Feb. 12, 2010
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Kansas State Game Notes in PDF Format 
#13/11 TEXAS A&M (16-6, 4-5) vs. KANSAS STATE (12-11, 4-5)
Game #23
February 13, 2010 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
at College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Kansas State Leads 11-6
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Video at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
With seven games remaining in Big 12 Conference regular-season play and still enough time to make headway in the league race, the 11th-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (16-6, 4-5) will look to rebound from back-to-back losses on the road with a home matchup with Kansas State (12-11, 4-5) on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. (CT). A&M will host its fourth-annual Beat The Hell Outta Breast Cancer campaign with the goal of raising $35,000 to benefit the Kay Yow Foundation in honor of the late North Carolina State head coach. In each of the past two years, the Aggies have raised over $30,000 for breast cancer research. They are currently 9-1 on their home court this season and will play four of their last seven contests in the friendly confines of Reed Arena. The Wildcats are one of three Big 12 North schools left on the slate for the Aggies next to road dates at Colorado on Feb. 27 and Kansas on March 6 in the season finale. A&M is currently in a four-way tie for sixth place in the league standings and has lost five of its last seven including recent setbacks at Texas Tech (57-54) on Feb. 10 and at undefeated Nebraska (71-60) on Feb. 6. The Aggies have been hit with the injury bug as of late, particularly with their point guards, as starter Sydney Colson continues to heal from a stress reaction in her left fibula and has missed two games of the season and back-up Sydney Carter has been hobbled with a sprained right ankle. A&M, however, has always risen from adversity and will look to make a strong run leading into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on March 11-14 in Kansas City.
A WILDCAT PAUSE
Kansas State snapped a two-game losing skid in conference play with a win over Missouri in a low-scoring affair (37-33) on Feb. 10 in Manhattan, Kan. Like the Aggies, the Wildcats have lost five of their last seven games and will face back-to-back top 25 opponents on the road in A&M and No. 14 Texas on Feb. 17. All four of K-State's league wins this season have come against fellow Big 12 North opponents in Kansas, Mizzou (twice) and Iowa State. The Wildcats are led in scoring and rebounding by senior forward Ashley Sweat who is averaging 17.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Former K-State All-American Shalee Lehning, who had her No. 5 jersey retired when the Aggies played in the Little Apple a year ago, is currently serving as an assistant coach on 14-year head coach Deb Patterson's staff.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#51 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, So. (7.3 ppg, 3.1 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (10.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (15.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
#23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Jr. (16.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (2.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
KANSAS STATE
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#41 Kari Kincaid, G, 5-10, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 2.8 apg)
#2 Brittany Chambers, G, 5-8, Fr. (12.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
#12 Taelor Karr, G, 5-8, Fr. (8.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
#4 Ashley Sweat, F, 6-2, Sr. (17.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
#33 Jalana Childs, F, 6-2, So. (6.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Kansas State leads 11-6 in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Aggies currently own a two-game winning streak versus the Wildcats including a 65-63 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big 12 Championship on March 13, 2009 in Oklahoma City. It was the first postseason meeting between the two schools. A&M also beat K-State (71-45) in regular-season action in Manhattan on March 1, 2009. Two of the Aggies' six victories in the series have been won at home including an 81-76 victory on Feb. 25, 1998.
LAST FIVE GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 65-63 on March 13, 2009 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
W, 71-45 on March 1, 2009 in Manhattan, Kan.
L, 54-67 on Jan. 9, 2008 in College Station
L, 45-48 on Jan. 6, 2007 in Manhattan, Kan.
W, 66-39 on Jan. 11, 2006 in College Station
KANSAS STATE FLASHBACK
Four players scored in double figures to lead No. 9 Texas A&M to a 65-63 thriller over No. 16 Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on March 13, 2009 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The fourth-seeded Aggies moved on to their fourth-straight semifinal appearance against top-seeded Oklahoma. Tanisha Smith and 10 points off the bench from Adaora Elonu. After Gant's jumper, Kansas State quickly pushed the ball up the court and Ashley Sweat made a last-second shot from the top of the free throw line, but it bounced off the rim as time expired. Sweat had 19 points, while Marlies Gipson had a game-high tying 22 for the Wildcats.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 4-5 lifetime versus Kansas State in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. Of Blair's four all-time wins, A&M handed the Wildcats' their second-fewest points ever scored in a Big 12 game in a 66-39 rout on Jan. 11, 2006 in College Station. Three of his career wins versus the Wildcats have been in Big 12 Conference play with the Aggies and the other during his Stephen F. Austin days, an 82-59 victory in Dallas on Dec. 11, 1987 over a K-State squad coached by Matilda Mossman.
• Aside from Missouri, Tanisha Smith and Tyra White were also recruited in high school by Big 12 North rival Kansas State growing up two hours East of Manhattan in Kansas City, Mo. All three of their paths to Aggieland were different, but shared the same common denominator of current Aggie assistant coach Johnnie Harris who recruited all three while an assistant at Arkansas and Arkansas-Fort Smith. Adams originally signed with Missouri out of high school, but did not qualify academically and attended Jefferson (Mo.) College to become eligible for Division I play. Smith played one season at Arkansas, before transferring to UA-Fort Smith. White originally signed with LSU, but decided to transfer after the departure of head coach Pokey Chatman.
• Danielle Adams was recruited by former North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow and started receiving letters from her in the eighth grade. Adams said she never met Yow in person, but always admired her coaching style and her fight with breast cancer. A&M will don its pink adidas uniforms for the BTHO Breast Cancer game on Saturday.
TEXAS TECH RECAP
Texas Tech 57, Texas A&M 54
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (0-1).
• The Aggies have lost the last two-straight road contests in the series with Texas Tech. They are now 3-28 all-time when playing on the road in Lubbock.
• Adrienne Pratcher, who played in only 15 contests prior to the Texas Tech game, became only the fourth true freshman to start at point guard in Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair's seven seasons in Aggieland next to Sydney Colson twice as a rookie in 2007-08 behind former standout A'Quonesia Franklin who started as a freshman in 2004-05 and Sydney Carter in 2008-09.
• Tanisha Smith grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in the first half alone and ended the night with a personal best 13. It marked the fourth time of her career to record double-digit boards in a game. She turned in her third career double-double with 13 points and 13 boards against the Lady Raiders.
• Starting point guard Sydney Colson did not play for the second time this season recovering from a stress reaction in her left fibula. Backup point guard Sydney Carter also played with a sprained right ankle.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"What's on the line is not just the game, but the cause. We've done a great job of responding to the need of the cause at hand. Everything about that game just excites me, not just the game itself, but what it stands for. We've done our part and I hope our fans will come out and support the cause. Last year, we raised $35,000 and we hope to raise that or more this year. As for Kansas State, (Ashley) Sweat and (Kari) Kincaid are two of the better players in the league. Their young players are growing as the season goes on and their coaching staff is always going to be prepared. (Kansas State head coach) Debbie Patterson hasn't graduated. She's done a great job of getting her team to buy into the system. Help is coming, but right now, they are as dangerous as anybody we have faced. Particularly playing on the road, I know they will run their sets. They are not going to freelance, they will stay in their offense for the whole 30 seconds on the clock." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on the Beat the Hell Outta Breast Cancer game and Kansas State
"We have to get after it in practice this week. We have to keep focused and not worry about the games that we lost or that we should have won. We just need to get better on the practice court and keep going forward to get ready for the next opponent. Kansas State is similar to Iowa State. They are very smart and have talented players on their team. They are patient and know what they're doing on defense. They have great technique in everything they do. For us, we have to watch what we are doing on the court and keep our composure. Being a part of this game, is a plus. It's a tremendous feeling to be able to help out with the cause, since a lot of women, especially African-American women, are affected nowadays with breast cancer. Not only are we going out there to win, but we are going out there to support breast cancer awareness." - Texas A&M senior forward/guard Tanisha Smith on rebounding from back-to-back road losses and the Kansas State game
"It's an honor to have a chance to play and at the same time, help in the cause to fight breast cancer. I respect the fact that (former North Carolina State head coach) Kay Yow championed the cause and raised awareness through her fight with the disease. Just to get a win this weekend is important for us to get back on our feet. Kansas State is an aggressive team and they have great shooters. We are looking to take away their outside shots. Hopefully, we can stop their shooting, get them to drive and get great help side defense to win the game." - Texas A&M junior forward/center Danielle Adams on Kansas State and the Pink Out game benefiting the Kay Yow Foundation
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.