Jan. 2, 2009
George Washington Game Notes in PDF Format 
#3/3 TEXAS A&M (11-0) vs. GEORGE WASHINGTON (7-5)
Game #12
January 3, 2009 • 5:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
at College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: GW Leads 2-0
Internet: Live Video and Statistics available on www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
Off with the old and in with the new, the third-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (11-0) will usher in the New Year with 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 participant George Washington (7-5) on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Colonials is set for 5 p.m. (CT). Over the last two years, A&M has developed a mini-rivalry with GW falling short of a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in March of 2007 and dropping an overtime thriller in the nation's capital nine months later in December of 2007. Both meetings, however, were played several miles away from College Station, where the Aggies have been nearly unstoppable over the last four seasons winning 49 of their last 53 overall games at Reed Arena. Now, with home-court advantage on their side, added depth, a school-record 11-0 start and one of the top defenses in the country which has held opponents to just 49.3 points per game, the Aggies are hoping third times the charm versus the Colonials. They are one of just six teams in the country to remain undefeated on the season and seek more new beginnings in 2009.
AGGIE TWIN BILL
The Texas A&M men's and women's basketball doubleheader with McNeese State and George Washington on Jan. 3 will mark the end of the Half-Price Holiday Hoops ticket promotion. Tickets are available for purchase 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. The A&M men (12-1) will take on McNeese State (5-6) in the second game of the twin bill scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT).
THE BOOK ON GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington has played a hefty non-conference schedule this season with the likes of ranked opponents in No. 7 and defending national champion Tennessee, No. 10 Auburn, No. 15 Rutgers and No. 3 Texas A&M in its last seven outings going 0-3 in its attempt at the upset bid. The Colonials are currently on a three-game road swing which also includes a stop at Rice on Jan. 5 in Houston. They are looking to rebound from a 10-point loss at No. 14 Rutgers (57-47) on Dec. 29 in Piscataway, N.J. GW, a perennial women's basketball powerhouse out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, has made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 18 seasons joining the likes of only nine other programs to do so in Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The Colonials also boast the twin tower sister combination of 6-foot-4 Jessica Adair and 6-foot-3 Jazmine Adair who draw comparisons to Oklahoma's Courtney and Ashley Paris.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, So. (5.3 ppg, 4.5 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Sr. (14.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Sr. (13.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Fr. (7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Sr. (3.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
GEORGE WASHINGTON
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#0 Yolanda Lavender, G, 5-9, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg)
#5 Tiana Myers, G, 5-9, Fr. (6.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
#34 Ivy Abiona, F, 6-2, So. (5.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#13 Antelia Parrish, F/G, 6-0, Sr. (11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
#1 Jessica Adair, C, 6-4, Sr. (12.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
George Washington holds a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Colonials handed the Aggies a 59-47 (-12) loss in the NCAA Second Round on March 19, 2007 in Los Angeles and a 66-65 (-1) overtime loss on Dec. 20, 2007 in Washington, D.C. GW has yet to find a win on the road this season (0-3) with losses at Western Kentucky (64-72) on Dec. 21, at Kentucky (48-67) on Dec. 23 and at No. 14 Rutgers (47-57) on Dec. 29.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 10 Texas A&M was edged by No. 22 George Washington in an overtime thriller, 66-65, at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on Dec. 20, 2007. Takia Starks was fouled on a made three-pointer and later converted the four-point play which tied the game at 57-57. Starks played with four fouls, but managed to contribute 13 points. Danielle Gant added 10 points and nine rebounds including a three-pointer in the final seconds of overtime, but it wasn't enough as GW prevailed with four of its six points produced from the charity stripe. George Washington was paced by Sarah-Jo Lawrence who scored 15 of her career-high 29 points in the first half including a crucial three-pointer with four seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, 60-60. There was some initial confusion on the court when the final buzzer sounded. The scoreboard had only counted Lawrence's shot as a two-pointer and A&M quickly inbounded the ball and dribbled up the court as if to avoid a foul and not take a final attempt. When the clock ran out, the scoreboard showed the Colonials down by one point, but the officials quickly signaled Lawrence's shot had been a three.
11 AND COUNTING ...
The Aggies' current 11-game win streak is tied for second all-time in the A&M record books along with an 11-game stretch during the 1974-75 season under former head coach Kay Don. One more victory would tie the Aggies' school-record 12-game win streak they put together en route to their historic run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2007-08. Overall, A&M has won 27 of its last 29 games dating back to a 58-51 win at Kansas on Jan. 26, 2008.
NO WEEKEND PASS
A&M will close out non-conference play over the next four days with a quick turnaround game at 2008 NCAA Tournament participant Florida State on Monday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. (CT) in Tallahassee, Fla., prior to its Big 12 opener at Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. (CT) in Columbia, Mo. It will mark the Aggies' first trip back to the Sunshine State since playing South Florida and Bucknell in the Miami Jam tournament to open up the 2004-05 season. The Seminoles have put together an 11-4 record and will face A&M for only the second time in both program's history.
WOODEN WATCHERS
Texas A&M's Takia Starks and George Washington's Jessica Adair are among a select few who are in contention for the prestigious John R. Wooden Women's Award given to the nation's top women's basketball player of the year. Both players are two-time First Team selections in their respective leagues and currently lead their teams in the scoring column. Starks is currently on a four-game double-digit scoring streak averaging 14.6 points per game which ranks ninth-best in the Big 12 Conference, while Adair is averaging 12.3 ppg and has scored in double figures in eight games this season.
AGGIE SIDEBARS
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is searching for his first career win versus George Washington. He is 0-4 against the Colonials in his 24 years as a Division I head coach. Aside from A&M's 0-2 all-time series mark, Blair previously faced GW on two occasions during the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons while the head coach at Arkansas.
• Former George Washington head coach Joe McKeown, one of Coach Blair's longtime friends in the business and golfing buddy on the links, is currently the head coach at Northwestern after building the Colonials into annual Atlantic 10 Conference champions and NCAA contenders in nearly two decades at the Washington, D.C.-based school. Saturday's contest will mark the first non-McKeown coached GW squad that Blair will go up against.
• Current GW head coach Mike Bozeman spent three seasons as an assistant under McKeown before being promoted to take over the reins of the women's basketball program after his departure. Bozeman is one of three first-or second-year coaches the Aggies will have faced this season next to Arizona's Niya Butts in her first season as a Division I head coach and Penn State's Coquese Washington in her second season with the Lady Lions.
NEW MEXICO RECAP
Texas A&M 83, New Mexico 51
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Takia Starks, Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux (1-0). Smith made just her third career start as an Aggie and scored a career-high 15 points against No. 25 New Mexico.
• Starks' season-high 24 points were due in part to a season-best three three-pointers from behind the arc. It marked her 20th 20-point game of her career. She also dished out a season-best five of the team's 22 assists against the Lobos. With her nine field goals made versus UNM, Starks moved into first all-time in career field goals made (631) surpassing former A&M standout Lisa Langston who made 627 from 1982-86.
• Gant's season-high 27 points marked her 13th 20-point game of her career and she added a season-high five of the team's 13 steals against the Lobos.
• Former A&M standouts and current WNBA players Morenike Atunrase (2005-08) and A'Quonesia Franklin (2005-08) were honored prior to the game with their 2008 Big 12 Conference Championship and NCAA Elite Eight rings. Atunrase and Franklin reached the WNBA Playoffs in their rookie campaigns this past summer with the San Antonio Silver Stars and Sacramento Monarchs respectively. Atunrase remains A&M's all-time leader in career blocked shots (176), while Franklin ranks third all-time in career assists (627).
• The Aggies are now 1-0 in the all-time series with UNM. It marked the largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in school history. The previous high was a 19-point win over No. 8 Baylor (72-53) on March 1, 2008.
• A&M had a season-high crowd of 5,543 in attendance at Reed Arena which tied for the 11th all-time best crowd in school history next to 5,543 fans that attended the Aggies' league contest against Kansas on Feb. 3, 2007. It was the third-largest crowd to attend a non-conference regular-season home game next to doubleheaders with the A&M men's basketball team versus Pepperdine (6,443) on Nov. 10, 2006 and Western Illinois (6,389) on Jan. 2, 2007. The Aggies have now drawn 5,000+ fans in back-to-back games with its previous season-high of 5,395 versus No. 24 TCU on Dec. 21.
• A&M had two 20-point scorers in a single game for the first time this season and for the first time since Starks registered 23 and Gant had 20 in a 74-65 victory over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30, 2007.
• The Aggies made a season-low eight turnovers against New Mexico.
• The A&M defense has now forced 10-of-11 opponents this season to 20-or-more turnovers in a single game as New Mexico committed 26 which the Aggies converted into 36 of their 83 points. A&M has scored more than 80 points in three of its last four games.
• For the eighth time this season, A&M which currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense (49.1) held an opponent to under 55 points as New Mexico managed only 51.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"George Washington is a good ballclub. They will be the most athletic team we play besides ourselves and the Big 12 South. They have Yolanda Lavender who is a transfer from Wake Forest and had a double-double in her first ballgame. They also have the (Courtney and Ashley) Paris sisters in Jessica and Jazmine Adair. We will have our hands full. It will be a chance for our fans to see a great doubleheader with the type of competition we will have here at Reed Arena." - Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair on George Washington
"It is an advantage (to know their ballclub well). It is also an advantage for George Washington knowing that they have beaten us two-straight times and were the underdogs in both. They feel like they own us right now, but we feel like we owe them. I like the matchup. Their post players are going to get us ready for the Big 12 more than any other set of post players that we have played so far, because of how big and how physical they are. They have taken a few hits this year having played Tennessee and Auburn. They play Rutgers right before they play us, which will get them ready to play against our pressure defense."- Coach Blair on the on-going rivalry with GW
"We have three monster games coming up, before we go to Missouri to open up Big 12 Conference play (on Jan. 10). We can't lose sight of any one of them. You are setting yourself up for an NCAA run, if you can play these last three games and get better by playing them. Whether we win all three or not, we want to get better each ballgame." - Coach Blair on A&M's final non-conference stretch against 2008 NCAA Tournament participants New Mexico, George Washington and Florida State
"They graduated two great seniors last year in Kimberly Beck and Sarah-Jo Lawrence. Their zone is hard to play against, but the zone has been a plus side for us this year and we want to keep it up. It has turned into a friendly rivalry and we like to play each other. It is always a good game." - Takia Starks on George Washington
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.