March 4, 2009
Oklahoma State Game Notes in PDF Format 
#10/8 TEXAS A&M (22-5, 10-4) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (15-12, 4-10)
Game #28
March 5, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
at College Station, Texas
Television: Fox Sports Net
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Oklahoma State Leads 20-16
Internet: Live Audio and Statistics available on www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
It's hard to believe that another four years have passed and the Texas A&M women's basketball program will once again bid farewell to one of the greatest senior classes to ever don the Maroon and White. Starks, Gant and Micheaux. Three names that have been synonymous with putting Aggie Basketball on the national map over the last four years leading A&M to back-to-back Big 12 Conference Championship titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances including a historic Elite Eight run in 2008. No other senior class has accomplished as many milestones in a four-year span as the Class of '09. The eighth-ranked Aggies (22-5, 10-4) host Oklahoma State (15-12, 4-10) on Senior Night scheduled for Thursday, March 5 at Reed Arena. Their home regular-season finale with the Cowgirls will tipoff at 7 p.m. (CT) on Fox Sports Net. A&M is riding a four-game winning streak in league play including its second-ever road victory at No. 15 Kansas State (71-45) to start off the month of March on a high note. The Aggies will look to continue to make some noise by defending their home court well this season. They have won 18 of their last 19 contests in the friendly confines of Reed Arena where they have been successful in their last three regular-season home games over Iowa State in 2006, archrival Texas to claim the program's first-ever conference title in 2007 and a then No. 10-ranked Oklahoma squad in 2008.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Texas A&M will honor four graduating seniors and three team managers during pregame "Senior Night" festivities at Reed Arena along with "Local Heroes Night" which will feature a march-in by the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and an expo with local members of the police and fire departments who will showcase their emergency vehicles from 5:45-6:45 p.m. in Lot 100-F at Reed Arena. Reveille will also be in attendance. Additionally, it will be "Elementary School Night" and "Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night" against Oklahoma State. Kids from the Bryan and College Station ISD's have received an invitation to attend the game from their teachers, while Texas A&M faculty and staff members can purchase tickets for $2 through the 12th Man Foundation ticket office. During the game, there will be a giveaway of two textbook scholarships of $250 each courtesy of the Sterling C. Evans Library. It will also mark the grand finale of the MacResource Big Screen Big Giveaway. The winner of a 70-inch television will be chosen during the game from all of the entries received throughout the 2008-09 basketball season. Entrants must be in attendance at the game to win.
ON THE TUBE
Texas A&M will make its fourth-straight appearance on national television against OSU. Play-by-play announcer Kevin Eschenfelder and color analyst Brenda VanLengen will call the action live from Reed Arena on Fox Sports Net. The game will be carried live on Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Florida (non Florida Panthers), Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports North, FSN Northwest, Fox Sports Ohio (non Blue Jackets), FSN Rocky Mountain, Fox Sports Southwest (Texas and Oklahoma only), Fox Sports Houston (Texas only), Fox Sports West, Fox Sports Wisconsin, Comcast Chicago, Comcast New England and SportSouth. A delayed broadcast will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.
A LOOK AT THE COWGIRLS
Oklahoma State has lost two of its last three contests by narrow margins including a 73-63 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma in the Bedlam rivalry series on Feb. 28 and a 74-70 decision to Texas Tech on Feb. 21. In fact, nine of the Cowgirls' 14 league games have been decided by 10 points or less. OSU is looking to salvage a season in which they posted an 11-2 record against non-conference opponents and went 14-5 in its first six games of the Big 12 slate. The Cowgirls' star point guard Andrea Riley is averaging a team-leading 23.9 points per game which also ranks second nationally as of March 1. Similar to A&M's last opponent in Kansas State, Oklahoma State handles the ball well averaging only 13.9 turnovers per game which ranks among the top 10 in the land.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, So. (5.9 ppg, 3.0 apg)
#3 Takia Starks, G, 5-8, Sr. (15.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
#55 Danielle Gant, G/F, 5-11, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
#12 La Toya Micheaux, C, 6-3, Sr. (2.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
OKLAHOMA STATE
No. Name (2008-09 Stats)
#10 Andrea Riley, G, 5-5, Jr. (23.9 ppg, 6.1 apg)
#13 Taylor Hardeman, G, 5-10, Sr. (6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
#1 Tegan Cunningham, F, 6-1, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
#32 Shaunté Smith, F, 6-0, Sr. (11.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
#33 Megan Byford, C, 6-2, Jr. (4.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Oklahoma State leads 20-16 in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Aggies have won 10 out of the last 11 meetings between the two schools dating back to a 65-52 win on Feb. 4, 2004 in College Station. OSU's only win in that particular stretch was a 61-58 victory sparked by a last-second three-pointer by Andrea Riley on Jan. 19, 2008 in College Station. A&M will be looking for its fifth-ever series sweep of the Cowgirls having done so in 1996-97, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
OSU REWIND
Takia Starks added 15 as the Aggies snapped a two-game losing skid in Big 12 Conference play by surviving a late comeback attempt led by Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley, who turned in 21 points despite a 4-of-19 shooting performance from the floor versus A&M's pressure defense. Riley brought the Cowgirls back within one, 51-50, after her fourth-straight free throw with 1:23 to go in regulation, but the Aggies went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and held OSU scoreless the rest of the way for their fifth-straight win in Stillwater. A&M has now won 10-of-11 in the series, including a win in the Big 12 Conference championship game in 2008. For the game, the Aggies held OSU to a season-low 22.9 percent shooting from the floor and outrebounded the Cowgirls, 49-37, including a 12-rebound effort by senior center La Toya Micheaux.
BEST OF THE BEST
Four seniors will be taking part in their final home game on Thursday night at Reed Arena including Takia Starks (Houston, Texas), Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.), La Toya Micheaux (Missouri City, Texas) and former walk-on Kiley Finstad (Cranfills Gap, Texas). During their four-year careers, Texas A&M earned a program-best No. 3 national ranking, four consecutive 20-win seasons and four-straight 10-win seasons in league play under head coach Gary Blair. No other senior class has posted four consecutive 20-win campaigns or ever made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances in the 35-year history of the women's basketball program at A&M.
IN YOUR FACE D
The Texas A&M defense has forced its last three-straight opponents to turn over the ball more than 20 times in a ballgame. Texas (29), Oklahoma (29) and Kansas State (23) each had season-highs in the turnover department against the Aggies for a combined 81. A&M currently leads the league in turnover margin (+6.9) with opponents averaging 22.8 miscues per game.
ONE FISH, TWO FISH, MAROON FISH
For the second time this season, freshman Sydney Carter was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week on March 2. It marked the sixth time an Aggie Fish received the honor next to preseason Big 12 Frosh of the Year Tyra White on Nov. 17 and Adaora Elonu on three occasions on Nov. 24, Dec. 8 and Dec. 22. Carter shot a career-best 70 percent (7-of-10) from the floor with a trio of three-pointers to tie a career-high of 17 points to lead A&M to its second-ever road victory at No. 15 Kansas State on March 1. For the week, She averaged 14.0 points, 2.0 steals, 2.0 assists and a 4.00 assist-to-turnover ratio off the bench against Oklahoma and the Wildcats combined. Freshman Kelsey Assarian also turned in a career-high with eight points off the bench at K-State on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. This year's freshman class has contributed to 27 percent of the team's scoring production this season as White, Elonu, Carter and Assarian have been a part of A&M's 10-player rotation.
AGGIE SIDEBARS
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 17-6 lifetime versus Oklahoma State in his 24 years as a Division I head coach. He is 9-3 against the Cowgirls since his arrival in Aggieland in 2003-04. Blair and Oklahoma State head coach Kurt Budke are both disciples of Hall of Fame Louisiana Tech head coach and current Baylor assistant coach Leon Barmore. Blair served as a La. Tech assistant coach from 1980-85, while Budke was an associate head coach from 2000-02 and took over the storied Lady Techster program from 2002-05 after Barmore's retirement.
• Coach Blair was first introduced to Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley when she was three-five years old and her father, Roosevelt Riley, Jr., worked Blair's Stephen F. Austin basketball camps in Nacogdoches. Blair says Mr. Riley, a former BCI coach in the Dallas area, was one of the first coaches who was very instrumental in starting up summer basketball for inner city youth. He now serves as a bodyguard for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
• The Aggies are winners of their last four in league play including three consecutive victories over a ranked opponent in No. 21 Texas on Feb. 21, No. 2 Oklahoma on Feb. 23 and No. 15 Kansas State on March 1. It marked only the second time in school history in which A&M has beaten back-to-back-to-back top 25 opponents next to the last three games of the regular season versus No. 17 OSU, No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 OU in 2007-08.
KANSAS STATE RECAP
Texas A&M 71, Kansas State 45
• For the 10th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Takia Starks, Tanisha Smith, Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux (8-2).
• With the victory, A&M claimed only its second-ever win in Manhattan in seven all-time trips to the Little Apple. Coach Blair also picked up his first-ever win against K-State in Manhattan in four tries in his 24-year coaching career and his first since arriving in Aggieland in 2003-04.
• A&M turned in its fourth-straight 10-win season since the league's inception in 1996-97 and under Blair.
• Takia Starks continues on her double-digit scoring streak through Big 12 Conference play with 15 points at Kansas State for her 14th-straight double-figure game against league opponents.
• Sydney Carter turned in her third double-digit game against Big 12 opponents and fourth overall this season with a game-high 17 points. It marked her league career-high for points ahead of her previous high of 13 points against Nebraska on Feb. 8. It also tied a career-best 17 points against Pepperdine on Nov. 29.
• The Aggies reached 71 points against Kansas State who ranked second in the nation in scoring defense prior to Sunday's contest at 51.7 points per game. It marked the 12th time A&M has reached 70-or-more points in a game this season.
• A&M shot 53.3 percent from the floor (32-of-60) against K-State. It marked the Aggies' second-best shooting percentage of the season against an opponent.
• Freshman Kelsey Assarian came off the bench in relief of A&M's post players in foul trouble and turned in a career-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field against the Wildcats.
• For the third consecutive game, the A&M defense forced a Big 12 opponent to commit 20-or-more turnovers. Kansas State had a season-high 23 miscues. The Aggies also held the Wildcats to their second-fewest points in the series (45) next to 39 in a 66-39 rout on Jan. 11, 2006 in College Station.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"When you look at last year's senior class and this year's senior class, these young ladies will be remembered for a long time for what they have accomplished and what our team has accomplished in each of their four-years here at A&M. Four-straight NCAA Tournaments for this year's senior class and three NCAA Tournaments and a WNIT for last year's senior class. Hopefully, you will see their names in the rafters someday, because they built this program into what it is today - a national power." - Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair on his last two senior classes
"This senior class is just hungry. We had the opportunity as freshmen to come in and make an impact on this program early. To see where it is all headed now and what we have accomplished is phenomenal. It probably won't sink in until after the season is over that this is it for us. We are so proud to have had a part in building this program from the ground up. We hope people will come out and support us on Thursday for what this team has accomplished this year." - Senior center La Toya Micheaux on the difference between the two senior classes
"It has been a long four years of grinding and hard work. But, it is finally paying off. We are happy to see how far we have come, but it is getting closer to the end of the road. It's not really hitting us right now. With our last game at home on Thursday, I'll probably be a little emotional. We have had a lot of success and we are such a great group playing together. We just want to take it to the end this year. - Senior All-America candidate Takia Starks on this year's senior class being different or special from other classes in the past
"First, we would like to win these next two games (against Oklahoma State and Baylor) and go win the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. That is our main focus right now. Not only that, we want to go further then we did last year (in the NCAA Elite Eight). If we go further than we did last year, then we have improved as a team." - Senior All-America candidate Danielle Gant on what's next after three-straight wins over top 25 opponents
"We just need to have consistency on offense. In the last couple of games, we have had three or four players in double figures and we definitely need to keep that up. On the defensive end, we just need to contain (Andrea) Riley and contain the rest of the OSU players. We know she is going to shoot a lot. We just need to rebound misses and handle our business. It's the last home game of the season, there's a lot of flash about it, but we are focused on the game. If we stick to our game plan, we'll come out with the victory." - Starks on Oklahoma State and what the team needs to do to finish off their Reed Arena run this season
BIG 12 CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE
Texas A&M has clinched one of four top seeds and a first-round bye in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on March 12-15 in Oklahoma City. With two games remaining on the regular-season slate, the top six spots in the standings have been decided with league leader Oklahoma (13-1) followed by Baylor (11-3), A&M (10-4), Iowa State (10-5), Kansas State (8-6) and Texas (8-6). The Aggies are playing for a second, third or fourth-place finish in the final league standings. They hold the tiebreaker over the Wildcats and Longhorns, but lost in head-to-head competition to the Cyclones and have one more meeting left with the Lady Bears on March 7.
1. Oklahoma (25-3, 13-1)
2. Baylor (23-4, 11-3)
3. Texas A&M (22-5, 10-4)
4. Iowa State (22-7, 10-5)
5T. Kansas State (21-6, 8-6)
5T. Texas (20-8, 8-6)
7T. Kansas (16-11, 5-9)
7T. Texas Tech (15-13, 5-9)
9. Nebraska (14-14, 5-10)
10. Oklahoma State (15-12, 4-10)
11. Missouri (13-15, 4-11)
12. Colorado (11-16, 3-12)
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.