No. 19 Texas A&M To Battle Texas Tech and Breast Cancer Sunday On ESPN2
Feb 16, 2008 | Women's Basketball
February 16, 2008
With six games remaining in the Big 12 Conference race, the 19th-ranked Texas A&M women?™s basketball team (17-7, 5-5) looks to position itself well for upcoming postseason action. Every game from here-on-out will be crucial as A&M hosts Texas Tech (14-10, 2-8) in its second go-around in the home-and-home series with a Big 12 South rival on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Reed Arena. The defending league champions and preseason-favorite Aggies and Lady Raiders are scheduled to tipoff at 3 p.m. before a nationally-televised audience on ESPN2. Fifteen days will have passed since both teams met each other for the first time of the season on Feb. 2. Their first meeting resulted in a 63-46 A&M victory which marked the program?™s third-ever road win in Lubbock. A&M has won its last four out of five with a recent 68-56 loss at No. 10 Oklahoma on Feb. 12 which snapped a four-game win streak in league play, its second-longest stretch of the season. Over the last two years during the program?™s resurgence on the national scene, Reed Arena has become a destination league foes have found little success as the Aggies have won 26 of their last 28 contests at the venue. A&M has played some of its best basketball in the second portion of its conference slate, but the road to the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City will be a tough one with the likes of Tech, Iowa State, Texas, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Baylor and OU ahead. The Aggies are 2-3 this year versus the Big 12 South and have only swept the Lady Raiders once since the league?™s inception in 1996-97.
HELP BEAT THE HELL OUTTA BREAST CANCER
The ?Think Pink? national campaign set forth by the Women?™s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) is an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women?™s basketball, on campuses and in communities. More than 900 schools nationwide will participate in ?Think Pink? week which begins on Feb. 8 and concludes on Feb. 17. Texas A&M will participate in its own ?Think Pink? game on Sunday. The Aggies will host the second-annual ?Beat the Hell Outta Breast Cancer? game versus the Lady Raiders at Reed Arena. A&M?™s goal is to raise $35,000 that will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is the world?™s largest and most progressive grass roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. A ?BTHO Breast Cancer? 5K Fun Run sponsored by Chevron will be held in conjunction with the game and T-shirts will also be sold for $5 at various locations. A special reserved pink ticket can also be purchased for the game. The cost is $10, which includes an $8 contribution to the Komen Foundation and a $2 ticket. Seating will be the best available seat at the preferred seating level. Standard ticket prices for the ?BTHO Breast Cancer? game are $11 for courtside, $9 for mezzanine and $5 for gallery. Tickets may be purchased online at www.12thManFoundation.com or by via phone at: 1-888-99-AGGIE. For more information on the ?BTHO Breast Cancer? game and its surrounding festivities, please visit the event?™s special website at www.AggieAthletics.com.
BLAIR PLEDGES DONATION TO KAY YOW/WBCA CANCER FUND
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair will donate $5 to the Women?™s Basketball Coaches Association?™s cancer fund for every A&M student who attends Sunday?™s ?BTHO Breast Cancer? game. A&M will look to ?Pink Out? Reed Arena. The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund and the ?Think Pink? initiative is a global, unified effort among the WBCA?™s legion of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across college campuses, in local communities and beyond. Yow, in her 33rd season as the head coach at North Carolina State, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and is currently battling the disease for the third time.
BREAST CANCER FACTS
?* Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for all women and the leading overall cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 20 and 59.
?* In the United States, breast cancer is expected to be newly diagnosed every three minutes, and a woman will die from breast cancer every 13 minutes.
?* African American women have a higher breast cancer death rate than women of any other racial or ethnic population.
?* Eighty percent of all breast tumors are benign.
?* In 2007, it was estimated that there would be 178,480 new cases of breast cancer in women and 2,030 new cases of breast cancer in men. Of these, an estimated 40,460 women and 450 men will die from the disease.
?* The basic treatment choices for breast cancer are surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.
?* The most common risk factors of breast cancer are sex, age, personal history, family history and breast cancer genes.
?* The highest risk factor for breast cancer is being female with the disease being 100 times more common among women.
?* The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman grows older.
?* Women who have had breast cancer and women with a history of breast disease may develop it again.
?* The risk of developing breast cancer increases for a woman whose mother, sister, daughter or two or more relatives have had the disease.
?* Women who begin menstruating before the age of 12 are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer - the more menstrual cycles a woman gets over her lifetime, the more likely she is to get the disease.
?* Early pregnancies may help to lower the chances of getting breast cancer, but these same hormonal changes may work in reverse and contribute to the incidence of breast cancer after age 35.
?* Women who experience continuous menstrual cycles until menopause are at a higher than average risk for breast cancer.
?* There are several lifestyle choices that individuals can make to help reduce breast cancer risk including decreasing daily fat intake (especially saturated and hydrogenated), increasing fiber, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting alcohol, staying active and not smoking.
?* The best available method to detect breast cancer early is a mammography screening.
?* Breast cancer is the most invasive cancer among women in the U.S. accounting for nearly one out of every three cancers diagnosed.
?* An estimated 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to occur in 2007.
*Source: American Cancer Society ?- www.cancer.org
THE BOOK ON TEXAS TECH
The Lady Raiders nearly pulled off an upset of No. 15 Oklahoma State with a heartbreaking 58-56 loss to the Cowgirls on Valentine?™s Day in Lubbock. They will make a quick three-day turnaround in their rematch with A&M. Texas Tech will have faced three-straight top 25 opponents including a 68-45 setback at fifth-ranked Baylor on Feb. 9. Tech is 2-6 this season against ranked foes including five of their current eight losses in Big 12 play. Junior forward Dominic Seals, who is a top candidate for preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is averaging a team-leading 13.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She is one of eight JUCO or Division I transfers on the 14-player roster for second-year head coach Kristy Curry. Tech has lost five of its last six contests and looks to rebound from its recent woes. However, the road to recovery will prove challenging with A&M, Kansas, Nebraska, OU, OSU and Texas rounding out their last six games of the season. On the bright side, the Lady Raiders currently rank 20th nationally in rebounding margin (6.8) and 35th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (36.8).
ON THE DEUCE
Texas A&M will appear on national television a school-record eight times during the 2007-08 season including its sixth all-time appearance on ESPN and its sister network ESPN2. Pam Ward (play-by-play) and Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman (color analyst) will call the action live from Reed Arena on ESPN2. The Aggies are 1-3 all-time on the deuce and picked up their first-ever win on the network with a 63-58 victory at then No. 14-ranked Baylor on Feb. 25, 2007 in Waco, Texas. Sunday?™s contest marks the first time ESPN viewers will watch a women?™s college basketball game live from College Station as all five previous ESPN network games were played on the road (1-1) or on a neutral court during the NCAA Division I Women?™s Basketball Championship (1-2) over the last two years.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?™Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 4.9 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (14.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (3.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
TEXAS TECH
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#3 Maria Moore, G, 5-5, Jr. (7.7 ppg, 4.0 apg)
#23 Tiny Henderson, G, 5-7, Jr. (3.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
#31 Ashlee Roberson, F, 5-11, So. (4.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#41 Dominic Seals, F, 6-2, Jr. (13.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg)
#24 Stanecia Graham, C, 6-1, Jr. (8.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Texas Tech may lead 52-12 in the all-time series, but A&M has won the last four-straight meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals. Last season, the Aggies swept the Lady Raiders for the first time since the league?™s formation in 1996-97. Three wins in their current four-game stretch have been won in double digits including a 63-46 (+17) victory in Lubbock on Feb. 2 along with a 67-51 (+16) win in College Station on Feb. 21, 2007 and a 65-48 (+17) win in College Station on Feb. 5, 2006. It is the longest win streak in the 64-game series for A&M. Seven of their 12 victories in the all-time series have been won by eight points or less, while five have be won at home. Four of the Aggies?™ 12 overall series wins have all come in its current four-game stronghold.
LAST TIME OUT
Four players scored in double figures as No. 23 Texas A&M knocked off Texas Tech for only its third-ever road victory in Lubbock, 63-46, before a crowd of 11,352 at United Spirit Arena on Feb. 2. Takia Starks registered a game-high 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while Morenike Atunrase added 13 and Patrice Reado had 10. Danielle Gant paced the Aggies on both ends of the floor with 12 points and 10 rebounds for her 10th career double-double. Down by one at halftime, A&M used a second-half surge to cap a 22-0 run which ended with a three-pointer by Texas Tech?™s Jordan Murphree with 1:23 remaining in regulation. Over the final 12 minutes, A&M outscored the Lady Raiders, 26-5. The Aggies outhustled the Lady Raiders on the boards, 40-26 behind a career-high 14-rebound effort from La Toya Micheaux which included 13 on the defensive end. It marked a season-low for Texas Tech which was 20 rebounds below their league-leading average of 46.0. Tech?™s top two scorers, Dominic Seals and Erin Myrick, were also limited by A&M?™s defensive pressure inside which held the duo to nine and six points respectively. Murphree was the only Lady Raider to score in double figures with 12.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Head coach Gary Blair is 3-6 all-time versus Texas Tech in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. Blair earned his bachelor?™s degree in health and physical education in 1972 and his master?™s degree in education in 1974 from Texas Tech. He also played a season of baseball for the Red Raiders. This year?™s victory in Lubbock marked Blair?™s second-ever win against his alma mater in eight tries.
?* It will be another reunion for two former high school teammates on Sunday. Texas Tech junior reserve guard Keisha Walker (5.2 ppg) played basketball alongside Texas A&M freshman guard and preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyra White at Hickman Mills High School in Kansas City, Mo. White, the No. 17 overall prospect in the Class of 2007 and McDonald?™s High School All-American, was a four-year starter and played two seasons with the elder Walker. She suffered a season-ending ACL injury in her collegiate debut at SMU.
?* The Aggies will wear their specially-made adidas pink uniforms on Sunday. The front of the team?™s white home jersey features the ?Texas A&M? name in traditional maroon block letters along with a pink ampersand (&) shaped like the pink ribbon which has symbolized breast cancer awareness over the years. Last season, A&M defeated Kansas (64-53) in its first-ever ?BTHO Breast Cancer? game before a ?Pink Out? crowd of 5,543 on Feb. 3, 2007.
?* Texas A&M?™s Takia Starks and Patrice Reado have family members who have been affected by cancer over the last couple of years. Vernon Starks, father of Takia who also served as her youth coach, has been battling lymphoma cancer since her senior year in high school prompting the younger Starks to sign with the Aggies to remain in close proximity to her family?™s home in Houston. The 2005 Gatorade Texas Player of the Year originally planned to sign with Auburn until her father?™s diagnosis. Meanwhile, Reado?™s aunt recently passed away from a battle with breast cancer and Sunday?™s game will be a tribute to her and other cancer survivors. Athleticism runs deep through the family bloodlines as Starks?™ father played one season of basketball at Western Kentucky, while Reado?™s mother, Cathy Robinson, played at Texas Southern. Starks is also the cousin of former NBA all-star John Starks who played for the New York Knicks, but has yet to meet him in person.
IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME
College Station has become a field of dreams of sorts for the top college prospects in the nation in men?™s and women?™s basketball. A&M is one of 10 schools in the country to have both their men?™s and women?™s teams ranked in the national polls next to traditional powerhouses Duke, Tennessee, Connecticut, North Carolina and Stanford. The elite group also includes Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Kansas State. First-year men?™s basketball coach Mark Turgeon and fifth-year women?™s basketball coach Gary Blair look to continue to build A&M into a national contender for years to come. The Aggies await completion of the $22 million Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2008. The master plan for basketball includes an above ground, 68,000 square-foot state-of-the-art basketball facility adjacent to Reed Arena that will include a foyer rotunda entrance, two practice gymnasiums, significantly larger locker room facilities, players?™ lounges, coaches?™ offices, a weight room, team meeting rooms, a training/medical room and video rooms.
ONCE AN AGGIE, ALWAYS AN AGGIE
The Spirit of Aggieland stretches far and beyond with more than 280,000 Texas A&M former students throughout the world to make up one of the largest and most active alumni groups in the U.S. Five A&M graduates will be on both sidelines combined on Sunday including Texas Tech assistant coach Kelly Curry who is a Class of 1990 graduate. He is married to Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry who served as an assistant coach under former Aggie head coach Candi Harvey from 1994-96. There is no greater pride than working for your own alma mater. Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer (Class of ?™84), director of basketball operations Erich Birch (Class of ?'02), athletic trainer Mike ?Radar? Ricke (Class of ?™82) and graduate assistant coach Deanna Doles (Class of ?'05) all are A&M graduates and have helped build their alma mater into one of the nation?™s best on the hardwood.
BLAIR NEARING CAREER 500
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is closing in on his 500th career victory with 498 wins to date. He currently ranks second all-time among A&M women?™s basketball coaches with 90 victories behind former head coach Lynn Hickey (154). Blair has compiled a 498-220 (.694) career record and would become the 35th all-time Division I coach in NCAA women?™s basketball history to reach the milestone. The 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year has led the Aggies to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, their first-ever conference title and the program?™s highest national ranking (No. 10) in school history. Blair holds the distinction of being one of only five active Division I women?™s basketball coaches to lead three different schools (Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas) to a top 25 ranking next to Rutgers?™ C. Vivian Stringer, Ohio State?™s Jim Foster, Mississippi State?™s Sharon Fanning and Arkansas?™ Tom Collen.
TAKING CARE OF THE GLASS
The Aggies have turned in nine games with 40-or-more rebounds including a season-high 49 versus New Orleans on Dec. 9 and two in league play. Senior forward Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) is seven boards away from becoming the 19th player in school history to gain entrance into A&M?™s 500-Rebound Club with 493 to date. She has led the team in rebounds in three games this season including a season-high 10 at No. 22 George Washington on Dec. 20. Reado along with teammates Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux and Takia Starks account for 56 percent of the team?™s board production this season. Gant is averaging a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game followed by Micheaux (5.6 rpg), Reado (4.8 rpg) and Starks (4.4 rpg). Micheaux became the 18th player in school history to reach 500 career rebounds (528), while Gant surpassed the milestone earlier this season and ranks seventh all-time in the A&M record books (593).
A FEARSOME FOURSOME
Two Aggies are currently within reach of the 1,000 career point plateau. Senior A?™Quonesia Franklin (999) and junior Danielle Gant (955) look to join junior Takia Starks (1,231) and senior Morenike Atunrase (1,159) who have already reached the 1,000 career-point milestone and rank seventh and ninth respectively in the A&M annals. Only 11 known teams in NCAA women?™s basketball history have had four 1,000-point scorers on their roster in a single season. Franklin is one point away from giving A&M only its second trio of 1,000 point scorers in school history. Former players Lisa Langston, Michelle Tatum and Jenni Edgar are the only A&M trio in school history to have reached the 1,000 career-point plateau during the same season in 1984-85. Franklin would also become only the third player in school history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career assists (572) next to All-American Lisa Branch (1992-96) and Toccara Williams (2000-04).
DEFENSIVE STATS LEADERS
On the national front, Texas A&M ranks 28th overall in scoring defense (56.3) and 39th overall in steals per game (10.7) among NCAA statistical leaders as of Feb. 14. The signature Aggie defense also ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring defense, third in steals per game and tops in three-point field-goal percentage defense (25.6). They also boast a conference-leading +5.62 turnover margin. In fact, four Aggies currently rank among the top 12 all-time players in career steals at A&M. A?™Quonesia Franklin ranks sixth all-time with 191 followed by Morenike Atunrase (8th, 185), Patrice Reado (10th, 172) and Danielle Gant (11th, 169).
OKLAHOMA RECAP
No. 10 Oklahoma outscored No. 19 Texas A&M in the second half of play to win their seventh-straight in Big 12 action, 68-56, before a school-record crowd of 12,168 at the Lloyd Noble Center on Feb. 12. Patrice Reado played through severe migraine headaches to score 12 of her career-high 19 points in league play on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. She recorded 10 points in the first 11 minutes of play with a combination of baby hook shots and layups against the All-American presence of OU?™s Courtney Paris in the paint. Reado also contributed four of the team?™s 14 steals versus the Sooners. The Aggies took a six-point lead into halftime, 32-26, only to be cut by Oklahoma in the opening minutes of the second half. The Sooners, looking to avenge a 54-52 loss which ended their 26-game conference win streak last year, went on to outscore A&M, 42-24, behind a trio of long-range three-pointers by Jenna Plumley who ended the night with 18 points. A&M turned in a first half filled with up-tempo offense and pressure defense. Reado was one of four players to reach double figures including Danielle Gant and senior Morenike Atunrase who each had 11. The Aggies led by as many as eight with 2:34 to go before the break. Defensively, the Aggies forced OU to commit 17 first-half turnovers which resulted in 14 of their 32 first-half points. The Sooners, however, minimized their miscues to four and started the second half on a 13-2 run. Danielle Robinson was sent to the line and made both to tie up the ballgame at 32-all with 18:13 on the clock. Plumley drained a three to increase the OU lead to 37-32. Takia Starks kept A&M close with 10 of her 13 points coming in the second half of play, but it wasn?™t enough as the Aggies lost their first in the last three outings versus OU in the all-time series. Paris led all scorers and rebounders with her 88th career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
A LOOK AT THE RPI
Texas A&M is currently rated No. 16 in the latest RPI index according to CollegeRPI.com as of Feb. 15. The Aggies have the nation?™s eighth toughest schedule with 15 of their opponents advancing to postseason play a year ago and three top 25 matchups left in their last six games of the regular season. Upcoming opponents Texas Tech and Iowa State are rated No. 68 and No. 37 respectively. In addition, the Big 12 Conference is rated the No. 1 league in the country with eight member schools rated in the RPI Top 35 according to the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
Kansas State, picked to finish tied for eighth with Texas Tech, in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll leads the pack with a 9-1 record in league play. The Wildcats took over the top spot as second-place Baylor (9-2) was upset by tied for seventh Texas (4-6) on Feb. 13. Once again, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are tied for third with identical 8-2 marks, while Nebraska (6-4) and Texas A&M (5-5) round out the top half of the latest Big 12 standings. The Huskers and Aggies are followed by UT, Iowa State (4-6), Kansas (3-7), Texas Tech (2-8), Colorado (2-9) and Missouri (1-9).
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Kansas State (17-6, 9-1)
2. Baylor (21-3, 9-2)
3T. Oklahoma State (20-3, 8-2)
3T. Oklahoma (18-4, 8-2)
5. Nebraska (17-7, 6-4)
6. Texas A&M (17-7, 5-5)
7T. Texas (16-8, 4-6)
7T. Iowa State (15-8, 4-6)
9. Kansas (14-9, 3-7)
10. Texas Tech (14-10, 2-8)
11. Colorado (13-11, 2-9)
12. Missouri (8-15, 1-9)
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 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.
