No. 16 Aggies Host No. 10 Oklahoma In Regular Season Finale Thursday
Mar 05, 2008 | Women's Basketball
March 05, 2008
Four years have passed and the Texas A&M women?™s basketball program continues to flourish on the national scene due in part to the belief of five seniors who were the cornerstone of the Aggies?™ turnaround from the depths of the Big 12 Conference to an annual contender in the league and in the nation. It seems like only yesterday that Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair and his staff signed their first recruiting class which would share in their vision of rebuilding and revitalizing a championship program in College Station. No other senior class has accomplished as many milestones in a four-year span as the Class of ?™08 and for this, they will go down in school history as one of the greatest squads ever to don the Maroon and White. No. 16 Texas A&M (22-7, 10-5) will pay tribute to these seniors prior to tipoff against No. 10 Oklahoma (21-5, 11-3) in its regular-season finale on Thursday, March 6 at Reed Arena. The Aggies and Sooners are slated for a 7:30 p.m. start as the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net to wrap-up the Big 12 regular season. A&M is riding a wave of momentum with a league-best five-game win streak and still remains in the hunt for one of four top seeds in next week?™s Phillips 66 Big 12 Women?™s Basketball Championship in Kansas City. The Aggies have defended their home court well this season having won 31 of their last 33 contests in the friendly confines of Reed Arena where they went an undefeated 16-0 a year ago. A&M has won their last two regular-season home finales in the venue over Iowa State in 2006 and rival Texas to celebrate the program?™s first-ever conference title in 2007.
GAME PROMOTIONS
STAMPFEST begins this week and don?™t miss an opportunity to stamp your 12th Man Rewards card at the final women?™s basketball home game of the season as the nationally-ranked Aggies take on Oklahoma Thursday night at Reed Arena. Hungry Howie?™s will be on hand with free slices of pizza beginning at 6:30 p.m. while supplies last. Tickets range from $16 (courtside), $14 (mezzanine) and $10 (gallery and loge) and can be purchased online or by phone by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE. Season ticket holders please note that your tickets reflect a game date which was later moved to accommodate television shortly after the season tickets had been printed. A&M will face the Sooners on a non-traditional Thursday conference time slot on FSN.
THE SOONERS AT A GLANCE
Oklahoma looks to get back on the winning track having won three of its last five games in regular season play with losses at No. 8 Baylor (79-59) on Feb. 17 and a recent Senior Day upset by rival Texas (65-50) on March 2 in Norman. However, two of its three victories in that stretch have come against top 25-ranked opponents in No. 15 Kansas State (68-65) on Feb. 20 and No. 16 Oklahoma State (81-71) on Feb. 23. All-American center Courtney Paris continues to put up dominating numbers averaging 18.0 points and a nation-leading 15.1 rebounds per game. She is one of seven players nationally averaging a double-double in both categories and is one of only seven all-time players in Big 12 Conference history to record 2,000 points in a career (2,012). A win by OU could either tie them for first or second place in the final league standings depending on the outcome of the Baylor and Kansas State games. The Sooners currently rank second nationally behind UConn in rebound margin (+12.7) and eighth nationally in blocked shots per game (5.9).
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Texas A&M will appear on television a school-record nine times during the 2007-08 season including Thursday night?™s regular season finale on Fox Sports Net. The Aggies are 5-3 when playing on the tube this season and have won their last three nationally-televised contests on ESPN2 and FSN. Kevin Eschenfelder (play-by-play) and Brenda VanLengen (color analyst) will call the action live from Reed Arena on FSN Detroit, FSN Midwest, FSN New York, FSN Rocky Mountain, FSN Southwest (all except the San Antonio Spurs market), FSN West and SportSouth. Check your local listings. Delayed broadcasts will be aired on FSN Bay Area (12 p.m.) and FSN Pittsburgh (3 a.m.).
TEXAS A&M BIG 12 SCENARIOS
When looking at the current league standings and using the Big 12 tiebreaker rules, Texas A&M will be playing Thursday night for a No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Championship. An A&M win over OU and an Oklahoma State loss at Baylor will give the Aggies the No. 3 seed with a split with both schools in head-to-head competition and a 7-3 divisional record against the Big 12 South and OU and OSU with a 6-4 divisional mark. However, A&M could earn a No. 4 seed with a win over OU and an Oklahoma State win over BU with both the Aggies and Cowgirls tying with a 7-3 divisional record versus the Big 12 South. The next tiebreaker rule would be used with a comparison of wins against the highest-ranked divisional team. OSU would earn the No. 3 seed due to its series sweep of Baylor and series split with OU. A&M would have split the series with OU, but split the series with BU, the highest-ranked divisional team. An A&M loss, no matter the outcome of the Oklahoma State game at BU, would give the Aggies a No. 5 seed.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#10 A?™Quonesia Franklin, G, 5-3, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 4.9 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Jr. (17.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Jr. (15.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
#24 Patrice Reado, F, 6-0, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Jr. (3.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
OKLAHOMA
No. Name (2007-08 Stats)
#13 Danielle Robinson, G, 5-9, Fr. (13.0 ppg, 4.2 apg)
#11 Jenna Plumley, G, 5-4, So. (7.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
#21 Amanda Thompson, F, 6-0, So. (8.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
#5 Ashley Paris, F, 6-3, Jr. (11.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg)
#3 Courtney Paris, C, 6-4, Jr. (18.0 ppg, 15.1 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads 24-10 in the all-time series between the two schools. A&M has won two of the last three meetings with the Sooners including a 78-68 (+10) home victory on Feb. 10, 2007 at Reed Arena which resulted in the Aggies?™ first-ever series sweep of OU since the league?™s inception in 1996-97. Last season?™s series sweep snapped a eight-game losing streak against OU. A&M is 7-7 lifetime when playing Oklahoma at home in College Station. Meanwhile, the Aggies are 5-19 all-time against the Sooners in Big 12 regular season play.
SERIES REWIND
No. 10 Oklahoma outscored No. 19 Texas A&M in the second half of play to win their seventh-straight in Big 12 Conference action, 68-56, before a school-record crowd of 12,168 at the Lloyd Noble Center on Feb. 12. Senior forward 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, 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 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. Robinson added 15.
DID YOU KNOW?
?* Head coach Gary Blair is 4-10 all-time versus Oklahoma in his 23 years as a Division I head coach. All but one meeting versus the Sooners happened outside of his five-year A&M career. He and Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale were both successful high school coaches prior to their call up to the collegiate ranks. Blair led Dallas?™ South Oak Cliff High School to a 239-18 (.923) record from 1973-80. He set a state record with five consecutive state tournament appearances and three state Class 4A titles. Prior to OU, Coale led Norman High School to two Class 6A state championships and a 147-40 record (.786) from 1990-96.
?* Two current A&M players, Danielle Gant and freshman Sydney Colson (Houston, Texas), were two heavily-recruited high school prospects who chose A&M over OU. Gant was named Oklahoma Player of the Year and a Nike All-American as a senior at Putnam City West High School in OKC. She once scored 40 points in a single game against Norman High School. Gant chose A&M over OU and South Carolina. Meanwhile, Colson was rated the No. 29 overall prospect and No. 8 point guard in the Class of 2007 and chose A&M over OU and LSU.
?* The Aggies are one of six schools nationally who can make an argument of having the toughest two-or three-game stretch to finish out regular season play before their conference tournament. A&M will have faced No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 Oklahoma prior to postseason action. Washington State and Washington closed out the season with No. 7 Stanford and No. 9 Cal in the Pac-10, while Mississippi State ended the season with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 6 LSU in the SEC. North Carolina State played No. 2 North Carolina and No. 5 Maryland in its last three games prior to the ACC Tournament and DePaul faced top-ranked Connecticut and No. 4 Rutgers in its last three games prior to the Big East Tournament.
SENIOR SWAN SONG
Five seniors will be taking part in their final home game on Thursday night at Reed Arena including Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.), A?™Quonesia Franklin (Tyler, Texas), LaToya Gulley (Fayetteville, Ark.), Katy Pounds (Shallowater, Texas) and Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas). The 2008 Senior Class has been instrumental in putting Aggie Basketball on the national map over the last four years with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a third on the horizon. During their four-year careers, A&M reached new heights with a program-best No. 10 national ranking in both national polls, three consecutive 20-win seasons and three-straight 10-win seasons in conference play for a team which won only two Big 12 games in 2003-04. They were the cornerstone of Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair?™s vision of rebuilding Aggie Basketball into a national power and the payoff could not have been any sweeter as the senior class led A&M to its first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship title in 2007 and an 86-38 (.694) four-year record to date. Prior to their arrival on campus, the Aggies had only won 24 league games in eight seasons since the Big 12?™s formation in 1996-97. Since their freshman campaign in 2004-05, A&M has posted a total of 38 league victories over the last four years combined.
A FIGHT TO THE FINISH
One of the biggest factors the NCAA Women?™s Basketball Selection Committee takes into account come Selection Monday will be how teams fared in their last games of the regular season. A&M has won nine of its last 10 and is one of only eight BCS member schools to finish out its last 10 games of the season with nine or more victories. North Carolina and Stanford went 10-of-10, while Tennessee, Connecticut, Maryland, LSU and Vanderbilt went 9-of-10. The Aggies have made a drastic turnaround by turning a 1-4 Big 12 start into their third consecutive 10-win season in conference play with a current 10-5 record. A&M is assured of its seventh all-time conference season above .500 and has won 34 Big 12 games over the last three years. Historically, no Aggie squad had ever turned in 30-or-more conference wins combined in a three-year span since A&M first began league play in the old Southwest Conference in 1982-83.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
Two players on opposite ends of the court have a connection to one of the greatest team?™s in NCAA Division I men?™s basketball history. The fathers of Texas A&M?™s La Toya Micheaux and Oklahoma?™s Abi Olajuwon were both members of the famed Phi Slama Jama at the University of Houston in the 80?™s. La Toya is the daughter of Larry ?Mr. Mean? Micheaux, while Abi is the daughter of Hakeem ?The Dream? Olajuwon. Coached by the legendary Guy V. Lewis, Texas?™ ?Tallest Fraternity? was especially known for its slam dunking and explosive, fast-breaking style of play. Micheaux, who is A&M?™s big woman inside at 6-foot-3, is currently the second-leading rebounder on the team averaging 5.3 boards per game, while the 6-foot-4 Olajuwon is averaging 1.9 points and 3.2 rebounds off the bench for OU.
THE BIRTHDAY GIRL
Oklahoma city native Danielle Gant is hoping all of her and her team?™s wishes come true as she celebrates her 21st birthday on March 6 against Oklahoma. Two months ago, teammate Takia Starks celebrated her 22nd birthday with a win at then-No. 25-ranked Colorado (72-68) on Jan. 16. Gant was recently honored for the second time of her career and for the second-straight week as Big 12 Player of the Week. Gant led A&M to a consecutive 2-0 week while averaging a double-double in upsets of two of the Big 12 Conference?™s top teams in No. 17 Oklahoma State (63-57) on Feb. 27 in Stillwater and No. 8 Baylor (72-53) on March 1 in College Station. The Aggies defeated back-to-back top 25 opponents for the first time this season. Gant averaged 18.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game against the Cowgirls and Lady Bears combined. She also shot a team-leading 57.1 percent from the floor (16-of-28) and went perfect from the free throw line (4-for-4). Gant has been a consistent double figure scorer over the last 13 consecutive games for the Aggies and turned in her 11th career double-double and fourth of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 19-point victory over Baylor which gave A&M its sixth all-time win over a top-10 ranked opponent. She also registered a near double-double performance with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting along with a team-best nine rebounds in a second-half comeback win at OSU. One of the most versatile players in the league, Gant currently ranks 10th-best in the Big 12 in scoring (15.0 ppg), fifth in field-goal percentage (.527), second in free-throw percentage (.796), third in steals (2.4 avg) and second in offensive rebounds (4.1 avg). She moved into the top 15 among A&M?™s all-time leading scorers with 1,040 career points to date which ranks 14th and is sixth all-time in career rebounding (636).
PLAYING GOOD ?D?
In its last three games, the signature A&M defense has held rival Texas (50), Iowa State (46) and Baylor (53) to either a season low or its second-fewest points of the season. The Aggies currently rank third in the Big 12 and 19th nationally in scoring defense holding opponents to 55.6 points per game as of March 2. A&M also ranks tops in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.263) and tops in turnover margin (+5.97). They also rank third behind Oklahoma (16.5) and OSU (16.3) in offensive rebounds per game (15.8) and fourth in steals per game (10.2 avg).
THE DISH ON FRANKLIN
Texas A&M is the only Big 12 school to have two players ranked among the top five all-time in career assists in league history. Senior point guard A?™Quonesia Franklin (595) recently surpassed Oklahoma?™s Dionnah Jackson (606) to move into fifth all-time behind Texas Tech?™s Erin Grant (844), Oklahoma?™s Stacey Dales (764), Texas A&M?™s Toccara Williams (724) and Iowa State?™s Lyndsey Medders (719). Franklin?™s court vision has been outstanding over the last eight games for the Aggies. She has dished out a total of 45 assists with just 11 turnovers for an impressive 4.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Franklin is five assists shy of recording her 600th career assist and could become only the third player in school history and seventh player in Big 12 Conference history to do so. She currently leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.14) which ranks 11th nationally. Franklin has turned in five games this season with zero turnovers including four assists with no miscues in an upset of No. 8 Baylor on March 1.
AGGIES IN THE RPI
Texas A&M currently holds a ratings percentage index of No. 10 according to CollegeRPI.com as of March 4. The Aggies boast the nation?™s sixth-strongest schedule behind only Tennessee, Rutgers, Connecticut, Duke and Oklahoma which is rated No. 8 in the RPI. The Big 12 is currently rated the No. 1 conference in the land as member schools have won 81 percent of their overall games (129-30) played this season. In addition, eight teams are rated 35 or higher with three in the RPI top 10 including A&M, OU and Baylor. ESPN.com bracketologist Charlie Creme recently predicted A&M to receive a No. 3 seed in the New Orleans Regional with the Big 12 and Big East Conferences getting an unprecedented eight teams into the field of 64 come March. ?The Aggies might enter the Big 12 Tournament as the fifth seed, but will still be considered a favorite,? says Creme.
BAYLOR RECAP
Morenike Atunrase had a season-high 24 points as No. 20 Texas A&M got a surprisingly easy 72-53 win over eighth-ranked Baylor on March 1. 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 Lady Bears 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. Patrice Reado made all of A&M?™s points in that span. Baylor outscored A&M 15-6 in the next four and a half minutes, capped by a three-pointer by Angela Tisdale, to cut the lead to 63-47 with about five and a half minutes to play. The Bears wouldn?™t get any closer as the Aggies scored seven straight points, fueled by two 3-pointers by Takia Starks 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 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.
CONFERENCE HOME STRETCH
During the final week of the Big 12 Conference race, five teams are in the hunt for one of four coveted top seeds in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 11-13 & 15 in Kansas City. Baylor (12-3) and Kansas State (12-3) will be vying for their second-ever conference title having lost won in 2005 and 2004 respectively. A loss by both teams could open the door for a three-way tie for first-place should Oklahoma (11-4) win its last regular season game. Texas A&M (10-5) and Oklahoma State (10-5) are tied for fourth and are vying for a first-round bye in the postseason tournament. The Aggies and Cowgirls are followed by Nebraska (8-7), Iowa State (7-8) and Texas (6-9) who are trying to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Texas Tech (4-11), Colorado (4-11) and Kansas (4-11) are all tied for ninth, while Missouri is in last place with a 2-13 record in league play.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1T. Baylor (24-4, 12-3)
1T. Kansas State (20-8, 12-3)
3. Oklahoma (21-6, 11-4)
4T. Oklahoma State (22-6, 10-5)
4T. Texas A&M (22-7, 10-5)
6. Nebraska (19-10, 8-7)
7. Iowa State (18-10, 7-8)
8. Texas (18-11, 6-9)
9T. Texas Tech (16-13, 4-11)
9T. Colorado (15-13, 4-11)
9T. Kansas (15-13, 4-11)
12. Missouri (9-19, 2-13)
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.
ON THE NATIONAL RADAR
Texas A&M climbed three spots to No. 17 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and two spots to No. 16 in the latest USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have appeared a program-best 37-straight weeks in the Coaches Poll since the 2005-06 season. They are one of five Big 12 schools ranked among the nation?™s best next to No. 8 Baylor, No. 11/10 Oklahoma, No. 19/17 Kansas State and No. 20/19 Oklahoma State. A&M is 4-4 against nationally-ranked opponents this season including victories over then-No. 14 Auburn on Dec. 15, then-No. 25 Colorado on Jan. 16, then-No. 17 Oklahoma State on Feb. 27 and No. 8 Baylor on March 1.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (28-1)
2. North Carolina (27-2)
3. Tennessee (27-2)
4. Rutgers (24-4)
5. Maryland (29-2)
6. Stanford (27-3)
7. LSU (25-4)
8. Baylor (24-4)
9. Notre Dame (23-6)
10. California (24-5)
11. Oklahoma (21-6)
12. Duke (21-8)
13. George Washington (24-5)
14. West Virginia (23-5)
15. Utah (25-3)
16. Old Dominion (25-4)
17. Texas A&M (22-7)
18. UTEP (25-2)
19. Kansas State (20-8)
20. Oklahoma State (22-6)
21. Vanderbilt (22-7)
22. Ohio State (22-7)
23. Georgia (21-8)
24. Marist (28-2)
25. Virginia (22-8)
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (29-1)
2. North Carolina (27-2)
3. Tennessee (27-2)
4. Maryland (29-2)
5. Rutgers (24-5)
6. LSU (25-4)
7. Stanford (27-3)
8. Baylor (24-4)
9. California (24-5)
10. Oklahoma (21-6)
11. Duke (21-8)
12. George Washington (24-5)
13. Old Dominion (25-4)
14. Utah (25-3)
15. Notre Dame (23-7)
16. Texas A&M (22-7)
17. Kansas State (20-8)
18. West Virginia (23-6)
19. Oklahoma State (22-6)
20. Marist (28-2)
21. Georgia (21-8)
22. Vanderbilt (22-7)
23. Ohio State (22-7)
24. UTEP (25-2)
25. Virginia (22-8)
