Feb. 21, 2010
Baylor Game Notes in PDF Format 
#15/15 TEXAS A&M (19-6, 7-5) vs. #18/19 BAYLOR (19-7, 6-6)
Game #26
February 22, 2010 • 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
at College Station, Texas
Television: ESPN2
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Baylor Leads 43-35
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (19-6, 7-5) carries a three-game winning streak into an important ESPN2 Big Monday battle with No. 18 Baylor (19-7, 6-6) on Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. (CT) at Reed Arena. The Aggies and Lady Bears, who were picked to finish among the top four teams in the preseason Big 12 Conference coaches poll, are trying to gain some ground in the current league race. Both squads got off to slow and disappointing starts in the first half of the season - A&M with a 3-5 mark and BU at 4-4. The Aggies' current winning stretch is their longest since opening up Big 12 play with back-to-back victories over Texas and Iowa State. They will have less than 48 hours to prep for their third-straight top 25 matchup in a six-day span having already defeated No. 12 Texas (58-44) on Feb. 20 and No. 17 Oklahoma State on the road (69-52) on Feb. 17. A&M has shown signs of the trademark defensive team of old, limiting its last three consecutive opponents to 32.9 percent shooting from the floor, 29.0 percent shooting from beyond the three-point arc and causing them to turn over the ball an average of 19.3 times per contest. The Aggies are one win away from turning in their fifth-straight 20-win campaign under seventh-year head coach Tanisha Smith, Danielle Adams and Tyra White who are accounting for 54 percent of the team's offensive production on the hardwood.
GAME PROMOTIONS
The Aggies will host &M will host Bryan-College Station Middle/Intermediate School Night against the Lady Bears. Students can receive two free tickets to the game by presenting their school ID or wearing a school shirt to the event to redeem their tickets. To order tickets in advance, go to: http://tickets.12thmanfoundation.com, click Middle/Intermediate School Night and enter your school's name. A&M will also host Texas A&M Faculty/Staff Night. Tickets for Texas A&M faculty and staff are priced at $3 and available in all price levels. Tickets can be ordered online at: http://tickets.12thmanfoundation.com (look for Faculty/Staff link). Faculty and staff can also present their TAMU ID prior to the game or purchase in advance at the Ticket Center's Kyle Field or Reed Arena locations.
A LOOK AT THE LADY BEARS
Baylor has won back-to-back league games against No. 17 Oklahoma State (80-69) on Feb. 20 and Texas Tech (65-48) on Feb. 17 to counter two-straight losses on the road to Oklahoma in overtime (60-62) and Iowa State (45-69). The Lady Bears, like the Aggies, enjoy playing D and currently lead the Big 12 in field-goal percentage defense (32.5) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (27.4). BU has two players averaging double figures in scoring including freshman phenom Brittney Griner at 18.8 points per game and junior guard Melissa Jones at 11.3 points per game. Jones has missed the last six consecutive contests due to injury, is listed as game-to-game and has only made two Big 12 lineup appearances against Texas A&M on Jan. 27 and Texas on Jan. 31. Underclassmen account for 69 percent of Baylor's youthful roster this season.
ON THE DEUCE
Texas A&M will appear on the deuce for only the sixth time in program history during a regular-season game and eighth overall time on national television this season. The Aggies are 5-1 all-time when playing on ESPN's sister network including one of the most memorable moments in school history - a last-second drive by all-time leading scorer and former standout Takia Starks to lead the Aggies to a 57-56 victory over No. 2 Oklahoma on Feb. 23, 2009. It marked the first time fans and students rushed onto the court in celebration after a women's game at Reed Arena. Play-by-play announcer Dave O'Brien, color analyst Doris Burke and sideline reporter Rebecca Lobo will call the action live from Reed Arena on ESPN2.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, So. (8.2 ppg, 3.3 apg)
#20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. (10.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
#22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. (14.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
#21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. (7.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
#2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. (2.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
BAYLOR
No. Name (2009-10 Stats)
#21 Kelli Griffin, G, 5-8, Jr. (7.7 ppg, 4.7 apg)
#1 Kimetria Hayden, G, 5-11, Fr. (4.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
#25 Lindsay Palmer, G, 5-10, So. (1.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
#55 Morghan Medlock, F, 6-1, Sr. (9.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#42 Brittney Griner, C, 6-8, Fr. (18.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
SERIES NOTES
Baylor holds a 43-35 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M and has won the last four-straight meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals. It hasn't been all Lady Bears, though, as the Aggies have won three out of the last eight contests in the series. They went 0-3 against BU during the 2008-09 campaign including a 72-63 loss in the Big 12 Tournament championship game on March 15, 2009 in Oklahoma City which would have given the Aggies a three-peat having won the regular-season title in 2007 and tournament title in 2008. Seven out of the last eight contests in the series have been decided by nine points or less.
LAST EIGHT GAMES IN THE SERIES
L, 53-61 (-8) on Jan. 27, 2010 in Waco, Texas
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 REWIND
Melissa Jones provided No. 14 Baylor a much-needed boost in her return, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds in a 61-53 victory over No. 8 Texas A&M on Jan. 27. The Lady Bears had fallen out of the Top 10 without Jones, losing three of the four games their junior guard missed because of a right leg injury described as a precursor to a stress fracture. Brittney Griner added 20 points and Kelli Griffin 13 for Baylor. Tyra White had 19 points for Texas A&M which was held 28 points below its season average. Baylor made 10-of-10 free throws in the final minute, including six by Griffin and two by Jones to counter a pair of 3-pointers by Texas A&M that got the Aggies within 55-50. White scored six points in a 22-second span for Texas A&M. She hit a 3-pointer and, following a Baylor miss, had a breakaway layup and a free throw to make it 17-12. But the Aggies never got closer than that. Jones had 10 points and five rebounds by halftime, when Baylor led 30-18.
THE TWO SYDS
Texas A&M is home to the two-headed point guard monster, if you will, affectionately called the "Two Syds" by head coach Gary Blair. Sophomore point guard Sydney Carter (a.k.a. Baby Syd), who played in a back-up and sixth man role for the majority of the season, has stepped in to lead the Aggies while junior point guard Sydney Colson (a.k.a. Big Syd) heals from a stress reaction in her left fibula which has kept her on the sidelines four times this season. In the last three games, Carter has led the team in scoring twice, averaged a team-leading 14.7 points per game and distributed the ball 15 times with only four turnovers for an impressive 3.75 assist-to-turnover ratio against the defenses of Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas combined. It's no wonder that A&M currently leads the Big 12 in assists (15.8 avg), turnover margin (+5.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0). Individually, Carter is second only to national leader Alison Lacey of Iowa State (3.31) in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.13. Colson ranks fifth-best at 1.90 and needs five more assists to record her second-straight 100+ assist season.
LOOKING AT THE RPI
The Aggies are currently rated No. 8 with the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation, while Baylor is No. 10 according to the Jeff Sagarin/CBN Women's College Basketball Ratings as of Feb. 21. Texas A&M is one of three Big 12 Conference squads with top 5-rated schedules behind Oklahoma (No. 1) and Texas (No. 4). Five of the Aggies' six losses of the season were against teams currently ranked in the national polls. In fact, A&M (7-4) and Nebraska (7-0) have the most wins out of any league school against nationally-ranked opponents this year, while Baylor (5-6) has the second most.
AGGIE RALLY TIME
Over the last three consecutive years in the Gary Blair Era, the Aggies have rallied and finished strong in their last six games of the regular season - games in which the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee weighs heavily in determining at-large bids and top seeds come Selection Monday. A&M is currently 18-2 over the last four years in its final six Big 12 regular-season ballgames prior to heading into the conference tournament. The Aggies went 5-1 in 2006-07 (co-Big 12 regular-season champion), 6-0 in 2007-08 (Big 12 tournament champion and NCAA Elite Eight), 5-1 in 2008-09 (Big 12 tournament finals and NCAA Sweet 16) and 2-0 in 2009-10 (??).
ADAMS vs. GRINER PART II
Two of the league's top big women will meet on Monday for a second go-around in the paint. Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and 6-foot-1 junior transfer Damitria Buchanan will go up against Baylor 6-foot-8 freshman center Brittney Griner inside. Both Adams and Griner have recorded a triple-double this season and rank No. 1 (Griner 5.8 avg) and No. 3 (Adams 2.2 avg) in blocked shots respectively in league play. A&M is averaging 32.9 points in the paint this season behind the post work of Adams, Buchanan and sophomores Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Assarian.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 9-12 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). He is one win away from recording his 19th all-time 20-win season.
• The Aggies and Lady Bears both participated in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic tournament and beat Arizona State and Gonzaga on Dec. 19-20. Prior to Big 12 play, A&M had won 12-of-13 and Baylor 13-of-14 against non-conference foes and were ranked among the top 10 teams in the country. The Aggies were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, while the Lady Bears were favored to win the regular-season title.
• Like Tobacco Road made up of Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State in the research triangle, the "Presidential Corridor" in which Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor reside, has become a college basketball hotbed in both the men's and women's games. All three schools currently have their men's and women's basketball programs ranked in the top 25, are located within a 90-mile radius of each other and are heated rivals. "I don't think it's been given enough notice in the media or across the Lone Star State," Coach Blair said. "This is a great triangle in men's and women's basketball. I love the rivalry. Even though Texas Tech is my alma mater, I think of Texas and Baylor as our rivals."
TEXAS RECAP
Texas A&M 58, Texas 44
• For the second time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (2-0).
• With the victory, A&M won its seventh-straight in the all-time series versus rival Texas. It marked the program's fourth-ever series sweep of the Longhorns next to the 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. The Aggies also snapped Texas' six-game winning streak dating back to a 95-90 double overtime win at Texas Tech on Jan. 16.
• The Aggies drew the seventh-largest crowd in school history with 7,713 fans in attendance at Reed Arena. It was the second-largest State Farm Lone Star Showdown crowd versus Texas at home next to its fourth-largest crowd of 7,478 fans that witnessed A&M clinch its first Big 12 Conference regular-season title on Feb. 28, 2007.
• Sydney Carter scored a career-best 14 points in four career meetings with Texas in Big 12 Conference play. She also reached double figures for the second time this season against the Longhorns with 12 points in Austin on Jan. 9. Carter has now led the team in scoring on two occasions this year, including in two of the team's last three outings, with a career-high 24 points against Kansas State on Feb. 13.
• Sydney Colson entered the contest after having missed the last three-straight games in Big 12 Conference play healing from a stress reaction to her left fibula and scored on a layup at the 6:25 minute mark of the first half. It was her first bucket since a first-half three-pointer (12:49 minute mark) at Nebraska on Feb. 6. Colson has missed four ballgames this season due to her stress reaction.
• Damitria Buchanan had one blocked shot in the game to tie her for seventh all-time in the A&M record books (82) with former A&M great Jaynetta Saunders (1999-01).
• The A&M defense has now held Texas to two of its lowest scoring first halves of the season with a season-low 19 first-half points in both team's Big 12 opener on Jan. 9 in Austin and 21 first-half points on Feb. 20 in College Station. Texas' 44 total points in the ballgame was its fewest of the season. The Longhorns came into the contest averaging a league-best 77.1 points per game.
AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES
"It's just another Big 12 monster game. Bodies will be flying all over the place, just like the Texas game. Baylor is a very good basketball team with the freshman of the year, not only in the Big 12, but in the whole country. She's (Brittney Griner) lived up to everything that was promised. Coach (Kim) Mulkey has done a great job with her other young players. This team is going to be so good in years to come, so we better take our chances now while we can. We are going to be pretty good, too. We'll replace stars with stars. That's what happens when you're dealing with Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas. Stars replace starts, coaches don't graduate and there will be other great players coming in. That's what makes this league so good. It's going to be a great atmosphere for the country to sit back on Monday night and see the best of the best play. It's a shame both of us are not playing for first-or second-place (in the Big 12). With (Baylor's) Melissa Jones and her injury, Sydney Colson with hers, and Nebraska playing as well as they are, we are just worrying about seeds to get to the Big 12 Tournament. We just want to win games now - that's all. There are no goals out there anymore. Win games, try to survive and stay healthy. We were intimidated even though we shouldn't have been when we played at Waco (last month). We walked in and our kids were missing wide-open layups. She (Griner) would be four feet behind us, but you could hear the footsteps coming. We were intimidated. We need to do a better job. After the first 10 minutes of that Baylor game, we played even up with them the rest of the way. Hopefully, we will not get off to a bad start (like we did against Texas). We cannot afford that at home, particularly against a good team like Baylor." - Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on the magnitude of playing in the Big 12 and Baylor
"I think television loves the atmosphere of covering a game here, because of the style that we play and the little things about our team. I think everyone will still be tuning in to see Brittney Griner, first, and then to see our style of defense and our crowd. It's like playing an NCAA regional game, not a first or second round. This is a regional championship type of ballgame and that's the way we need to look at it. Baylor has had our number the last four ballgames and we still remember. It's our turn now and we need to take care of business. Last year, when we lost on a last-second shot, that hurt, so it's time for us to take care of the home court." - Coach Blair on having the opportunity to play on Big Monday on ESPN2 for the second year in a row
"I haven't had a good record (0-4) against Baylor since I've been here. It's definitely a game I am willing to take away (because of past mistakes). I'll do whatever I have to do to lead my team to victory on Monday. It's going to be a dog fight, of course. We are going to need to execute our game plan and make sure our defense turns into offense as it did against Texas. We need to make sure everyone is playing as a whole. The most important thing for us with the quick turnaround, is to make sure we are staying fresh and rejuvenated. We are going to need a running game, to get points on transition and make sure we have fresh legs - and we always need to play a good defensive game." - Texas A&M Sophomore Point Guard Sydney Carter on playing Baylor
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 and former assistant coach Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.