Nov. 19, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
#8/8 TEXAS A&M (1-0) vs. Rice (2-2)
Game #2
November 20, 2010 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Tudor Fieldhouse (12,292)
at Houston, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M Leads 28-10
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
After completing a successful season home opener against UALR on Tuesday, the eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (1-0) takes the show on the road with a Saturday, Nov. 20 non-conference matchup against old Southwest Conference rival Rice (2-2) at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. The Aggies and the Owls tip off at 7 p.m. A&M came away with an 86-50 victory against Rice a year ago at Reed Arena, but it has been three years since the Aggies played on the Owls' home court. Rice came away victorious in the last three meetings when it was the home team, but A&M leads the all-time series between the two teams, 28-10, and meets Rice for just the fourth overall time in the last decade.
A LOOK AT RICE
Texas A&M will be Rice's fifth game of the season as the squad has won close games against Montana State and most recently Stephen F. Austin, while dropping contests to Florida International and No. 2 Baylor. Saturday marks the Owl's second home game of the season. Two players, junior guard D'Frantz Smart and sophomore forward Brianna Hypolite, are averaging double figures (13.3 ppg), while Rice's two leading rebounders are coming off the bench in junior forward Megan Elliott (6.8 rpg) and freshman forward Jessica Kuster (7.3 rpg). Head coach Greg Williams is in his seventh year at the helm of Rice women's basketball and holds a 73-88 record at the university.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
4 Tanisha Smith added 14 points. The Aggies last won on the road against the Owls with a 76-55 victory on Jan. 18, 1995. A&M is 11-7 all-time when playing at Rice.
LAST EIGHT MEETINGS
Jan. 20, 1996 A L 69-86
Feb. 17, 1996 H W 74-60
Mar. 6, 1996 N W 91-63
Dec. 20, 1998 H L 49-58
Jan. 3, 2000 A L 57-60
Jan. 2, 2006 H W 65-64
Dec. 1, 2006 A L 66-79
Nov. 18, 2009 H W 86-50
SERIES REWIND
The eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team cruised past Rice, 86-50, in non-conference action on Nov. 18, 2009 before a midweek crowd of 3,834 at Reed Arena. The Aggies got off to a slow start against the Owls and could not gain more than a three-point lead in the first six minutes of the ballgame. However, A&M only trailed once as Tara Watts hit a three-pointer to give Rice an early 3-2 advantage at the 18:12 minute mark. A three-pointer by sophomore Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half as the Aggies shot 55.9 percent from the floor prior to taking a 47-22 halftime lead. Danielle Adams (Kansas City, Mo.) led all scorers with 15 in just 18 minutes of play. She also brought down four rebounds and dished out four assists in only her second game as an Aggie. Sydney Carter ended the night with seven points and sophomore Adaora Elonu (Houston, Texas) added eight. Much like the Duke game three days prior, the Aggie defense proved too much for the visiting squad as Rice committed 29 turnovers in which A&M converted into 31 of its points. Jessica Goswitz had 10 points for the Owls, who shot 36.4 percent from the floor (16-of-44) for the ballgame against one of the nation's top scoring defenses.
TEAM BRAND OF BASKETBALL
Texas A&M shared the basketball well in its season opener against the Trojans. Behind five assists from junior point guard Sydney Carter (Houston, Texas) the Aggies distributed the ball 20 times during the ballgame. A&M dished out 20 or more assists only nine times last season.
DANIELLE'S SEEING DOUBLE
Preseason All-Big 12 and Wade Trophy Watch list selection Danielle Adams scored a game-high 24 points in 23 minutes of action in the season opener to lead the No. 8 Aggies to a dominating 87-41 victory over UALR. Adams started the year in similar fashion last season with a team-high 24 points in 22 minutes of action in A&M's 95-77 upset of No. 6 and perennial power Duke on Nov. 15, 2009. Against the Trojans, Adams shot a stifling 64.7 percent from the floor (11-of-17) and was a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line. The Kansas City, Mo., native also added 10 rebounds to record her third career double-double. Her second career and previous double-double was on 3/22/10 against Gonzaga in the NCAA Second Round.
FROM THE SIDELINES
- Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is in his 26th overall season as a Division I head coach. He currently ranks in the top 20 in career victories (564) and in the top 30 by winning percentage (.704, 564-237) among active Division I coaches in the NCAA women's basketball record books.
- Blair is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 156 wins and a .678 winning percentage (156-74). He surpassed former head coach Lynn Hickey, who compiled 154 career victories from 1984-1994, with an 84-53 win over Portland State in the NCAA First Round on March 20, 2010 in Seattle, Wash.
- Blair is one of only four active Division I coaches (five all-time) to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament next to C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers, Joanne P. McCallie of Duke and Jim Foster of Ohio State. Blair previously coached at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) and Arkansas (1993-03). Blair and Stringer are the only two coaches to guide three different teams to the NCAA Sweet 16.
- Texas A&M associate head coach Vic Schaefer and Rice head coach Greg Williams are both coaching on the sidelines of their alma maters. Schaefer is a Class of '84 graduate of Texas A&M, while Williams is a Class of '70 graduate of Rice.
UALR RECAP
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Carter, Maryann Baker, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. It marked only the second career start for Baker, 11th for Adams, 19th for Carter, 34st for White and 41st for Elonu ... every available player got into the game.
A&M improved to 18-3 all-time in home openers and has won its last eight consecutive opening day contests at Reed Arena.
- The Aggies extended their lead to 4-1 in the all-time series with UALR. A&M won by 46 points which was the largest margin of victory all-time against the Trojans. Fourteen points was largest margin of victory prior.
- The Aggies have now won 38 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a 40-46 loss to Houston on 12/30/03. In addition, A&M has won 70 of its last 77 home games.
- Texas A&M dominated down low and outrebounded UALR 47-23 while outscoring the Trojans 56-10 in the paint.
- Danielle Adams earned her third career double-double. Her last double-double was on 3/22/10 against Gonzaga in the NCAA Second Round.
- Senior Maryann Baker (Dallas, Texas) turned in a career-high 10 points in a career-best 24 minutes against the Trojans.
- Freshman Karla Gilbert (College Station, Texas) had an impressive debut scoring 12 points, including going 6-of-7 from the charity stripe, with four rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
BLAIR NOTABLE QUOTABLES
On the upcoming competition at Rice...
"I know I've lost two out of the last three times I've played down there - once at Arkansas and once at A&M. It's just a tough place to play. What's going to be really tough is that the Aggies fans aren't going to be there with us. They're going on their televisions watching the Nebraska/A&M football game or here in town, but with tickets to the game. That's going to be hard. We're going to have to build our own momentum and play hard.
(Rice Head Coach Greg) Williams is just like the same coach as Coach Foley. He's got a little point guard (D'Frantz Smart) that's similar to the last two we've played against. She's just 5-foot tall, but she's quick and she runs right at you. We'll have our hands full.
You have to remember Rice had a down year last year because of injuries. Their best player still isn't playing for them. It's about us right now. We're doing the same drills out there every day and working for situations that we might not have at Rice, but that we'll see throughout the year. Right now, I like my team. I thought we had a great balance playing Houston and then we got to come back home and play a very good UALR team that we make look average.
NOW BOARDING, ELITE STATUS MEMBERS
With the second set of polls coming out, Texas A&M is still the eighth-ranked team in the nation. The Aggies earned their highest-ever preseason ranking at No. 8 in both the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. A&M is coming off of a 2009-10 season in which it recorded its fifth consecutive 20-win season under Blair and 10th overall in 36 all-time seasons of Aggie Basketball. The Aggies compiled a 26-8 overall record to mark the third-most wins in program history. The Aggies also turned in their fifth-straight 10-win season in Big 12 play and claimed their second-ever Big 12 postseason championship title next to 2008. A&M then made its seventh all-time NCAA Tournament appearance with the league's automatic bid and earned a program-best No. 2 seed for the third year in a row.
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 AggieAthletics.com.