Jan. 22, 2010
Texas Tech Game Notes in PDF Format 
#9/9 TEXAS A&M (14-2, 2-1) vs. TEXAS TECH (13-4, 1-2)
Game #17
January 23, 2010 • 3:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
at College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas Tech Leads 53-14
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Video at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The ninth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (14-2, 2-1) returns to action after having a bye to prepare for the first week back to school as well as its remaining Big 12 Conference regular-season schedule ahead. The Aggies will host Texas Tech (13-4, 1-2) on Saturday, Jan. 23 as part of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader at Reed Arena. The A&M men will take on Colorado at 12:30 p.m. (CT) followed by the women at approximately 3 p.m. (CT). The Aggies are currently in fourth place in the latest league standings behind undefeated Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. They will play three of their next four games of the season at home after enduring road travel for most of the months of November, December and the start of January including a 74-65 setback at No. 13 Oklahoma on Jan. 17 in Norman, Okla. The Aggies still remain one of the top five teams in the nation in scoring offense (4th, 81.7), field-goal percentage (4th, 48.3), three-point field goal percentage (2nd, 41.1) and assists per game (6th, 18.3). They are one of only four Big 12 schools with undefeated home records with a perfect 7-0 mark at Reed Arena.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE LADY RAIDERS
Texas Tech embarks on a tough three-game stretch which includes a plethora of top 15-ranked opponents beginning with No. 9 Texas A&M followed by home contests versus No. 6 Nebraska and No. 13 Oklahoma. In fact, the Lady Raiders are in the midst of a nine-consecutive game slate against top 25 squads after a double overtime loss to No. 19 Texas (95-90) on Jan. 16 in Lubbock. Tech also used a bye this week to rest and prepare for all of the Big 12 heavyweights ahead. The Lady Raiders have played the majority of their games at home this season and are searching for their first league victory on the road after opening up conference play with a 73-58 setback at Oklahoma on Jan. 9. They are led in scoring by 2009 Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection Kierra Mallard who is averaging 14.2 points in addition to 2.5 blocks per game which ranks 16th nationally as of Jan. 21.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. (7.9 ppg, 5.2 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (10.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (16.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. (9.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (3.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
TEXAS TECH
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#23 Monique Smalls, G, 5-6, Fr. (5.8 ppg, 4.2 apg)
#13 Jordan Murphree, G, 6-0, Sr. (13.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
#14 Tilmila Martin, G, 5-6, Sr. (8.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
#31 Ashlee Roberson, F, 5-11, Sr. (11.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
#20 Kierra Mallard, C, 6-3, So. (14.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Texas Tech holds a 53-14 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M. However, the Aggies have won six out of the last seven meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals. A&M has also won four-straight against the Lady Raiders when playing at Reed Arena. Seven of the Aggies' 14 all-time victories have been won on their home court.
LAST SEVEN GAMES IN SERIES
L, 53-60 on Feb. 11, 2009 in Lubbock, Texas
W, 67-56 on Jan. 13, 2009 in College Station
W, 70-56 on Feb. 17, 2008 in College Station
W, 63-46 on Feb. 2, 2008 in Lubbock, Texas
W, 67-51 on Feb. 21, 2007 in College Station
W, 49-47 on Jan. 10, 2007 in Lubbock, Texas
W, 65-48 on Feb. 5, 2006 in College Station
LAST TIME BOTH TEAMS MET
No. 8 Texas A&M fought back in the final seconds but it wasn't enough to overcome a 60-53 decision to Texas Tech on the road at United Spirit Arena on Feb. 11, 2009. It marked the Aggies' first loss in the last seven games in the series and their first in the last two years in Lubbock. Damitria Buchanan and Gant with three-or-more fouls apiece with under 11 minutes to go in regulation. Kierra Mallard paced five Tech players in double digits with 15 points, followed by Jordan Murphree and Tilmila Martin with 12 each. Starks hit a jumper with 13 seconds left to go as A&M used all of its timeouts to close the gap to 58-53. The Aggies had no choice but to foul as Tech held off their last-second attempts with free throws to seal the victory. The Lady Raiders led throughout the ballgame with A&M's only lead coming in the opening minutes of play.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 6-6 lifetime versus his alma mater in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. Blair earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1972 and his master's degree in education in 1974 from Texas Tech. He also played a season of baseball for the Red Raiders. All six of his career victories over Tech have occurred during his tenure in Aggieland.
• Last year, the Aggies went 6-4 against Big 12 South competition with sweeps of Oklahoma State and rival Texas. They are 1-1 this season versus their southern division counterparts which boasts five of the nation's top 25 teams. Seven Big 12 squads round out the top 30 in the second edition of the NCAA RPI index released on Jan. 18.
• Fourth-year Texas Tech head coach Kristy Curry has Aggie ties. She previously served as an assistant coach under former A&M head coach Candi Harvey from 1994-96, prior to receiving her first head coaching job at Purdue from 1999-2006. She is married to Texas Tech assistant coach Kelly Curry, a Class of `90 graduate of A&M. Curry is one of four current Big 12 head coaches along with Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors, Colorado head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller and Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson who have yet to win a league game in Aggieland.
OKLAHOMA RECAP
Oklahoma 74, Texas A&M 65
• For the 11th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (9-2).
• The loss marked the first for the Aggies against a top 25 opponent and only their second loss on the road this season. They are now 5-1 versus nationally-ranked competition.
• A&M lost its third-straight road game in Norman and have not beaten OU on its home court since its second-ever road victory in the all-time series during the 2007-08 campaign.
• Tyra White scored a career-and season-high tying 18 points versus Oklahoma. It marked the third time this season in which she has led the team in scoring.
• Sydney Colson drained a season-high three three-pointers, all in the first half of play against the Sooners. She also made a season-high five of the team's 11 steals in the ballgame.
• Danielle Adams contributed 12 points off the bench and has now reached double figures in 14 games this season including the last eight-straight contests.
• Texas A&M trailed an opponent for the first time this season, 41-30, at halftime.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"I expect a lot out of Texas Tech. They played their hearts out against Texas (last Saturday) and should have won that ballgame. They played extremely well and are a very much improved team. (Jordan) Murphree and (Ashlee) Roberson both scored 29 points in that ballgame. They are going to play Murphree, Roberson, (Kierra) Mallard and (Tilmila) Smalls as many minutes as Oklahoma played their four kids over 30 against us. It's not about depth. It's about quality and not making mistakes. The longer you play, it seems like you get into the flow of the game and that's what you see in conference play. Oklahoma only played seven players and I expect the same from Tech. They have to shut down our top players and we have to be able to do the same. Murphree and Roberson are seniors and good decision makers, while Mallard was one of the league's top freshmen last year. Our kids will be ready to play Tech, not just because it's my alma mater, but because we cannot afford any losses at home, period. Especially, knowing our road schedule ahead at Baylor and Nebraska. We need to make sure we take care of business at home." - Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair on Texas Tech
"The past few days in practice, we have worked really hard. We didn't play our usual game on Sunday at Oklahoma. We fought back when it was necessary, especially when we were down by 16 and had to get some kind of spark to get us going. We are learning from our mistakes we made in that game. We can't change it to a win on our record, so all we can do now is work hard and prepare for Texas Tech. We know they are good at the post position with (Kierra) Mallard and have fast guards coming in. They beat us at their place last year and I wouldn't say we had a good game in any stretch of the imagination in Lubbock. We have to take advantage of our home court. We have to go out there, play hard, execute and not let them get into any kind of rhythm." - Texas A&M junior point guard Sydney Colson and rebounding from the OU loss and facing Texas Tech
"We just want to come back home and play like we normally play. We had a big slump in Norman. We look forward to coming back and get energized with our home crowd behind us. Texas Tech beat us last year at their place. We knew our defense wasn't where we wanted it to be at OU. Coach (Vic) Schaefer said he didn't know who we were out there on defense. Everyone takes individual accountability for our loss and lack of defense. Playing hard and having a positive mindset is going to get us back on the road that we know we can get back on." - Texas A&M redshirt sophomore Tyra White on returning home to Reed Arena and looking to bounce back from the OU loss
AROUND THE BIG 12
There's a reason the Big 12 is rated the No. 1 women's basketball conference in the country. League leader Nebraska (16-0) is one of only two teams in the nation next to defending national champion Connecticut with an unblemished season record. The Aggies (14-2) and the Cornhuskers are the only Big 12 squads to have fewer than two notches in the loss column, while A&M leads all league schools with the most wins against ranked opponents (5-1) this season.
1. Nebraska (16-0, 3-0)
2T. Oklahoma State (15-3, 3-1)
2T. Oklahoma (13-4, 3-1)
4. Texas A&M (14-2, 2-1)
5T. Iowa State (14-3, 2-2)
5T. Texas (13-5, 2-2)
5T. Colorado (12-5, 2-2)
5T. Kansas State (10-8, 2-2)
9T. Baylor (14-3, 1-2)
9T. Texas Tech (13-4, 1-2)
11. Kansas (11-6, 1-3)
12. Missouri (10-7, 0-4)
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.