Texas A&M
22-7, 10-5
Baylor
24-4, 12-3
Texas A&M 72, Baylor 53
Mar 01, 2008 | Women's Basketball
March 01, 2008
Senior Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) had a season-high 24 points and No. 20 Texas A&M got a surprisingly easy 72-53 win over eighth-ranked Baylor to extend its Big 12 Conference-best winning streak to five games.
Sixteen of Atunrase?™s points came in a key run in the first half that stretched A&M?™s lead from one point to 19.
The Bears (24-4, 12-3) had a chance to clinch at least a share of the regular season Big 12 title with a win, but instead suffered their worst loss since a 24-point defeat by then-No. 5 Stanford in December.
Baylor won its first meeting with A&M this season with a last-minute 3-pointer, but this time the Aggies took over midway through the first half and led by double-digits for the rest of the game.
The Aggies led by 19 at halftime and a 7-1 run stretched the lead to 57-32 midway through the second half. Senior Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) made all of A&M?™s points in that span.
Baylor outscored A&M 15-6 in the next 4 1/2 minutes, capped by a 3-pointer by Angela Tisdale, to cut the lead to 63-47 with about 5 1/2 minutes to play. The Bears wouldn?™t get any closer as the Aggies scored seven straight points, fueled by two 3-pointers by junior Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) to make it 70-47.
Starks, who finished with 12 points, got her fourth foul with 14 minutes left and missed about eight minutes before returning to the game and promptly hitting those two 3-pointers.
Neither team scored a basket in the first three minutes of the second half until 5-foot-3 Aggie guard A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas) drove past a trio of Baylor defenders for a nifty layup that made it 43-21.
The Aggies trailed by three early in the game before scoring six straight points to take a 12-9 lead with about 12 minutes remaining in the half. A jump shot by Jessika Bradley cut the lead to one before A&M scored five straight, capped by a 3-pointer by Danielle Gant to push its lead to 17-11. Gant had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bears got within one again with about seven minutes left in the first half, but the Aggies went on a 23-5 run to lead 40-21 at halftime. Atunrase scored 16 points, including two 3-pointers, in that span. She finished with six rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
Baylor had six turnovers in that time and went almost six minutes without scoring a basket, until Tisdale?™s jump shot with about 90 seconds left in the half. The Bears were led by Tisdale?™s 25 points, but she also had five of their 20 turnovers.
Up next, A&M hosts No. 10 Oklahoma (21-5, 11-3) in its regular season finale on Thursday, March 6 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Sooners is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net.
Postgame Notes?...For the 13th time this season, A&M used the starting lineup of A?™Quonesia Franklin, Takia Starks, Danielle Gant, Patrice Reado and La Toya Micheaux (9-4)?...With the victory, the Aggies claimed their sixth all-time win over a top 10-ranked opponent and evened the all-time series with Baylor to 37-37?... Atunrase scored 18 of her season-high 24 points in the first half alone?...It marked her 10th 20-point game of her career and her second-highest scoring half in her career next to 19 first-half points at Nebraska on Feb. 11, 2006 as a sophomore?...She shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-2 from long range?...Atunrase contributed two of the team?™s seven blocked shots in the game to give her a total of 168 for her career which ranks sixth all-time in the Big 12 Conference record books?...Franklin dished out four assists with zero of the team?™s 10 turnovers to mark her fifth game of the season with no miscues?...A&M has now committed 10 turnovers or less on four occasions this season next to a school-record four turnovers versus Iowa State on Feb. 20?...For the fourth-straight contest, the Aggie defense held their Big 12 opponent to either their fewest or second-fewest points scored this season?...Baylor, one of the top teams in the league in scoring offense averaging 73.6 points per game, scored 53 points which was its second fewest of the year?...They Lady Bears were victims along with Oklahoma State (57 points), Texas (50 points) and Iowa State (46 points)?...A&M was one of four teams next to No. 5 Stanford (+13), No. 12 Cal (+7), Texas (+7) and Iowa State (+4) to lead Baylor at halftime?...The Aggies?™ 19-point halftime lead was the largest Baylor halftime deficit this season next to a 13-point halftime deficit at No. 5 Stanford on Dec. 16, 2007?...A&M?™s 19-point margin of victory was its biggest over Baylor since the league?™s inception in 1996-97?...Gant turned in her 11th career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds?...She has scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games?...A season-high crowd of 5,686 attended Dollar Day festivities presented by David Gardner?™s Jewelers to mark the eighth-largest crowd in school history at Reed Arena?...With her 12 points against the Lady Bears, Starks moved past former standout Toccara Williams (1,302) for fifth all-time among A&M career scoring leaders with 1,314 career points to date?...For the fourth-straight game, the Aggies have shot better than 40 percent from the floor (42.6)?...They also outrebounded Baylor, 38-37?...The Lady Bears (20) became the 19th A&M opponent to turnover the ball more than 20 times this season?...The Aggies converted 24 points off of BU miscues.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR
On the game ?...
?The first half started out more or less like two light heavyweight boxers that were throwing jabs and turning it over. All of sudden you could see the excitement in both teams, because it was like a block party out there. You couldn?™t get anything really easy, because both teams were contesting shots very well. It was just a great atmosphere. Our key was getting into transition and getting some easy baskets, because they are so strong inside. It was just hard for us to do it. The key to the first half was six turnovers for us and 15 for them. That makes a huge difference. The key in the second half was they didn?™t do anything in the first five minutes of the second half. They played very well after that and we were expecting them to run. Both teams were back to feeling each other out and nothing much was happening. I thought it was a good basketball game. You try to play against Rachel Allison, Danielle Wilson or Jessika Bradley. Those are three of the most physical kids that we respect more than anyone in this league. It?™s hard to beat us here at home. We had some easy baskets in the second half, because we were very unselfish and shared the basketball. I have kids who can share the ball. I like how my guards are playing. This score is very similar to how we played Oklahoma State. You have to have more than one kid in double figures. We were able to outrebound this team by one. I want teams to know that we are knocking on the door and we will see them in Kansas City.?
On the Baylor and Texas rivalries ?...
?You just don?™t back down to someone you respect. We feel like we are part of the triangle now. To be a rival, you have to have both teams winning and losing. We?™ve had to earn our way to gain everyone?™s respect. We have a triangle between our three schools that?™s going to be something special in years to come in men?™s and women?™s ball. If that?™s what it?™s going to take to turn this area of the country into a basketball hotbed, then we all need to take it upon ourselves to embrace that, do a better job out in the community and start putting sellout crowds in the stands at all three of our schools.?
On Morenike Atunrase?™s breakout performance ?...
?We ran a lot of stuff for Morenike early. That?™s the most stuff that I?™ve run for her early since last December. She was scoring inside the arc and that?™s where she hasn?™t been scoring all year. She?™s been going too fast like a little road runner. All of sudden she showed down and we had the mismatches in there with (Melissa) Jones, Allison and Morrow. She did a good job of exploiting it, steeping through, using the glass and getting to the free throw line. I?™m just glad people around the country haven?™t forgotten about this young lady. Right now, she?™s the best Sixth Man in America. She?™s such a beautiful player to watch.?
TEXAS A&M SENIOR GUARD/FORWARD MORENIKE ATUNRASE
On her breakout performance and what a win against Baylor means to her ?...
?I don?™t really remember Coach Blair setting too many plays up for me, but I knew I had a mismatch with (Melissa) Jones on me. The only thing I could remember in my head was Coach Bond telling me to, ?'attack, attack, attack. It?™s hard for her to guard you off the dribble.?™ That?™s what I focused on coming into this game. I wasn?™t about to come off the bench and start shooting up threes or just take jump shots. They had a high hand on everything we shot today. This Baylor win meant a lot to me, because we played hard and won.?
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR GUARD/FORWARD DANIELLE GANT
On Morenike Atunrase?™s play ?...
?When she hit that first three-pointer, we saw it in her eyes that she wanted the ball. There was no need for us to try to go in and force anything. We just gave the ball to whoever had the hot hand and that was Morenike.?
BAYLOR HEAD COACH KIM MULKEY
On the loss ?...
?We are still in the hunt for a Big 12 Championship. We could have sealed it today, but now, we will have to go home and regroup. This is just one game and we won?™t leave here with our heads down. We weren?™t predicted to win the Big 12 and look at where we are. Our bunch has overachieved and it?™s pretty remarkable.?
BAYLOR SOPHOMORE CENTER DANIELLE WILSON
On the physicality of the game and the team?™s post play ?...
?They (Texas A&M) were really physical and they were bumping. With any Big 12 game, they are going to bump. You just have to keep your composure and fight through it.?
