Dec. 19, 2008
#4/3 TEXAS A&M (9-0) vs. #24/25 TCU (8-3)
Game #10
December 21, 2008 • 1:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,500)
at College Station, Texas
Television: ESPNU
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M Leads 28-3
Internet: Live Audio and Statistics available on www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
`Tis the season for a pre-holiday top 25 showdown between the third-ranked and undefeated Texas A&M women's basketball team and No. 24-ranked and upset-minded TCU (8-3) on Sunday, Dec. 21, in a nationally-televised contest on ESPNU. Tipoff between the Aggies and Lady Frogs is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at Reed Arena. Both teams continue to rekindle a rivalry series originating from the glory days of the old Southwest Conference having played one another in each of the last three seasons. They are currently in the second year of a four-year home-and-home contract. Prior to their meeting in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, which sent both teams nearly 2,000 miles away from the Lone Star State to Trenton, N.J., A&M and TCU were previously on a 10-year hiatus in the series since moving on to the Big 12 and Mountain West Conferences respectively in 1996. The Aggies are celebrating a school-record 9-0 start to the holiday season and would like to put the final trimmings on a perfect 10, prior to the Christmas break. The Lady Frogs, however, could play the role as the Grinch having already beaten two No. 3's this season in Maryland and Cal.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Half-Price Holiday Hoops continues with the TCU game on Dec. 21 through the Texas A&M men's and women's basketball doubleheader with McNeese State and George Washington on Jan. 3. Tickets are available for purchase starting as low as $2.50 by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE, online at www.12thmanfoundation.com, or in person at the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Center's Kyle Field or Reed Arena locations. Don't forget to bring your camera as Santa Claus will make a special appearance on the Reed Arena concourse to take pictures with little Aggie fans. Aggie Athletes Involved will also be hosting their annual Toy Drive benefiting Toys for Tots. Fans are encouraged to donate toys as they enter Reed Arena.
ON THE TUBE
Texas A&M makes its third non-conference appearance on the tube this season as Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars head coach Dan Hughes (color analyst) call the action live from Reed Arena on ESPNU. Hughes, who is also the general manager of the Silver Stars, acquired former A&M standout Morenike Atunrase (2005-08) in this year's WNBA Draft via a trade with the Atlanta Dream and led the Silver Stars to their first-ever WNBA Finals appearance as Western Conference champions in 2008. ESPNU can be viewed by satellite television subscribers nationally on DirecTV Channel 609 or Dish Network Channel 148. ESPNU is also available in some parts of the country to fans who subscribe to Cox Communications and Time Warner cable. Check your local listings.
UPSET "U"
TCU has already knocked off two No. 3-ranked opponents this year in its season opener against No. 3 Maryland (80-68) on Nov. 14 and on the road at No. 3 Cal (82-73) on Dec. 7. Besides being called Upset "U", the Lady Frogs can also be nicknamed Transfer "U" as four of the 12 players on their roster have been transplanted to Fort Worth by way of Big 12 rivals Nebraska (TK LaFleur) and Texas (Rachel Rentschler) as well as mid-majors George Washington (Chantelle John) and Louisiana Tech (Eboni Mangum). Sophomore point guard Helena Sverrisdottir, who was named to the five-member preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team, paces TCU with a team-leading 17.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists at 6-foot-1. She is one of seven Lady Frog players over six-feet tall and one of just three players who appeared on the box score in last year's 10-point loss to the Aggies in Fort Worth. With the loss of six letterwinners who reached the quarterfinals of the Postseason WNIT in 2008, TCU was picked to finish third in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll. They are 1-2 on the road this season and recently lost 85-80 at No. 24 Oklahoma State on Dec. 14.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, So. (6.0 ppg, 3.8 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Sr. (12.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Sr. (12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Fr. (7.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Sr. (4.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
TCU
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#4 Helen Sverrisdottir, G, 6-1, So. (17.0 ppg, 5.2 apg)
#12 TK LaFleur, G, 5-8, Jr. (14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
#15 Emily Carter, G, 6-1, So. (8.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#41 Rachel Rentschler, F, 6-2, So. (11.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
#42 Micah Garoutte, F, 6-2, So. (7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
SERIES HISTORY
Texas A&M holds a 28-3 advantage in the all-time series with TCU. The last two meetings with the Lady Frogs have been decided by 10 points or less including last year's 68-58 (+10) victory in Fort Worth on Dec. 2, 2007. The Aggies previously held a 13-game winning streak in the series, prior to a 69-65 (-4) loss to the Lady Frogs in the NCAA First Round on March 19, 2006 in Trenton, N.J. Both teams will meet for only the second time in regular-season play since A&M became a member of the Big 12 in 1996. A&M's three losses in the series have come twice on the road in 1989 (81-68) and 1990 (55-51) and once on a neutral site (NCAA Tournament). The Aggies are an undefeated 15-0 all-time when playing the Lady Frogs at home in College Station dating back to a 66-58 win on Jan. 27, 1982 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
TCU REWIND
No. 12 Texas A&M received season-high scoring efforts from veterans Takia Starks, A'Quonesia Franklin and Patrice Reado to lift the Aggies to a 68-58 victory over old Southwest Conference rival TCU on Dec. 2, 2007, at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth. The victory avenged a 69-65 loss that the Lady Frogs handed the Aggies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2006. Starks led the way with 24 points, which included 12 points in each half, Franklin put in 19 and Reado contributed 17 to account for 60 of the Aggies' 68 points. A&M shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field for the third time this season. TCU took a two-point lead of 28-26 into halftime, but an early rally by the Aggies gave A&M a six-point lead of 38-32 with 15:24 remaining in the second period. The Aggies increased their lead to a game-high 15 points with 9:11 remaining and then held off the Frogs down the stretch. A&M's victory was just TCU's third home loss in the last 26 games at Daniel-Meyers Coliseum.
TK-O
It will be a battle of the TK's which will surely deliver a knockout to the national audience on ESPNU. Texas A&M senior All-America candidate Takia "T-Kay" Starks and TCU junior transfer TK LaFleur are both teams' go-to players who can shoot lights out in the gym. Starks is currently averaging a team-leading 12.9 points per game, while LaFleur is second on the Lady Frog team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. Ironically, both two-guards are Houston natives as Starks was named the state Gatorade Player of the Year out of Westfield High School, while LaFleur was a standout at Langham Creek High School before finishing out her junior and senior campaigns at Warren Township High School in the Chicago metro area.
THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
A&M and TCU each have added six newcomers into the fold including both of their respective conferences newcomer of the year. The Aggies boast Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Tanisha Smith, a JUCO All-American out of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, while the Lady Frogs boast Mountain West Newcomer of the Year Eboni Mangum, a transfer from Louisiana Tech. A&M's newcomers, tabbed as the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big 12 and 12th nationally by the All-Star Girls Basketball Report a year ago, are contributing 42 percent of the scoring for the Aggies, while TCU's newcomers account for 50 percent of the team's production. Three A&M rookies have earned Big 12 Freshmen of the Week honors four times this season including Adaora Elonu (twice), redshirt freshman Tyra White and Sydney Carter.
JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
The biggest present of all has arrived just in time for the Christmas holidays for the Aggies. The A&M women's basketball coaching staff will move into their new offices located on the third floor of the $26 million state-of-the-art Cox-McFerrin Center For Aggie Basketball over the weekend. The team has also enjoyed the comforts of their new lockerroom, multimedia room and training room located on the first floor of the 68,000 square foot facility this fall as well as their new practice gym and weight room on the second floor.
AGAINST THE MWC
Texas A&M is 34-9 (.791) all-time against schools hailing from the Mountain West Conference including TCU (28-3), Colorado State (1-0), San Diego State (2-0), UNLV (2-5) and Wyoming (1-1). In fact, the Aggies will face back-to-back opponents from the MWC with a first-ever meeting scheduled against 2008 NCAA Tournament participant New Mexico after the Christmas holiday break on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at Reed Arena.
NATIONAL LEADERS
The Aggie defense currently ranks among the top 15 in five NCAA statistical categories including No. 1 in the nation in three-point field goal defense (.160), No. 3 in field-goal percentage defense (30.5), No. 4 in scoring defense (49.0), No. 12 in steals per game (12.8) and No. 1 in won-lost percentage (100.0) as of Dec. 14. On the other side of the coin, TCU is ranked No. 5 in three-point field goal percentage (41.2), No. 6 is free throw percentage (80.1), No. 6 in turnovers per game (12.4), No. 13 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.12) and No. 15 in scoring offense (77.1).
YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE
A&M extended its school-record start to 9-0 with a 94-45 rout of Texas State on Dec. 13. The Aggies are one of just eight schools in the country to remain unbeaten along with top-ranked Connecticut (7-0), No. 2 North Carolina (11-0), No. 5 Texas (9-0), No. 10 Auburn (10-0), No. 23/18 Kansas State (9-0), Wake Forest (8-0) and Mississippi State (8-0). Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair has now guided two Division I programs to undefeated 9-0 starts including his 11th-ranked 1988-89 Stephen F. Austin squad which went 8-0 into the Christmas holiday break with a 66-59 victory over UTSA on Dec. 19, 1988, before extending its win streak to 9-0 with a 74-55 win over Kansas on Jan. 4, 1989. No Blair-coached team, aside from his days as head coach at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas from 1973-80 or as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech from 1980-85, has ever gone 10-0 to start off a season.
NON-CONFERENCE TESTS
The Aggies' final four-game non-conference stretch will test them prior to Big 12 Conference play as upcoming opponents New Mexico (Dec. 30), George Washington (Jan. 3) and Florida State (Jan. 5) all reached the NCAA Tournament in 2008 including a Sweet 16 run by the GW Colonials. A&M currently holds a 35-game winning streak against non-conference opponents at home dating back to January of 2004.
AGGIE SIDEBARS
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 5-2 lifetime against TCU in 24 years of coaching on the Division I level. He is 1-1 all-time versus the Lady Frogs in his six seasons in Aggieland.
• Three of TCU's transfers are familiar faces to the Aggies. TK Lafleur and Rachel Rentschler both played against A&M in Big 12 Conference play while at Nebraska and rival UT respectively. Meanwhile, Chantelle John faced the Aggies in NCAA second-round action while a member of George Washington's Sweet 16 squad in 2007.
• TCU is one of seven schools, non-conference and Big 12 combined, hailing from the Lone Star State on A&M's 2008-09 slate. The Aggies are 3-0 this season against in-state rivals with victories over Stephen F. Austin (77-36) on Dec. 2, SMU (80-48) on Dec. 7 and Texas State (94-45) on Dec. 13.
• Friendships will be put aside as Coach Blair goes up against TCU head coach Jeff Mittie who is one of his good friends and golfing buddies in the offseason. Mittie was one of several current and former women's basketball coaches who recorded a congratulatory message to Coach Blair upon his 500th career victory versus Iowa State on Feb. 20, 2008.
TEXAS STATE RECAP
Texas A&M 94, Texas State 45
• For the fifth time this year, Texas A&M used the starting five of Takia Starks, Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux (5-0).
• With the win, the Aggies claimed their eight-straight win in the all-time series versus Texas State and now lead 12-2. It also marked their ninth-straight win at Reed Arena and 35th-straight home court victory over a non-conference opponent.
• Six players reached double figures for the first time since Morenike Atunrase, Ashlaa Horton and Adrian McGowen did so in a 109-26 blowout of McNeese State on Nov. 21, 2006.
• La Toya Micheaux turned in her fourth career double-double with a season-high 10 points and 11 rebounds. Colson's 11 assists were the most since former A&M standout A'Quonesia Franklin dished out 10 versus Texas on Feb. 9, 2008.
• A&M tied a Reed Arena record with 59 rebounds against the Bobcats which matched 59 boards versus Saint Peter's on Nov. 21, 2005. It marked the most rebounds by the Aggies since bringing down 50 versus McNeese State on Nov. 21, 2006.
• Tyra White scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 makes from the charity stripe. It marked her fifth double-digit game this season.
• A&M's 49-point margin of victory was the 13th largest in school history over an opponent and its 94 total points the most overall points scored during the season.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"He (TCU head coach Jeff Mittie) has done that each year which is probably why they have been to the NCAA Tournament eight out of the last nine years. If you want to get to that next level, you have to play the competition. The Mountain West has been the best non-BCS conference over the last two years." - Head Coach Gary Blair on TCU's tough non-conference scheduling
"Coach Mittie is a good friend of mine. The only time I really had the distinct advantage on him was on the golf course. Generally, when you put the handicaps in, we play even up. TCU is one of those schools who is not afraid to play people. In order to beat them, we will have to stay in transition which we have done a good job of over the last couple of games. We will have to dissect whichever zone we see, because they have a variety of zones. I hope I can dare them to play us man the whole game, but that is not going to happen. Coach Mittie does a great job of teaching and coaching the game. Someday, he is going to get his chance at one of the BCS jobs and is next on the waiting list. But, why leave a place when you are winning at 70 percent? Sometimes it is not always greener on the other side, unless you are going to a BCS school who is totally committed like Texas A&M is." - Coach Blair on his friendship with TCU Head Coach Jeff Mittie and what the Aggies will see against his team
"They have a veteran team. Their point guard (Helena Sverrisdottir) makes good decisions. There aren't too many times we will go up against a 6-foot-1 point guard, but this will get us ready for the Big 12. Last year, our press did not bother them much in Fort Worth, but it seems to work better for us at home." - Coach Blair on TCU's strengths
"You better take care of your home court and not put yourself in that position. Give credit to your opponent. They did not just get off the turnip truck. They (TCU) are pretty good and this will be a good top 25 matchup for us. Transition will be the key and not turning over the ball." - Coach Blair on top 25 upsets across the country and the parity in women's college basketball
"We have extra firepower this year. When you put Tanisha (Smith), T-Kay (Starks), Tyra (White) and (Sydney) Colson all in the ballgame at the same time, you have four pretty good three-point shooters. Starks is the best shooter from the three with the worst percentage right now, but somebody else can pick up the pace. That is the beauty of this team. We share the basketball pretty well. We have five or six players scoring in double figures and we are going to win a lot of games that way." - Coach Blair on attacking TCU's zone
"It grew into a rivalry. We enjoy playing them. They are a great team and have impressive height. Every time we play them, we take it like it's a Big 12 game. We are really focusing and preparing for them this week. We hope our fans can come out and support us, because it will be a battle." - Senior All-America candidate Takia Starks on A&M's rivalry with TCU over the last couple of years
"We expect a lot out of them. They have beaten several top-ranked teams this year. We played them last year and know what their strengths are. We know they have gotten better since and that they are going to run a lot of zone on us. Our main focus is to work on that zone and play as a team." - Senior All-America candidate Danielle Gant on TCU
ON THE NATIONAL SCENE
The Aggies have remained ranked in the top 5 in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll for a school-record four-straight weeks. They are No. 4 nationally in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and a school-record No. 3 in the latest Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. Seven current top 25 opponents are on the Aggies' 2008-09 schedule including Pittsburgh, TCU, Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. A&M is 1-0 this season against top 25 competition with a 56-50 win over then No. 23-ranked Pitt in the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 16 in Baton Rouge, La.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (7-0)
2. North Carolina (10-0)
3. Stanford (7-1)
4. Texas A&M (9-0)
5. Texas (9-0)
6. Oklahoma (8-2)
7. Baylor (9-1)
8. Duke (6-1)
9. Louisville (9-1)
10. Auburn (10-0)
11. Tennessee (7-2)
12. Cal (8-2)
13. Notre Dame (8-1)
14. Rutgers (6-2)
15. Maryland (8-2)
16. Pittsburgh (7-1)
17. Virginia (7-2)
18. Ohio State (7-2)
19. Vanderbilt (8-2)
20. Florida (10-1)
21. Arizona State (7-2)
22. Oklahoma State (4-2)
23. Kansas State (9-0)
24. TCU (8-3)
25. Georgia Tech (8-2)
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL
1. Connecticut (7-0)
2. North Carolina (11-0)
3. Texas A&M (9-0)
4. Stanford (7-1)
5. Texas (9-0)
6. Oklahoma (8-2)
7T. Notre Dame (8-1)
7T. Baylor (9-1)
9. Cal (8-2)
10. Auburn (10-0)
11. Louisville (9-1)
12. Duke (6-1)
13. Tennessee (7-2)
14. Rutgers (6-2)
15. Virginia (7-2)
16. Maryland (8-2)
17. Ohio State (8-2)
18. Kansas State (9-0)
19. Pittsburgh (7-1)
20. Vanderbilt (8-2)
21. Arizona State (7-2)
22. South Dakota State (10-1)
23. Oklahoma State (4-2)
24. Florida (10-1)
25. TCU (8-3)
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. Play-by-play announcer Mike Wright will call the action live from Reed Arena alongside color analyst Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.