Feb. 3, 2009
Iowa State Game Notes in PDF Format 
#10/4 TEXAS A&M (17-3, 5-2) vs. #21/23 IOWA STATE (16-4, 4-2)
Game #21
February 4, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
at Ames, Iowa
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Iowa State Leads 13-4
Internet: Live Audio and Statistics available on www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The fourth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (17-3, 5-2) carries a three-game winning streak into a midseason top 25 clash with No. 21 Iowa State (16-4, 4-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Tipoff between the Aggies and Cyclones is set for 7 p.m. (CT). A&M has hit the midway point of the Big 12 Conference season and will face its fifth nationally-ranked opponent in six games. The Aggies are still searching for their first-ever win in Ames with six previous tries in the all-time series. ISU will look to defend its unblemished 11-0 home record with the help of some Hilton magic averaging 9,133 fans per game this season. Iowa State also boasts the ninth longest home-court win streak in the country at 14 games. A&M recently closed out the month of January with a 73-60 home victory over Kansas and will return to the road for two of its next three contests in league play. The Aggies currently boast the second-best road mark in the Big 12 at 3-1 and the second-best three-point field goal percentage defense (.237) in the land. The Cyclones, who are known for knocking down the three ball, are averaging 7.8 three-pointers which ranks 10th nationally.
INSIGHT ON THE CYCLONES
Iowa State is also on a three-game winning stretch bouncing back from back-to-back top 25 losses on the road at No. 5 Baylor (57-68) on Jan. 14 and No. 14 Kansas State (52-59) on Jan. 17. A&M will be the second-straight ranked opponent to come into Hilton Coliseum as the Cyclones won a much-anticipated rematch with the Wildcats (60-60) that drew a season-high crowd of 11,656 fans on Jan. 31 in Ames. Iowa State was picked to finish third with two first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll after turning in a 21-13 campaign with a second-round loss to Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament. Senior Heather Ezell leads a veteran cast of Cyclones in the scoring department at 12.1 points per game and ranks fifth in the league with 40.0 percent accuracy from beyond the three-point arc this season. She also leads the Big 12 in three-pointers made (54) which ranks 21st nationally with a 2.7 average.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, So. (5.7 ppg, 3.5 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Sr. (16.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Jr. (8.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Sr. (14.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Sr. (3.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
IOWA STATE
No. Name 2008-09 Stats
#15 Heather Ezell, G, 5-9, Sr. (12.1 ppg, 3.1 apg)
#4 Alison Lacey, G, 6-0, Jr. (10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#11 Kelsey Bolte, G, 6-1, So. (9.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#32 Amanda Nisleit, F, 6-0, Sr. (7.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
#5 Nicky Wieben, F, 6-4, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Iowa State leads 13-4 in the all-time series versus Texas A&M. The Aggies have won the last two-straight meetings between the two schools including a 65-53 win in the Big 12 semifinals which catapulted A&M to its first-ever appearance in the championship game against Oklahoma State. The Aggies also beat the Cyclones in the regular-season last year with a 60-46 outcome that gave head coach Gary Blair his 500th career victory on Feb. 20, 2008. They have never beaten ISU on their home court in the 13-year history of the league (0-6).
LAST TIME OUT IN AMES (AP)
Nicky Wieben scored 20 points and Toccara Ross added 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Iowa State to a 61-54 victory over No. 13 Texas A&M on Feb. 14, 2007 at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State held A&M without a field goal for more six minutes during a 14-1 game-clinching run that ended the Aggies' six-game winning streak. A&M tied the score at 46 when Takia Starks hit a career-high five three-pointers and scored 23 points to lead A&M. Danielle Gant added 13 points for the Aggies, who were outscored 21-2 at the free throw line and shot just 37 percent from the floor. Heather Ezell finished with 10 points for Iowa State, which trailed only twice in the second half, each time by one point. There were five ties and three lead changes in the second half before ISU went on its decisive run.
LOOKING AT THE RPI
Credit the Aggies school-best start in the non-conference and continuous hard work in Big 12 play for a strong RPI this season as they are currently rated No. 6 by CollegeRPI.com and No. 6 by the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings as of Feb. 3. A&M has played the sixth and 12th toughest schedules in the nation according to both indexes with seven of its opponents on the 2008-09 schedule currently ranked in the top 25 or holding a RPI rating higher than 30.
AGGIE SIDEBARS
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 4-4 lifetime versus Iowa State in his 24 years as a Division I head coach. All of his four career victories against the Cyclones have been won at home or in Big 12 Tournament play with the Aggies. He and Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly are known as the friendliest and ultimate good guys in the coaching profession.
• The Aggies look to gain ground in reversing a 9-30 all-time record when playing on the road against the Big 12 North in Iowa State (0-6), Kansas State (0-6), Missouri (2-5), Nebraska (1-5) and Colorado (2-4). A&M's best road record against a Big 12 North foe is Kansas (4-2) in Allen Fieldhouse.
• Texas A&M associate head coach La Toya Micheaux on the Athletes In Action-sponsored tour.
KANSAS RECAP
Texas A&M 73, Kansas 60
• For the sixth time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Takia Starks, Tanisha Smith, Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux (5-1).
• With the victory, the Aggies evened the all-time series with Kansas to 7-7. A&M has now won the last six-straight meetings between the two schools since 2004.
• Danielle Gant registered her 16th 20-point game of her career and her fourth of the season with 17 of her team-high 21 points scored in the second half. She played all 40 minutes in the ballgame for the sixth time this year.
• Takia Starks turned in her seventh-straight double-digit game with 17 points and knocked down one three-pointer against KU which tied former All-American Lisa Branch (1992-96) in the A&M record books for career three-pointers made (165). Her seven-game double-digit scoring streak is her longest of the season.
• A&M drew a season-high crowd of 7,143 fans at Reed Arena which marked the sixth-largest home crowd in school history and the largest crowd of any men's and women's basketball doubleheader ranked in the top 10 in regular-season play. The Aggies previously drew a crowd of 6,443 in a doubleheader against Pepperdine on Nov. 10, 2006.
• For the third-straight game, A&M has allowed only seven or fewer second-half field goals against No. 24 Oklahoma State (4-of-23) on Jan. 24, No. 16 Texas (7-of-29) on Jan. 28 and Kansas (6-of-14) on Jan. 31.
• Tanisha Smith made her ninth career start as an Aggie and scored six of the team's first eight points versus KU.
• Tyra White, a Kansas City native, registered a league career-high nine points versus KU.
• Former A&M standout Patrice Reado (Houston, Texas) was presented with her 2008 NCAA Elite Eight and Big 12 Tournament Championship ring prior to the tip with the Jayhawks.
• Kansas shot an opponent season-high 56.4 percent (22-of-39) from the floor despite turning over the ball 26 times in the ballgame, the most of any league opponent this season. It marked KU's second-largest amount of miscues this season behind 28 at Marquette on Dec. 7.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"What we have to do is battle. It would be huge for us to beat Iowa State and Kansas State on the road this year. But, Iowa State at home is like playing in the Big 12 South with 10,000 fans on top of you. We like to play in front of big crowds and it's another good venue in our league. I've never won up there. We have to find a way. We have to shoot well and we have to keep them from shooting threes. Some how, we have to keep the crowd out of our face up there. They have a veteran ballclub with (Heather) Ezell, (Alison) Lacey, (Kelsey) Bolte and (Nicky) Wieben and they are good." - Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair on playing Iowa State on the road
"Coach Fennelly is a good friend and the elder statesman in our league. He plays a system. They don't foul. If we go to the free throw line 10 times, I will be surprised. They play their zone and don't foul. That's their M.O. They are going to go up and play good hard-noised defense and never put you on the free throw line. What we have to do is be able to score in transition and we have to make driving layups that we have been missing during the year. Iowa State and Kansas State. Who is the best between the two of them? I do not know. All I know is that we are playing Iowa State first. When in doubt, they will spread the floor and drive on us. When they drive on us, we have to stay at home with their shooters and keep them from dumping off to their post players." - Coach Blair on Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly and their zone
"I like our position right now. I still think OU is in the driver's seat, because they have already beaten us and beaten Baylor at home. But, we still have nine games left to go. There could be good and bad play from the top and bottom of our league and anything can happen." - Coach Blair on being tied for second in the latest Big 12 Conference standings
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Texas A&M moved up one spot to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday and climbed three spots to No. 4 in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. The Aggies have been in the national spotlight throughout the season spending a school-record 10 weeks in the AP Top 10 and 13-straight weeks in the Coaches Top 10. They are one of two Big 12 schools to be recognized among the nation's top five teams next to No. 2 Oklahoma and one of three in the top 10 along with No. 7 Baylor in the Coaches Poll respectively.
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (21-0)
2. Oklahoma (18-2)
3. California (18-2)
4. Duke (17-2)
5. Louisville (20-2)
6. Auburn (21-1)
7. Stanford (17-4)
8T. Baylor (17-3)
8T. North Carolina (19-3)
10. Texas A&M (17-3)
11. Florida (20-2)
12. Tennessee (16-4)
13. Maryland (16-4)
14. Ohio State (18-3)
15. Florida State (18-4)
16. Texas (15-5)
17. Virginia (18-4)
18. Kansas State (18-2)
19. Notre Dame (16-4)
20. Vanderbilt (17-5)
21. Iowa State (16-4)
22. Pittsburgh (16-4)
23. Xavier (19-4)
24. DePaul (17-5)
25. South Dakota State (20-2)
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (21-0)
2. Oklahoma (19-2)
3. California (18-2)
4. Texas A&M (17-3)
5. Auburn (21-1)
6. Stanford (17-4)
7. Baylor (17-3)
8. Duke (18-2)
9. North Carolina (19-3)
10. Louisville (20-2)
11. Maryland (17-4)
12. Ohio State (18-3)
13. Florida (20-2)
14. Kansas State (18-2)
15. Virginia (18-4)
16. Notre Dame (16-4)
17. Tennessee (16-5)
18. Texas (15-5)
19. Florida State (18-5)
20. South Dakota State (21-2)
21. Xavier (19-4)
22. Vanderbilt (17-5)
23. Iowa State (16-4)
24. Pittsburgh (16-4)
25. DePaul (17-5)
BIG 12 ROUNDUP
Oklahoma remains the front runner in the Big 12 conference race with an undefeated 7-0 record in league play. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is in a three-way tie for second with Kansas State and Baylor with 5-2 marks followed by Iowa State in fifth at 4-2. Texas and Oklahoma State are tied for sixth at 3-3 to round out the top half of the league standings as of Feb. 2.
1. Oklahoma (19-2, 7-0)
2T. Kansas State (18-2, 5-2)
2T. Baylor (17-3, 5-2)
2T. Texas A&M (17-3, 5-2)
5. Iowa State (16-4, 4-2)
6T. Texas (15-5, 3-3)
6T. Oklahoma State (14-5, 3-3)
8. Texas Tech (13-8, 3-4)
9. Colorado (10-9, 2-5)
10. Kansas (12-7, 1-5)
11T. Missouri (10-10, 1-6)
11T. Nebraska (10-10, 1-6)
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 Hilton Coliseum alongside color analyst and former player Katy Pounds on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.