Feb. 2, 2010
Missouri Game Notes in PDF Format 
#12/10 TEXAS A&M (15-4, 3-3) vs. MISSOURI (11-9, 1-6)
Game #20
February 3, 2010 • 6:00 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 A&M Leads 8-7
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Video at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The 10th-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (15-4, 3-3) looks to bounce back against Missouri (11-9, 1-6) on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Tigers is scheduled for an early 6 p.m. (CT) start. A&M and Mizzou are both coming off back-to-back losses in Big 12 Conference play. The Aggies fell to a pair of top 25 opponents in No. 15 Oklahoma State (67-63) on Jan. 31 and No. 14 Baylor (61-53) on Jan. 27, while the Tigers dropped their last two against border rival Kansas and OSU. A&M has a tough week ahead with not only Missouri, who has already beaten a top 10 team this season, but a road trip to undefeated and fourth-ranked Nebraska (19-0, 6-0) on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Lincoln, Neb. The league continues to show its strength from top-to-bottom and the Aggies will have to look for a way to turn things around with a short break between the competition this week. They will have played three games in a span of seven days including two against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Big 12 in the Cornhuskers and Cowgirls.
GAME PROMOTIONS
The Aggie women will host Bryan-College Station Elementary School Night against Missouri. Parents can receive two free tickets to the game by presenting the promotional flyer to the game at the ticket window, requesting tickets online at: http://tickets.12thmanfoundation.com or by calling the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE. To order online, parents must enter their child's school name when prompted for a promotion code. For example, Forest Ridge = forestridge or Kemp = kemp.
MISSOURI AT A GLANCE
Missouri put together a 10-3 record in non-conference play, but has struggled since a 68-60 setback at Colorado in its Big 12 opener on Jan. 9. The Tigers were picked to finish in last place in the preseason coaches poll, but have stayed within two points or less in losses against two of its last four opponents in Oklahoma (62-61) on Jan. 20 and Kansas (61-59) on Jan. 30. In that same stretch, Mizzou also claimed a 70-62 upset over then No. 10-ranked Baylor on Jan. 23 for their first league win of the season. They are led in scoring by a pair of senior starters in Jessra Johnson (13.1 ppg) and Amanda Hanneman (10.4 ppg). Junior RaeShara Brown currently ranks 10th nationally in steals per game (3.3), while the Tigers rank 17th as a team in turnovers per game (14.7).
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 4.7 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (11.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (15.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. (8.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
#23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Jr. (15.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
MISSOURI
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#23 RaeShara Brown, G, 5-8, Jr. (9.3 ppg, 3.4 apg)
#11 Toy Richbow, G, 5-6, Sr. (3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
#3 Amanda Hanneman, F, 5-11, Sr. (10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
#4 Jessra Johnson, F, 6-1, Sr. (13.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
#44 Shakara Jones, F, 6-2, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas A&M holds a one-game 8-7 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri. The Aggies are currently riding a five-game winning streak in the series dating back to a 72-52 victory at home on Jan. 21, 2006 in College Station. A&M is 5-1 when playing the Tigers at home in Reed Arena. All five of the Aggies' home wins in the series have been in double figures including their last meeting a 19-point margin of victory (62-43) on Jan. 29, 2008. Missouri is the only league team in which A&M has a winning record against in the all-time series.
LAST FIVE GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 62-56 (+6) on Jan. 10, 2009 in Columbia, Mo.
W, 65-39 (+26) on March 12, 2008 in Kansas City
W, 62-43 (+19) on Jan. 29, 2008 in College Station
W, 69-63 (+6) on Feb. 7, 2007 in Columbia, Mo.
W, 72-52 (+20) on Jan. 21, 2006 in College Station
MISSOURI FLASHBACK
No. 3 Texas A&M held off a late Missouri rally with a 62-56 victory in its Big 12 Conference opener on Jan. 10, 2009, at Mizzou Arena. Tanisha Smith in the opening minute of the second half extended the lead to seven, 30-23, and sparked an 18-5 run by the Aggies. Missouri cut the deficit to four behind a half-court trap late in the game, but could get no closer.
SHOW-ME STATE TALENT
Texas A&M redshirt sophomore Tanisha Smith (15.5 ppg), who starred at Lincoln Prep in Kansas City, currently combine for 53 percent of A&M's scoring output this season. All three used to play their high school tournament games at the Hearnes Center, the old home to Mizzou Basketball in Columbia, Mo.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 9-3 all-time against Missouri in his 25 years as a Division I head coach including a 5-2 record versus the Tigers in Big 12 Conference play (regular season and postseason combined).
• Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Danielle Adams, a Kansas City native, originally signed with Missouri and head coach Cyndi Stein out of Lee's Summit High School, where she earned first-team all-state honors as a senior averaging 21.4 points per game. Adams did not qualify academically for Mizzou and had to go the junior college route to become eligible for Division I play. In two seasons at Jefferson College, located in Hillsboro, Mo., Adams was named a two-time JUCO All-American and the 2009 WBCA National Junior College Player of the Year.
• The Aggies will face three Big 12 North schools in their next four games of the season. Last year, A&M went 5-1 against the northern division and are 1-0 this season with a 68-44 win over Iowa State on Jan. 13 in College Station. The Cyclones were the only Big 12 North foe to get past the Aggies during the 2008-09 campaign.
OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
Oklahoma State 67, Texas A&M 63
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Tanisha Smith and Danielle Adams (0-1). Carter made her fourth career start and only her second in Big 12 Conference play. Her last league start was ironically at Oklahoma State on Jan. 24, 2009.
• The loss snapped a four-game winning streak by the Aggies in the all-time series with Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls' only two wins in the last 13 meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals have both been decided by less than four points and occurred on the road including a 61-58 (+3) victory on Jan. 19, 2008 at Reed Arena.
• Sydney Carter made a career-high three blocked shots versus the Cowgirls. She also turned in her fifth game in double figures this season with 12 points.
• Danielle Adams registered her fifth 20-point game of her career and her third against league opponents with a team-high 24 points against OSU. She also drained a career-best four three-pointers in the ballgame which surpassed three made versus No. 6 Duke on Nov. 15, 2009. It marked the ninth time for Adams to lead the team in scoring this season.
• Tyra White recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds versus the Cowgirls.
• The A&M defense held Oklahoma State to its fewest first-half points (20) this season and OSU senior All-American Andrea Riley to just four first-half points. Danielle Adams scored 16 points in the first half of play which was just four points less than the entire Cowgirl team scoring at halftime.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"Missouri brings in a veteran team that can defend and has been used to Coach (Cindy) Stein and her system for a number of years. They have played better teams in our league extremely close this year in Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas. They played well in the non-conference and sometimes all you need is a break to get you going. This may be a good time to play Texas A&M or a bad time to play Texas A&M coming off of the loss to Oklahoma State. I'm glad we have a short turnaround, because we need a turnaround right now on our basketball team. We have to learn to finish teams off and learn how to make better decisions in close games down the stretch. We have lost two of those types of games, one on the road at TCU and the Oklahoma State game. In my eyes, both losses were inexcusable. Give our opponents credit for winning the game. It gives us a lesson learned on making stops and making plays on offense at the end of the game. Missouri has always given us a tough time when playing them on the road in Columbia and we have played fairly well against them at home. It's always a competitive game, because they are as physical as we are. The key to the ballgame will be how well we rebound. Obviously, we haven't done a good job of that in the last few games - rebounding offensively or defensively. We need to have a balance in our scoring and other players have to step-up. There are a lot of ways to score off of defense and in transition. Sometimes when the execution is good, we are knocking down the shots. When the execution isn't good, we are forcing shots. We have to find a remedy of what we are not doing well on offense right now." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on Missouri and trying to rebound from the Aggies' recent setbacks in Big 12 Conference play
"I originally signed with Missouri and Coach Stein out of high school. It's going to be an interesting matchup and exciting game to play against Missouri for the first time - playing against girls that I knew during the recruiting process. They have a couple of good shooters and they are playing pretty well right now, despite their recent losses. Missouri beat Baylor at home and shows just how strong this league is. In the Big 12, you never know who is going to win or lose on any given night. I knew coming into this league that every night would be a battle. How good every team is from top-to-bottom is one of the main reasons why I chose to come to Texas A&M - to play in the Big 12, gain exposure and compete against a lot of great players. Right now, we are looking to finish out conference play strong and have been working on our mental and physical parts of our game in practice." - Junior preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Danielle Adams on playing Missouri and the league's strength this season
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.