Texas A&M
12-1, 0-0Big 12
Florida State
12-4, 0-0ACC
No. 3 Aggies Fall On The Road at Florida State, 60-53
Jan 05, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
Florida State Box Score in PDF Format 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Preseason Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) scored a career-high 17 points off the bench as No. 3 Texas A&M had its 12-game win streak snapped by Florida State with a 60-53 road loss Monday night at the Donald T. Tucker Civic Center.
Florida State's Tanae Davis-Cain scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half of play. Davis-Cain and teammate Courtney Ward combined for 10 points as the Seminoles (12-4) ran off 16 straight to take a 56-50 lead with 3:35 remaining in regulation. A&M led by as many as 17 points with 13:27 to go, but FSU closed the game with a 20-3 surge to seal the upset.
Senior All-America candidate Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 10 points along with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. It was a tale of two halves as the Aggie defense held Florida State (12-4) to a season-low 19 first-half points on 5-of-24 shooting from the floor, but the Seminoles improved their shooting percentage to 65.2 percent (15-of-23) with their late second-half rally, while A&M shot 7-of-32 from the field in the second half.
The Aggies (12-1) will shake off the loss and ready themselves this week for one of the toughest league schedules ahead of them. A&M remains the frontrunner of four Big 12 teams currently ranked in the top 10 in this week's Associated Press Poll released on Monday.
A&M will open up Big 12 play at Missouri (8-4) on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Tipoff between the Aggies and Tigers is set for 5 p.m. (CT).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the seventh time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Danielle Gant, La Toya Micheaux (6-1).
• With the loss, Florida State evened in the all-time series to 1-1 with the Aggies. The Seminoles picked up their first win over a top 25 opponent this season and ended A&M's win streak to 12 games which matched a program-best 12-game win streak at the end of the 2007-08 season.
• For the third-straight game, Tanisha Smith reached double figures in scoring with a career-high 17 points against the Seminoles.
• A&M outrebounded Florida State, 37-36, a team which entered the game with a +10.2 rebounding margin over opponents this season.
• The Aggie defense held FSU to a season-low 19 first-half points on 20.8 shooting from the floor (5-of-24).
• Freshman Sydney Carter (DeSoto, Texas) suffered a mild concussion after a fall under the basket in the first half and did not play in the second half.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On Florida State ...
"Their matchup zone was good in limiting us to one shot in the last 10 minutes. Our game is fast and ugly. This is a team that I did not want to press full court. I wanted to keep it to the half court. Florida State kept their composure. (Florida State Head Coach) Sue (Semrau) did a great job of not panicking and not getting down on her kids. I had some problems on certain positions tonight. (Mara) Freshour played smart and she was beating us off the dribble. My two All-Americans did not play like All-Americans. This was a good learning experience for us. This is definitely an NCAA (Tournament) team. Florida State and Pitt are the two best teams we have played this year."
Texas A&M Forward/Guard Tanisha Smith
On the game ...
"Before the half, our defensive pressure was really good. The first 10 minutes of the second half, we played really well, but in the last 10 minutes, our intensity went down. They (Florida State) kept going and were making their shots, while we were missing wide-open shots."
