Dec. 1, 2009
#10/7 TEXAS A&M (3-0) vs. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (3-1)
Game #4
December 2, 2009 • 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,292)
at College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: SFA Leads 13-4
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Video at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The seventh-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (3-0) returns to action with a midweek matchup against Stephen F. Austin (3-1) on Wednesday, Dec. 2 after a 10-day layoff from competition during the Thanksgiving holiday break. Tipoff between the Aggies and Ladyjacks is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) as part of a men's and women's basketball two-for-one ticket doubleheader at Reed Arena. A&M is one of 10 premier schools in the country to have both programs ranked in the national polls. The Aggie women currently boast the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation averaging 86.7 points per game. They also rank third in field-goal percentage (51.9), second in assists per game (21.7), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41) and 11th in blocks per game (6.0). A&M has won 59 of its last 64 home games (.922) and looks to extend its home-court streak to nine against SFA.
A LOOK AT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Stephen F. Austin was picked to finish first in the east division in the 2009 Southland Conference Preseason Poll. The Ladyjacks are led by returning All-SLC First Team selection Whitney Cormier who is averaging a team-leading 17.0 points per game. SFA opened the season with a convincing 81-51 victory at North Texas on Nov. 14 followed by a 92-82 win over A&M common opponent Rice on Nov. 21. The Ladyjacks are coming off a 1-1 week where they defeated SIU-Edwardsville (68-66) in the consolation game of the Aggie Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28 in Las Cruces, N.M.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. (10.0 ppg, 6.3 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (15.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. (10.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (1.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#4 Cambria Smith, G, 5-5, So. (3.0 ppg, 3.8 apg)
#20 Whitney Cormier, G, 5-9, Sr. (17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
#24 Decreasha Goodner, G, 5-7, Jr. (2.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
#32 Jordan Ford, F, 5-10, Jr. (14.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
#30 Antoinette Davis, F, 5-11, Jr. (8.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Stephen F. Austin leads 13-4 in the all-time series versus Texas A&M. The Aggies have won four of the last five meetings between the two schools including a 77-36 road victory (+41) on Dec. 2, 2008 in Nacogdoches and an 84-53 rout (+31) on Jan. 3, 2008 in College Station.
LOOKING BACK
One year from the same exact date, No. 4 Texas A&M delivered a 41-point blowout of Stephen F. Austin, 77-36, to claim its best start in school history on Dec. 2, 2008 at William R. Johnson Coliseum. A&M improved to an undefeated 7-0 on the season and picked up its second-ever road victory over SFA in seven tries in Nacogdoches, Texas. Head coach Tanisha Smith and Tyra White each added 13. In the opening minutes of the first half, A&M sprinted out to an 8-0 run and held SFA without a basket until the 14:31 minute mark on a Whitney Cormier layup in traffic. The Aggies never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 43 points with 3:05 remaining in regulation. The A&M defense held the Ladyjacks to an opponent season-low 25.5 percent shooting from the floor (12-of-47) including 16 percent on 4-of-25 shooting in the first half of play. SFA committed 29 turnovers in the game which resulted in 29 of A&M's total points. Natashia Green led the Ladyjacks with 12.
THREE'S COMPANY
The Aggies are currently knocking down the three-ball with a 55.9 accuracy which leads the nation in the latest NCAA rankings summary released on Nov. 29. Tanisha Smith is shooting a team-leading 66.7 percent from downtown this season along with Sydney Colson (57.1) and Danielle Adams (55.6). Historically, A&M, known for its defense, has never ended the season shooting better than 36 percent from three-point range. The Aggies have outdistanced themselves from their nearest competition in the three's department by seven percent with Alcorn State shooting at a 48.9 percent clip in second place and Iowa State at a 48.3 percent clip in third.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN ...
The Aggies will play four games in a stretch of seven days traveling next to the Colliers International Classic where they will take on Southern Illinois on Dec. 5 and either host Cal or Colorado State on Dec. 6. A&M's potential matchup versus the No. 19-ranked Bears would mark its second against a top 25 team in its first five games of the season after knocking off No. 6 Duke on Nov. 15. Besides SFA, Southern Illinois, Cal and CSU, the Aggies will face North Texas on Dec. 8 to usher in the month of December. In fact, A&M will play on the road for the majority of the month with road trips to Cal, TCU, Las Vegas and New Mexico.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair has faced his former school, Stephen F. Austin, only four times in his 25 years as a Division I head coach with a perfect 4-0 all-time mark including two victories with the Aggies.
• Texas A&M junior guard Maryann Baker will reunite once again with her former high school teammate Jordan Ford who is a junior forward for SFA. Both starred at Dallas' Bishop Lynch Catholic High School and led the Lady Friars to the TAPPS state championship title for large schools during their junior campaign in 2006.
• While at SFA, Blair won seven-straight conference championships and led the Ladyjacks to six NCAA Tournament berths including four Sweet 16 appearances. He was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year on five occasions in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993. Last year, Blair was inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor and Stephen F. Austin Athletics Hall of Fame.
• Current Stephen F. Austin assistant coach Taqueta Braxton (nee Roberson) spent her college days playing for Coach Blair at Arkansas from 1994-97 and was a four-year letterwinner for the Lady Razorbacks guiding them to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
• SFA is one of nine Lone Star State schools on this year's schedule. A&M is 1-0 thus far on its tour of Texas with an 86-50 win over Rice on Nov. 18. The Aggies will also face North Texas on Dec. 8, TCU on Dec. 12, Prairie View A&M on Dec. 28, Lamar on Jan. 4, Texas on Jan. 9 and Feb. 20, Texas Tech on Jan. 23 and Feb. 10 and Baylor on Jan. 27 and Feb. 22.
AUBURN RECAP
Texas A&M 79, Auburn 59
• For the third time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (3-0).
• With the win, the Aggies remain an undefeated 2-0 in the all-time series with Auburn. It marked their second-ever win on the road when playing an SEC school in 36 all-time seasons of Aggie Basketball. A&M's only SEC road win prior was a 67-61 victory at LSU during the 1993-94 season.
• Adaora Elonu recorded her ninth double-digit game of her career with a season-high 13 points versus Auburn.
• Danielle Adams has reached double figures in all three games this season with a game-high 22 against the Tigers in 23 minutes of play. It marked her second 20-point game of her career next to 24 versus then-No. 6 Duke on Nov. 15. Adams also added a career-and season-high five rebounds.
• Sophomore Kelsey Assarian (Naples, Fla.) tied career-highs in points (8) and rebounds (5) in 21 minutes of action.
• The A&M defense forced Auburn to a season-high tying 23 turnovers in the ballgame. The Tigers also had 23 at Temple on Nov. 17. The Aggies also held Auburn to its second-fewest points of the season (59).
• The Aggies have shot 50 percent or better in two of three games played this season. Both were against 2009 NCAA Tournament participants in Duke (56.9) and defending SEC champion Auburn (53.4).
AGGIES MOVIN' ON UP
Even without playing a game during the Thanksgiving holiday break, the Aggies moved up one spot to No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Nov. 30 and remained at No. 7 in the ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Dec. 1. A&M has now been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for four-straight seasons. The Aggies are one of 10 schools in the country to have their men's and women's programs ranked simultaneously in the top 25 along with Kansas, Texas, Duke, Connecticut, Ohio State, North Carolina, Florida State, Michigan State and Cal.
2009-10 ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (40)
2. Stanford
3. Ohio State
4. North Carolina
5. Notre Dame
6. Tennessee
7. LSU
8. Baylor
9. Xavier
10. Texas A&M
11. Duke
12. Florida State
13. Georgia
14. Virginia
15. Arizona State
16. Vanderbilt
17. Texas
18. Oklahoma
19. Pittsburgh
20. California
21. DePaul
22. Michigan State
23. Georgia Tech
24. Kansas
25. Dayton
2009-10 ESPN/USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (31)
2. Stanford
3. Ohio State
4. North Carolina
5. Tennessee
6. Notre Dame
7. Texas A&M
8. Baylor
9. Florida State
10. Xavier
11. LSU
12. Duke
13. Arizona State
14. Vanderbilt
15. Virginia
16. Georgia
17. Texas
18. Oklahoma
19. California
20. Pittsburgh
21. Michigan State
22. Maryland
23. DePaul
24. Dayton
25. Louisville
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"Stephen F. Austin is a very athletic team and we will have to be on top of our game and play smart. We have to be quick on our feet to be able to react to how fast they are going to be at the guard spots." - Texas A&M sophomore forward Adaora Elonu on SFA
"We always enjoy the holiday break. It was helpful for us to have fresh legs to be ready to play this next stretch of games over the next seven days. Our coaches always do a good job of keeping us conditioned and working on game situations in our practices. As long as we can keep up our intensity, we will be fine." - Adaora Elonu on the two-day break from practice and playing four games in seven days
"Their guards are small, but athletic and fast. Last year, (Whitney) Cormier played well against us and she is still taking a large percentage of their shots. Hopefully, we will limit her touches so that other players have to step-up and score. We will play the same type of defense we always play and try to deny as we always do." - Texas A&M junior point guard Sydney Colson on SFA
"We've done it before. We experienced it last year (with six-straight games on the road). We had two days off during the Thanksgiving break and I think everybody will be ready mentally and physically. We are looking to go out and play hard this weekend. We want to run our offense well and pressure everybody. If we can do well at the tournament, it will give us a lot of momentum." - Sydney Colson on the tough stretch ahead for the team traveling to California this weekend
"They are a year older with four starters back - a year older, a year wiser. That's what happens when you are running your offense with a little more precision. They run some of the same things we do. They played Michigan in a good ballgame and they beat North Texas by 30 at North Texas in Denton. (Whitney) Cormier is a key. She does a great job from them. They are playing with confidence with a `nothing to lose' mentality and sometimes that is the most dangerous team you can play." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on SFA
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.