Texas A&M
4-0
Arizona
3-2
No. 5 Texas A&M Holds Off Arizona On The Road, 54-44
Nov 25, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2008
Arizona Box Score in PDF Format 
TUCSON, Ariz. - Senior All-America candidate Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) turned in her first double-double of the season with a game-high 12 points and 10 rebounds as No. 5 Texas A&M held off Arizona, 54-44, Tuesday night at Lute and Bobbi Olson Court at the McKale Center.
Gant's double-double was the 13th of her career, while A&M set a program milestone with its first-ever road victory in the all-time series versus Arizona (3-2) in Tucson. The win also catapulted the Aggies to one of their best starts in school history with an unblemished 4-0 record which includes three consecutive victories on the road.
After a 9-4 run by Arizona in the opening minutes of the game, A&M stepped up its defensive pressure and took the Wildcats deep into the shot clock on their possessions. Freshman reserve Sydney Carter (DeSoto, Texas) knocked down a three-pointer at the 9:05 minute mark to relinquish the lead, 13-11, and the Aggies never trailed again.
A&M held Arizona to a season-low 24.5 percent (12-of-49) shooting from the floor, but the Wildcats were able to stay in the ballgame by going nearly perfect from the free throw line making 20-of-23 charity attempts including 13 of their 23 first-half points with a 92.9 percent accuracy rate.
In the second half of play, the Aggies pushed the lead out to as many as 13 points as Carter hit the front end of a one-and-one from the free throw line. A&M led most of the second half by double digits, but Arizona got within four with a jumper by Reiko Thomas with under two and a half minutes to go, 48-44. A&M remained composed as Gant and Carter combined for A&M's 6-0 scoring run in the final stretch to hold off the Wildcats' last second-attempt at an upset.
Senior All-America candidate Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) was the only other A&M player in double figures with 10 points and a season-high seven rebounds, despite a sprained ankle in the first half. Reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Week Adaora Elonu (Houston, Texas) scoring six of the team's first 15 points of the ballgame and ended the night with eight.
With Arizona coming into the ballgame with a +10.8 advantage on its previous opponents on the boards, A&M more than met its goal with a season-high 48 rebounds to the Wildcats' 35. Post players La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) and Damitria Buchanan (Houston, Texas) each had five.
The Aggies continue their West Coast swing by traveling to Southern California for the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament hosted by Pepperdine on Nov. 28-29 in Malibu, Calif. A&M will take on Penn State (3-1) on Friday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. (CT) and either host Pepperdine (2-2) or Coppin State (0-2) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 3 or 5:30 p.m. (CT).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux.
• With the victory, A&M evens the all-time series with Arizona to 2-2 and picks up its first-ever victory on the road in Tucson.
• For the third-straight game, Danielle Gant led the Aggies on the boards with 10 of the team's season-high 48 for the game. It marked the second time that A&M boarded more than 40 in a game this season next to 45 versus Mercer in its opener on Nov. 14. Gant registered her 13th career double-double with a game-high 12 points.
• Freshman reserve point guard Sydney Carter (DeSoto, Texas) scored her first career points as an Aggie on a three-pointer at the 9:05 minute mark of the first half. Carter ended the night with six points in just nine minutes of action with a 3-for-4 performance from the charity stripe.
• A&M is off to a 4-0 start for only the sixth time in school history next to the beginning of the 1977-78, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95 and 2006-07 seasons.
• Freshman forward Kelsey Assarian (Naples, Fla.) recorded a career-high five points in a career-high 17 minutes of action versus the Wildcats.
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"This was a good ballgame. Both teams had trouble scoring because of the defense. Give the defenses by both teams a lot of credit. We had 20 turnovers and most of them were unforced. We won the game because of our depth. We were able to get 67 minutes out of our bench with 17 points, while Arizona had 27 minutes with six points. She (Arizona head coach Niya Butts) will be short-handed all year until she can get some of her players back from injuries. We did not take advantage of wearing them down. That is why we stayed in the press to get them to miss shots. We gave up one lay-up all night and I can live with that. Their post players were as good or better than what saw against Pittsburgh and Michigan who are two really good teams. Arizona's post players know how to play within themselves and do not take bad shots."
On the team's defense and Danielle Gant clutch play near the end of regulation ...
"We play the game a different way. Our defense has won our last three games for us, while our offense is under construction. Our defense is pretty special and has kept us going this far over the last couple of years. We run a lot of isolations and the motion offense that we ran in the middle of the second half was what worked consistently for us. Danielle (Gant) also scored our last six points at Michigan and she is our go-to player right now until we can get (Takia) Starks going. She wants the ball and is a double-double waiting to happen."
Texas A&M Senior Guard/Forward Danielle Gant
On her play in the final minutes of the ballgame to secure A&M's victory ...
"I did not make most of my shots in the first half, but Coach Blair pulled me aside and told me to calm down. The score was so close (in the final minutes) that I knew I had to make a good move and a basket in order for us to stay in the game. We were able to get another win on the road."
