Dec. 11, 2009
#10/5 TEXAS A&M (7-0) vs. TCU (6-3)
Game #8
December 12, 2009 • 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
at Fort Worth, Texas
Television: The Mtn. (DirecTV Channel 616)
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M Leads 29-3
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The fifth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (7-0) is off to its second-best start in school history, but will have their unbeaten streak tested by old Southwest Conference rival TCU (6-3) on Saturday, Dec. 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. Tipoff between the Aggies and Lady Frogs is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. It will mark A&M's second trip to the Metroplex to play TCU in the last three years, since both programs revitalized the home-and-home series back in 2007-08. The Aggies will play almost the entire balance of their non-conference schedule in the month of December on the road including their next three contests. A&M is 2-0 on the road with quality victories at Auburn and then-No. 19 California, both of whom were top 15 and NCAA Tournament teams a year ago. The Aggies are coming off a near school-record 108-49 blowout of North Texas on Dec. 8 which closed out a tough four-game swing in seven days prior to final exams on a high note. They are one of the nation's leaders in scoring margin having defeated all seven opponents this year by an average margin of 29.1 points per game. A&M is one of only 15 Division I teams in the country who remain undefeated on the season.
TCU AT A GLANCE
TCU has won three of its last four ballgames including an 84-66 win over cross-town rival SMU on Dec. 9. Texas A&M will be the Lady Frogs' third ranked team from the Big 12 to face this season, next to a 74-70 loss at then-No. 16 Oklahoma on Nov. 21 and a 74-69 victory over then-No. 18 Kansas on Nov. 28 at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. They reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, impressively their eighth appearance in the last nine years, combined with a final 20-11 overall record. TCU currently has four players averaging double figures in the scoring column including top player and preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team selection Helena Sverrisdottir who is averaging a team-best 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
ON THE TUBE
Texas A&M will appear on national television eight times during the 2009-10 season starting off with this weekend's matchup at TCU which will be broadcast live on the Mtn. Network. Check your local cable providers to see if they carry the Mtn. Network. The game can be viewed locally in the Bryan-College Station area to satellite subscribers to DirecTV on Channel 616. Play-by-play announcer Erin Bajackson and color analyst Andrea Lloyd will call the action live for the network on Saturday from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. (8.3 ppg, 5.6 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (18.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. (11.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (4.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
TCU
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#1 Antoinette Thompson, G, 5-7, So. (3.9 ppg, 2.1 apg)
#4 Helena Sverrisdottir, G/F, 6-1, Jr. (13.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
#15 Emily Carter, G, 6-1, Jr. (11.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
#11 Starr Crawford, F, 6-0, Fr. (11.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg)
#22 Delisa Gross, F, 6-2, Fr. (6.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas A&M holds a 29-3 advantage in the all-time series with TCU. The Aggies have won the last two-straight meetings between the two former rivals, who prior to the 2007-08 season, had not played each other since the final season of the old Southwest Conference in 1995-96. Saturday's game will mark back-to-back seasons in which the Lady Frogs will go up against a top-5 ranked and undefeated Aggie squad. Last year, A&M was ranked a program-best No. 3 in the nation in a 64-50 win on Dec. 21, 2008 in College Station which improved its overall record to an unblemished 10-0. The Aggies' last outcome on the road at TCU was a 68-58 victory on Dec. 2, 2007. All of the Frogs' three wins in the series have occurred at home or a neutral site.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 3 Texas A&M improved their school-record start to a perfect 10-0 with a 64-50 victory over No. 24 TCU on Dec. 21, 2009 at Reed Arena. School all-time leading scorer Takia Starks knocked down 21 points including 18 in the first half which was three points less than TCU's overall team score at halftime, 35-21. The A&M defense caused havoc for the Lady Frogs from the get-go as they committed three quick turnovers in the opening minutes of the ballgame and 13 total in the first half alone which was more than the team's season average of 12.4. With both teams tied at 13 in the early stretch, Starks hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 8:09 left in the first half to mark the second and final lead change of the game. A minute later, she extended A&M's lead out to five on a jumper, 18-13, and the Aggies never looked back. TCU was able to close the gap to as few as six on two free throw makes by Micaela Younger with 13:33 remaining in regulation, 41-35, but it wasn't enough to hold off the Aggies. La Toya Micheaux added a career-high tying 14 rebounds and Sydney Colson dished out eight assists in the winning cause. TCU was paced by TK LaFleur, a transfer from Nebraska, who turned in a game-high 22 points.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Texas A&M's depth this season can be seen by the number of minutes played throughout the 16-player roster which includes a mix of veterans and newcomers. Nine players are currently averaging more than 10 minutes a ball game including four minutes-or-more from the Aggies' four true freshmen. It's no wonder that A&M is receiving an average of 37.1 points per game from its bench this season. The Aggie reserves recently scored a season-high 49 points against Stephen F. Austin as well as 45 points versus No. 6 Duke in the season opener on Nov. 15. Top bench producers are Danielle Adams (14.6 ppg), Sydney Carter (8.1 ppg) and Kelsey Assarian (4.3 ppg).
VIVA LAS VEGAS
Up next, the Aggies will compete in the four-team predetermined Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic tournament on Dec. 19 and 20. A&M will face No. 14 Arizona State in a rematch of last year's NCAA Sweet 16 meeting between the two schools on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8:30 p.m. (CT) and West Coast Conference powerhouse Gonzaga, who is currently receiving votes in both national polls, on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 10:45 p.m. (CT). No. 6 Baylor is the fourth team in the action-packed tournament field and will also play the Sun Devils and Bulldogs on opposite days. All games will be played at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa in Las Vegas.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 6-2 lifetime versus TCU in his 25 years as a Division I head coach including a 2-1 mark with the Aggies. The one loss was a 69-65 setback to the Lady Frogs in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, A&M's first postseason berth since 1996 and first of its school-record four-straight appearances since.
• Coach Blair and TCU head coach Jeff Mittie are longtime friends and golfing buddies. They played several rounds of golf this past summer with Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer and even went to the first Dallas Cowboys game of the season together. Blair, a 1963 graduate of Bryan Adams High School, returns to his hometown of Dallas for only the sixth time since his arrival in Aggieland (3-2).
• Four players on the A&M roster will return home to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area this weekend including senior forward Katrina Limbaha, originally from Riga, Latvia, who attended Fort Worth Lake Country Christian High School as an exchange student, junior guard Maryann Baker who starred at Bishop Lynch Catholic High School in Dallas, sophomore guard Skylar Collins out of Cedar Hill High School and sophomore guard Sydney Carter from nearby DeSoto High School. All four will have the majority of the maroon-clad Aggie fans in attendance made up of family, friends, old classmates and former teammates.
• TCU is one of nine Lone Star State schools on this year's schedule. A&M is 3-0 thus far on its tour of Texas with an 86-50 win over Rice on Nov. 18, 106-56 rout of Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 2 and 108-49 blowout of North Texas on Dec. 8. The Aggies will also face 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.
NORTH TEXAS RECAP
Texas A&M 108, North Texas 49
• For the sixth time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (6-0).
• With the victory, the Aggies are off to their second-best start in school history with a perfect 7-0 mark. They have now won the last four-straight meetings with North Texas in the 17-game all-time series (13-4).
• A&M scored a season-high 106 points in the ballgame which is third-largest output by any Aggie squad in the 36-year history of the program. The 59-point blowout was the fifth-largest margin of victory in school history.
• The Aggies have now recorded two 100-point games in a single season for the first time in program history. They also defeated Stephen F. Austin by a count of 106-56 on Dec. 2 in College Station.
• Damitria Buchanan recorded a career-and season-high 15 points versus the Mean Green. She surpassed her previous career-high of nine points in the first half of play. Buchanan also registered her 200th career point in the ballgame and currently has 203 career points to date.
• Tanisha Smith turned in a game-high 16 points and is now on a 15-game consecutive double-digit scoring streak. She was one of six players in double figures including 11 from Tyra White, 10 from Adaora Elonu, a career-high 10 from freshman Kristi Bellock and career-high 10 from sophomore Skylar Collins.
• The A&M defense held North Texas to the fewest points scored by an opponent this season in a first half (22) next to 22 first-half points by Rice on Nov. 18. The Mean Green ended the night with an opponent season-low 49 points which was the same number produced by the Aggies' bench (49).
• A&M scored 56 first-half points which marked the second most points scored in the first half this season.
• The Aggies have now won 44 of their last 46 non-conference home games in the Gary Blair Era. They have won 40 consecutive non-conference home contests since a loss to Houston on Dec. 30, 2003.
• Fourteen of the 16 players on the team's roster contributed to the scoring column including freshman Diamond Ashmore who scored her first career points (2) as an Aggie at the 9:37 minute mark of the second half against North Texas.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"I respect what Coach Mittie is doing there at TCU. He plays the best non-conference schedule of any mid-major school I know of in the last 10 years. That's what makes his teams tougher. They have been exposed to high-caliber competition and situations - why they usually make the NCAA Tournament every year and even in their down years, because their RPI is always so good. When you are playing, not just a friend, but an in-state school, you want a little bit of bragging and recruiting rights. You also want to bring your kids back to the Metroplex area. They really impressed me with what they did against SMU. They are blending in freshmen with their top eight returning players. That's pretty hard to do. They are starting two newcomers right now in point guard Antoinette Thompson and Starr Crawford. Coach Mittie has great balance and has the depth that I have, where he can put different people in the lineup. When he can bring TK LaFleur off the bench, that's like me having the luxury of bringing Sydney Carter or Danielle Adams off the bench. He has quality depth, who are not just athletes, but kids that can score. We are going to have our work cut out for us, because we have won the last two in the series. I guarantee you it will go down like the Cal game and hopefully, we can go in there and get a one-point win." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on TCU
"It's always nice to be able to go home and play in front of my friends and family as well as my old high school team. We know that Helena Sverrisdottir from Iceland is big, versatile, can play down low and play on the perimeter. I remember playing her as a freshman. They also have a couple of shooters and quick guards. TCU is just an all-around good team. On the road, it will be a really good matchup." - Texas A&M junior guard and Dallas native Maryann Baker on TCU
"We just have to stay focused. We showed more chemistry in the Cal game, being able to pull out that win on the road which was very promising. These are all good teams, TCU, Arizona State and Gonzaga. It will be a tough stretch, but it will show a lot about what we are made of." - Baker on playing on the road for the next three games
"I am very excited to go back home and play in front of my family and my hometown crowd. I know they (TCU) have a four player who can really stretch the floor. We are going to stick to our same game plan, but with a little more of an emphasis on protecting the floor once they step outside the three-point line. Defensively, we are still going to be up denying the pass, not letting them turn the floor and not letting them get into their offense." - Texas A&M sophomore guard Skylar Collins on returning home to the Metroplex and playing TCU
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 Daniel-Meyer Coliseum alongside color analyst and former player A'Quonesia Franklin on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.