Texas A&M
7-1
TCU
7-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | 30 | 24 | 54 |
| TCU | 22 | 34 | 56 |
No. 5 Aggies Fall To Lady Frogs, 56-54
Dec 12, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Helen Sverrisdottir scored 20 points and TCU rallied from an 11-point deficit over the final five minutes to beat No. 5 Texas A&M 56-54 on Saturday night.
TCU (7-3) extended its home winning streak to 12 games.
After A&M's fourth turnover in the final three minutes, T.K. LaFleur hit a pair of free throws to put the Lady Frogs in front 56-54 - their first lead since the 7:10 mark of the first half.
A&M turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and misfired on a desperation 3-point attempt as time expired.
Tyra White scored 16 points for Texas A&M (7-1). White was the only player in double figures for the Aggies, who were held 33 points below their season average and committed a season-high 23 turnovers.
Up next, the Aggies will compete in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Dec. 19 and 20 in Las Vegas. 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 Gonzaga on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 10:45 p.m. (CT).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the seventh time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (6-1).
• Despite the loss, the Aggies still lead 29-4 in the all-time series with TCU. The last three meetings between the two schools have now been decided by 10 points or less including within four points or less in the last two.
• Tyra White reached double figures for the third time this season with a team-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor against the Lady Frogs. It was her first as the team's leading scorer in 43 career games played.
• Junior Maryann Baker registered a career-high nine points shooting a career-best 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line. She also played a career-high 23 minutes versus TCU.
• The Aggies outrebounded their opponents for the fifth time this year, 40-31, behind the board work of Tanisha Smith, who brought down a season-high seven rebounds, and Damitria Buchanan with a season-high eight.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"Give TCU a lot of credit for a great comeback. In the first half, when they switched to a zone - that's all we worked on this week. We thought we would see zone for 40 minutes. When they played us man, we were able to pick away, take them off the dribble a number of times and got a couple of good transition baskets. When they went to the zone, we got spastic. TCU does a great job of playing a pretty wide 2-3 zone and hustling. I did a poor job of teaching tonight. Jeff (Mittie) did a good job of motivating and switched to the zone at the right time. When Helena (Sverrisdottir) had two points in the first half - great players find a way to come back even when they are not at their best. We didn't have juniors and seniors who were smart enough to switch the screens. For a No. 5 (ranked) team, we worked hard to get there. We will get back to the drawing and teaching board and teach them to think the game and play the game. We lost this game, because of lack of knowledge of the game. I have to do a better job of teaching our kids about situations. TCU's defense was outstanding. They hit just enough shots to keep them in the ballgame."
On learning from the end-of-game situation ...
"You could see it in our kids' faces and the recognition of certain things. We had a lack of leadership at the point guard position. She (Sydney Colson) will get better because of this. TCU hustled and made plays. In the first half, we should have been down by 10, but we were lucky to be down by only two. When you play on the road, the crowd was good and we didn't get it done. We consider TCU the best program in this state that's not playing in the Big 12. The pressure of being undefeated had nothing to do with it (the loss). Parity is out there. There's parity (among all teams) and then there is Connecticut and Stanford."
Texas A&M Junior Point Guard Sydney Colson
On the end-of-game situation ...
"I think not getting huddled up and taking leadership on the court was a factor. We weren't getting the defensive stops like we were early in the second half. We were not coming down and scoring. They were shooting threes and threes give people a lot of momentum. We were not attacking the zone. I think we really got flustered and didn't handle the pressure like we should have. We didn't handle it well in the end and it cost us. When Helena hit back-to-back threes, or the and-1, it really killed our momentum. I'd rather us learn from this now, instead of during the Big 12 Conference season."
TCU Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the game ...
"We had a great finish. You knew this was going to be a hard-fought game. I think A&M offensively is way ahead of where they were a year ago. I thought our defense did some really good things tonight."
On playing zone against Texas A&M ...
"They are shooting 50 percent from three. You try to get them out of a rhythm. We played a lot of man and trapped. We were able to mix it up down the stretch."
