and eventual national champion Tennessee (53), Wichita State (36), Indiana (48), Missouri (39), NCAA Second Round opponent Harford (39), Michigan (41), New Orleans (44) and Iowa State (46). A&M went on to finish 14th nationally in scoring defense and tops in the Big 12 holding opponents to an average of 54.8 points per game.
THE KANSAS CITY CONNECTION
Texas A&M head coach Tanisha Smith, a former JUCO All-American from Arkansas-Fort Smith, and preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Taniqua Hollis.
STARTER-UP!
Experience and leadership from its veterans will be key for the Aggies during the 2008-09 season. Two Aggies are currently among the top 10 returning players in the nation with the most career games started under their belts. Senior Takia Starks is No. 6 nationally with 95 career starts, while senior La Toya Micheaux is tied for 10th with 93 career starts. Connecticut's Renee Montgomery leads the nation at 109 career starts followed by Oklahoma's Courtney Paris at 99.
MERCER RECAP
Texas A&M 73, Mercer 45
• Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Takia Starks, Tanisha Smith, Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux. It marked Starks' 95th of her career, Micheaux her 93rd and Gant her 56th.
• It was the first official career start for Smith and Elonu who both started against the Houston Jaguars in exhibition play on Nov. 7. Smith, the preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, led all scorers in the first half with nine points, followed by preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyra White who added seven off the bench. White, a redshirt freshman, was returning to the lineup after suffering an ACL injury in her first game as an Aggie at SMU in the team's season opener on Nov. 9, 2007.
• All 15 players on the A&M roster saw action in the game including six of the team's newcomers in junior college All-American Smith and freshmen Elonu, Taniqua Hollis (one point).
• Prior to the game, the Aggies were presented with their 2008 NCAA Elite Eight and Big 12 Championship rings by their selected academic advisors, instructors and professors in their field of study at A&M.
• With her 12 points tonight, senior Takia Starks as two current Aggies ranked in the top 10. Gant also had one block to move into the top 5 in the career charts to tie former player Jaynetta Saunders (82) in the category.
• Sophomore point guard Sydney Colson entered the game at the five minute mark of the first half. She suffered a torn ACL in her right knee over the summer and had surgery performed in June. Colson, who was cleared for drills and workouts on Nov. 9, connected on a three-pointer with 4:15 remaining in the half.
• A&M improved to an undefeated 2-0 versus Mercer in the all-time series between the two schools.
• The Aggies had their second-largest crowd for a season opener with 3,387 in attendance versus Mercer. It was the second most next to 6,443 fans against Pepperdine (doubleheader with men) in the 2006-07 season opener.
• The A&M defense held Mercer to the fourth-fewest all-time points in a half by an opponent with 15.
• The Aggies made 15 blocks in the game which was more than the team's season-high of nine versus UT Arlington and New Orleans in 2007-08.
BLAIR NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"The State Farm Tip-Off Classic signifies the start of the women's college basketball season and is a showcase for some of the top teams in the nation. It is an honor to be chosen as one of this year's four participating teams, especially since it is our first time. Hopefully, in years to come, we will be able to host the same event in College Station."
"I have been a State Farm policy holder since 1980 and I believe in their product. I believe in what they are doing to give back to the women's game. They have been committed to the sport for a number of years and when a lot of companies come and go, State Farm has been there for the long haul. I remember and value the corporate sponsors that have been with us (women's college basketball) since the very beginning and State Farm is one of them."
"You have to go on the road to earn RPI points and you want to schedule more home-and-home games. It is a risk-reward situation. It is a risk-reward game to play a Sweet 16 team (Pittsburgh) in your second game of the year. If you want to make that next step, you have to risk, to gain the rewards."
"What she (Agnus Berenato) has accomplished at Pitt, is the same thing that I've done at Texas A&M. She has built a once dormant program, into one of the top teams in the Big East and turned them into a national power. She does it with hard work, great recruiting and having her teams ready to play. We will have our hands full with Pitt and Shavonte Zellous."
"(Notre Dame head coach) Muffett McGraw is pretty quiet, but the rest of us (Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato and LSU head coach Van Chancellor) are blabbermouths. It is a combination of two Southern guys and two Northern girls who talk fast. We (Blair and Chancellor) are going to try to show them some Southern hospitality this weekend at the Tip-Off Classic."
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. First-year play-by-play announcer Mike Wright will call the action live from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center alongside color analyst and former player Katy Pounds on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.
