Texas A&M
5-0
Penn State
3-2
No. 5 Texas A&M Outlasts Lady Lions Down The Stretch, 61-57
Nov 28, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2008
Penn State Box Score in PDF Format 
Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Coach Blair
Danielle Gant
MALIBU, Calif. -Senior All-America candidate Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) scored a season-high 20 points to lead No. 5 Texas A&M to a 61-57 victory over Penn State in the opening round of the Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tournament held Friday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Senior All-America candidate Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 14 to help the Aggies remain an undefeated 5-0 on the season. A&M had two key steals by junior Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) and Starks in the final minute of regulation to send the Aggies to the line and secure yet another win on its current six-game road swing.
A&M went 8-for-12 from the charity stripe, including two from Starks, in the final three minutes of regulation to hold off Penn State (3-2). The Aggies led by as many as 15 in the second half of play, but PSU responded with a 13-0 run to get within two of the Aggies, 48-46, with 10:35 remaining in regulation. A&M committed 22 turnovers in the contest which resulted in 27 points for the Lady Lions including 16 in the second half.
Penn State's Tyra Grant, who turned in a game-high 22 points, missed her second free throw attempt with 0.6 seconds left for a chance to tie up the contest. Brianne O'Rourke had 14 and Julia Trogele 12 for the Lady Lions.
The Aggies will take on host Pepperdine (3-2) in tomorrow's championship game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (CT). The Waves defeated Coppin State (0-3) in a 54-36 win in the second game of the tournament doubleheader.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the second time this season and second-straight game, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Takia Starks, Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux (2-0).
• With the victory, A&M went to 1-0 in the all-time series versus Penn State after both team's first-ever meeting.
• Starks scored a team-and season-high 20 points to mark her 17th 20-point game of her career.
• For the second consecutive contest, A&M cleared the glass with 44 total rebounds including seven from Gant and six from Micheaux.
• As a team, the Aggies made a season-high 17 steals against the Lady Lions.
• Kelsey Assarian eclipsed her previous career-and season-high with six points credited to 2-of-3 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe in just 11 minutes of play for the Aggies.
• The Aggies are off to an undefeated 5-0 start of the season for only the fourth time in school history next to the beginning of the 1977-78, 1993-94 and 2006-07 campaigns.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"When you lose three starters (Morenike Atunrase, A'Quonesia Franklin and Patrice Reado), you lose some of your cohesiveness. Just because we have a lot of talent coming off the bench, does not necessarily mean that they know what to do against a zone offense. We had great shots in the first half. We built a lead and then let them back into the ballgame due to our turnovers. They killed us on the boards in the second half. It was very physical and we were not doing a good job on the defensive boards. Let's give Penn State a lot of kudos and what she (Penn State head coach Coquese Washington) is doing in her second year of coaching. You can stay in the ballgame as long as you have a point guard like they have in Brianne O'Rourke."
On the team's 22 turnovers in the ballgame ...
"There is no excuse to have that many turnovers against a team that does not press and plays a zone. We find a way to win and a lot of that is due to our experience over the last three years. We know how to win the close games in the Big 12 and in the NCAA Tournament. Right now, we are getting everyone's best game. We used to be in their shoes. It is exactly what happened to us in our first year when we were just learning how to compete and not necessarily learning how to win. One of the key things that happened to us was that we forced two turnovers in the last minute of play. We played O.K. as a team, but not great. We made a lot of defensive mistakes in the second half due to their driving ability and their ability on the boards. I thought Kelsey Assarian gave us a spark off the bench and that is what we needed to have. She came in and made some really good plays for us."
Texas A&M Senior Guard/Forward Danielle Gant
On the close outcome of the game and Penn State ...
"We have been in these situations before. As a senior, I felt that our team needed to calm down. We were not losing. We had a lot of time on the clock to take back the lead and stay in the game. It is going to be like this every road game. We know that everyone is after us. In the second half, they came out running. Their point guard (Brianne O'Rourke) was really great out there. She pushed the tempo and they were ready to run on us."
On the team's turnovers ...
"It was part of Penn State's defense and it was part of our offense. We did not take care of the ball and did not take our time. We threw it to a wide-open player, instead of looking up the floor to see who was open."
