Jan. 26, 2010
Baylor Game Notes in PDF Format 
#8/8 TEXAS A&M (15-2, 3-1) vs. #14/16 BAYLOR (14-4, 1-3)
Game #18
January 27, 2010 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Ferrell Center (10,284)
at Waco, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Baylor Leads 42-35
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
One of the most anticipated matchups of the Big 12 Conference season gets underway as the eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (15-2, 3-1) gets ready to battle No. 14/16 Baylor (14-4, 1-3) on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Tipoff between the Aggies and Lady Bears is set for 7 p.m. (CT). Only 90 miles of Central Texas landscape separate two of the league's top programs and rising stars in the game. Both squads have already seen each other play this season on the same court, but not against each other. A&M and Baylor took part in a four-team Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic tournament field in December, where each picked up wins in the desert against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams in Arizona State and Gonzaga. Two of the top scoring offenses and top shooting teams in the country also make their home along the Brazos River with the Aggies averaging 80.9 points per game which ranks fifth nationally and the Lady Bears (78.9) which ranks ninth. A&M is also shooting the ball with a 48.1 percent accuracy from the floor (4th), while Baylor is shooting 50.2 (2nd). BU was the only school to evade the Aggies' pressure defense during the 2008-09 season on three occasions (0-3) including the title game of the 2009 Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. A&M looks to turn that corner with added depth and scoring threats this season.
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
Preseason favorite Baylor is currently on a two-game losing skid and a 1-3 start to league play. The Lady Bears' two recent losses include a 70-62 setback at Missouri on Jan. 23 and a 65-56 loss to undefeated Nebraska on Jan. 17. They have been playing without the services of top returning player Melissa Jones who has missed the last four games of the season with a stress reaction in her right leg. She was averaging 11.6 points and 6.6 rebounds prior to the injury. Baylor 6-foot-8 freshman phenom Brittney Griner, who notoriously plays above the rim with her monster dunks, has led the Lady Bears in scoring with 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She also ranks second nationally averaging 5.9 blocks a game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. (7.8 ppg, 5.0 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (10.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (16.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
#23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Jr. (15.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (3.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
BAYLOR
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#21 Kelli Griffin, G, 5-8, Jr. (7.6 ppg, 4.5 apg)
#15 Shanay Washington, G, 6-1, Fr. (7.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
#20 Terran Condrey, G, 5-7, So. (3.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
#24 Ashley Field, F, 6-2, So. (7.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#42 Brittney Griner, C, 6-8, Fr. (18.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg)
SERIES HISTORY
Baylor holds a seven-game advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M, 42-35. The Aggies have won three out of the last seven meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals, but went 0-3 against the Lady Bears during the 2008-09 campaign. Six out of the last seven contests in the series have been decided by nine points or less. A&M has only won on 13 all-time occasions on the road in Waco including twice since the league's inception in 1999-00 and 2006-07. Each of the last three road meetings with the Lady Bears have been decided by five points or less including the Aggies' last road win in Waco, a 63-58 (+5) victory on Feb. 25, 2007 at the Ferrell Center.
LAST SEVEN GAMES IN SERIES
L, 63-72 (-9) on March 15, 2009 in Oklahoma City
L, 60-64 (-4) on March 7, 2009 in Waco, Texas
L, 61-64 (-3) on Jan. 21, 2009 in College Station
W, 72-53 (+19) on March 1, 2008 in College Station
L, 56-59 (-3) on Jan. 12, 2009 in Waco, Texas
W, 63-58 (+5) on Feb. 25, 2007 in Waco, Texas
W, 60-52 (+8) on Jan. 13, 2007 in College Station
BAYLOR REPLAY
No. 9 Texas A&M lost a 72-63 decision to No. 7 Baylor in the finals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on March 15, 2009 in Oklahoma City. In their second-straight appearance in the title game, the defending tournament-champion and fourth-seeded Aggies were called for 21 fouls in which the second-seeded Lady Bears converted 21-of-32 attempts from the charity stripe. A&M led by as many as 10 with 11:35 to go in the first half on a 17-7 run sparked by six points from Tanisha Smith in the early going. Morghan Medlock came off the bench and scored 11-straight points thereafter to regain the lead for the Lady Bears, 22-19, with under six minutes to go in the half. Medlock would go on to score 15 for the game in which BU's bench contributed 24 points to the total tally in comparison to A&M's two from Takia Starks knocked down a three-pointer to rally a comeback, but A&M was only able to get within two, 60-58, on a jumper by Starks with 4:45 left on the clock. Seven second-half turnovers by the Aggies led to 10 points by the Lady Bears who sealed the victory on a three-pointer by Jhasmin Player to stretch the lead out to eight, 68-60, with under three minutes to go in regulation.
ADAMS vs. GRINER PART I
Two of the league's top big women will meet on Wednesday in what will be a guaranteed showdown in the paint. Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and 6-foot-1 junior transfer Damitria Buchanan will go up against Baylor's Brittney Griner inside. Both Adams and Griner have recorded a triple-double performance this season and rank No. 1 (Griner 4.8 avg) and No. 2 (Adams 4.3 avg) in blocked shots respectively in league play. The Aggies are currently averaging 36.6 points per game this season behind Adams' and Buchanan's paint work including 22 of Adam's career-high 27 points against Texas Tech on Jan. 23.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 9-11 lifetime versus Baylor in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. Blair was previously an assistant coach to current Baylor assistant coach Leon Barmore at Louisiana Tech from 1980-85 and their star point guard was Kim Mulkey who led the Lady Techsters to back-to-back national championship titles in 1981 (AIAW) and 1982 (NCAA).
• Last year, the Aggies went 6-4 against Big 12 South competition with sweeps of Oklahoma State and rival Texas. They are 2-1 this season versus their southern division counterparts which boasts five of the nation's top 25 teams.
• Five Houstonians make up the majority of the starting lineups for both Texas A&M and Baylor. The Aggies are represented by Houston natives Damitria Buchanan (Jones HS - 16 starts) and Adaora Elonu (Alief Elsik HS - 13 starts), while the Lady Bears are paced by Brittney Griner (Nimitz HS - 18 starts) and Kelli Griffin (Clear Brook HS - 18 starts).
TEXAS TECH RECAP
Texas A&M 69, Texas Tech 54
• For the third time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (3-0). Adams made her fourth career start and first in Big 12 Conference play.
• With the victory, the Aggies have now won seven out of the last eight meetings with Texas Tech and picked up only their 15th win in the all-time series. They have also won five-straight when playing the Lady Raiders at home at Reed Arena.
• Texas A&M had the fifth-largest crowd in school history with 7,279 fans in attendance at Reed Arena.
• Damitria Buchanan (7 blocks vs. Duke on Nov. 15, 2009). Adams is currently on a nine-game double-digit scoring streak. It marked the eighth time for Adams to lead the team in scoring this season.
• Adams also registered her first career triple-double by adding a career-high 12 rebounds to become only the second A&M player in school history to accomplish the feat. Former player Toccara Williams (2000-04) recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in 2002. It marks the third triple-double this season in league play next to Baylor's Brittney Griner vs. Oral Roberts on Dec. 16, 2009 and Iowa State's Alison Lacey vs. Iowa on Dec. 10, 2009. Adams is the 10th all-time Big 12 player to record a triple-double on 15 occasions since the league's inception in 1996-97.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"Out of all the games Baylor has played this season, we've seen about 12 different game plans and we will pick one that will work for our personnel, not one that might work for Iowa State and Oklahoma State. We have to play to our personnel. Dr. (Vic) Schaefer has been up at night in his lab working on what will work and what will not work. Give the kid a lot of credit. But, we are playing Baylor, not Brittney Griner. We have to make sure the other four or six or seven do not go off on us. Other teams have been able to stop a lot of Baylor's young players this season. You can't go in and fear anyone. We all learned a lesson when (Oklahoma's) Courtney Paris came into the league. All we did was talk about her the whole summer. Defensive coordinators were shaking their heads and we came in and didn't have the right game plan. We've gone through four years of preparing for an All-American and the coaches have not graduated. We just need to make sure we come up with a sound game plan. We have to score on offense, because we're going to Baylor, where we've had a hard time scoring the last three years." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on the Baylor matchup
"There's no way Baylor would be 1-3, if Melissa Jones had played all four of those ballgames. That's how valuable she is to her team. It would be similar to me taking Tanisha Smith out in our first four games. I wouldn't like the results. Whether or not she will be back ... who knows? We are always preparing for her. Everyone gets healthy when we come to town. Melissa Jones is a key to their offense and the key to their leadership. It's hard to lead on the sidelines. I expect her back, but I hope she comes back on Sunday." - Coach Blair on Baylor's 1-3 start in Big 12 play
"Right now, we can't think about what we did last year against Baylor. They are a different team and we are a different team. This year, we have more talent on the floor offensively. The main thing for us is limiting (Brittney) Griner's touches and playing good team defense. That's what we will work on up until the ballgame on Wednesday night." - Texas A&M preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention Tanisha Smith on playing Baylor after going 0-3 against the Lady Bears last season
"She has become more of an all-around player (since high school). She's a huge threat for their team. We just have to go out there and be ready to have a solid defensive game and solid offensive game. It's time for us to win a game at Baylor. They are a whole team and not just one player. The way other teams have been successful against them, we just have to replicate it in our own fashion. We have to go out there and add our own twist to it. We will have a game plan ready and hopefully, we will be able to execute it on Wednesday." - Texas A&M junior point guard Sydney Colson on Baylor and star freshman Brittney Griner
BIG 12 CONFERENCE ROUNDUP
After week three of Big 12 Conference play, undefeated Nebraska (4-0) continues to the lead the pack followed by Oklahoma State and Oklahoma who are tied for second at 4-1. The Aggies are currently a game back in the standings due to a bye last week and in fourth with a 3-1 record against league foes. Iowa State rounds out the top five in the Big 12 race with a 3-2 mark.
1. Nebraska (17-0, 4-0)
2T. Oklahoma State (16-3, 4-1)
2T. Oklahoma (14-4, 4-1)
4. Texas A&M (15-2, 3-1)
5. Iowa State (15-3, 3-2)
6T. Texas (13-6, 2-3)
6T. Colorado (12-6, 2-3)
6T. Kansas State (10-9, 2-3)
9T. Baylor (14-4, 1-3)
9T. Texas Tech (13-5, 1-3)
11T. Kansas (11-7, 1-4)
11T. Missouri (11-7, 1-4)
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 the Ferrell Center alongside color analyst Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.