Dec. 17, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
#8/7 TEXAS A&M (8-1) vs. Rutgers (7-4)
Game #10
December 19, 2010 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Madison Square Garden
New York, N.Y.
Television: ESPNU
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Internet: ESPN3.com and Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The No. 7 Texas A&M women's basketball team (8-1) travels to New York City Sunday, Dec. 19 to face Rutgers (7-4) in the 5th Annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden. The nation's premier women's basketball doubleheader features the Aggies and the Scarlet Knights at 11 a.m. (CT) in a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU with announcers Bob Picozzi and Kayte Christensen calling the action. Following A&M's game, the defending national champion and top-ranked Connecticut then takes on No. 10 Ohio State. The Aggies are 2-0 on a neutral court and look to expand on their two-game winning streak. The team is ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring margin, and is outscoring its opponents by an average of 25.3 points per game, turnovers per game (13.4), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34) and turnover margin, forcing its opponent to make an average of 10.0 more turnovers per game. Rutgers is receiving votes in the Coaches poll and is also 2-0 at neutral sites. C. Vivian Stringer's Scarlet Knights have won three of their last four contests.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers plays in its fourth straight Maggie Dixon Classic and is coming off of a 90-56 win over Kean, which marked head coach C. Vivian Stringer's 850th career victory. The Scarlet Knights have made eight straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and are led this season by junior guard/forward April Sykes with 15.5 points per game. Three players are averaging double figures, including redshirt junior guard Khadijah Rushdan (14.9 ppg) and sophomore forward/center Monique Oliver (10.3 ppg). Rutgers has used the same starting lineup in each of its 11 games, including junior forward Chelsey Lee who has a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game and junior guard Nikki Speed, who posts 4.5 assists per game. The Scarlet Knights are registering 68.3 points per game with a 45.4 field goal percentage.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Sr. (7.7 ppg, 5.6 apg)
4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Jr. (8.6 ppg, 4.4 apg)
20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Jr. (13.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Jr. (10.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Sr. (21.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
RUTGERS
No. Name (2010-11 Stats
11 Nikki Speed, G, 5-8, Jr. (6.4 ppg, 4.5 apg)
1 Khadijah Rushdan, G, 5-9, RS-Jr. (14.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
24 April Sykes, G/F, 6-0, Jr. (15.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
44 Monique Oliver, F/C, 6-2, So. (10.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
52 Chelsey Lee, F, 6-2, Jr. (8.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Sunday marks the first meeting all-time between Rutgers and Texas A&M.
A&M VERSUS THE BIG EAST
Texas A&M is 5-3 all-time against schools hailing from the Big East Conference including Cincinnati (1-0), DePaul (0-1), Louisville (0-1), Notre Dame (1-0), Pittsburgh (1-0), Seton Hall (1-0), South Florida (0-1) and West Virginia (1-0). The Aggies are 3-1 versus Big East opponents in the Gary Blair Era having last defeated Pittsburgh, 56-50, in the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 16, 2008.
ADAMS BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Danielle Adams averaged 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last week in Texas A&M's games against No. 5 Duke, Purdue and TCU. She shot 49.1 percent from the floor, 50 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the charity stripe. Against Purdue, Adams matched her career high with 27 points and followed that performance with a career-best 33 points versus TCU. It was the fourth-highest point total scored by an individual in program history and marked the most points by an Aggie since 2001. Adams was 12-of-19 (62.3) from the floor against TCU which was a career-high in field goals made. She added seven rebounds in each game. The 6-1 forward/center matched her career best with 12 rebounds at Duke while adding 11 points and a season-high four blocked shots in a career-best 37 minutes of play. Adams registered her sixth career double-double and fourth of the season. She posted back-to-back 20-plus point games and has reached double figures in 18 straight games.
AGGIE ATHLETICS – ELITE IN THE POLLS
Texas A&M is one of only four schools nationally (Ohio State, Michigan State, A&M and Connecticut) and the only school in the Big 12, to be ranked in each of the latest football, men's basketball and women's basketball Associated Press Top 25 Polls. Here's the breakdown:
School – Ranking (WBKB , MBKB, FB)
UConn – 1, 4, 25
A&M – 8, 25, 18
OSU – 11, 2, 6
MSU – 14, 14, 7
AGGIE HOOPS ON THE TUBE
Texas A&M is playing its third non-conference game on national television this season and its second on the ESPN family of networks. This season marks the most non-conference regular season games the Aggies have ever played in front of a national television audience.
AMERICA'S FINEST CITY
Up next, the Aggies travel from the east coast to the west coast when they journey to San Diego after Christmas for the four-team Surf 'N Slam College Hoops Classic. The Aggies face Drexel on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 9 p.m. (CT) and then take on either San Diego State or UTSA on Thursday, Dec. 30.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Texas A&M's depth this season can be seen by the number of minutes played throughout the 15-player roster which includes a mix of veterans and newcomers. Nine players are currently averaging more than 12 minutes a ball game including seven minutes-or-more from the Aggies' pair of true freshmen. It's no wonder that A&M is receiving an average of 22.4 points per game from its bench this season. The Aggie reserves recently scored a season-high 35 points against Purdue as well as 31 points versus UALR in the season opener on Nov. 16. Top bench producers are Karla Gilbert (5.7 ppg) and Maryann Baker (5.6 ppg).
TCU RECAP
Texas A&M 91, TCU 66
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Maryann Baker, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams.
• With the win, the Aggies improved to 30-4 in the all-time series against TCU. A&M is undefeated against the Horned Frogs at home with a 17-0 record.
• The Aggies have now won 42 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a 40-46 loss to Houston on 12/30/03. In addition, A&M has won 74 of its last 81 home games.
• A&M grabbed a season-best 16 offensive rebounds in the first half against the Horned Frogs. In fact, it marks the most first-half offensive rebounds since Jan. 4, 2010, when the Aggies pulled down 18 against Lamar.
• For the seventh time this season, A&M out-rebounded its opponent. The Aggies held a 38-24 advantage on the boards, including a 20-5 edge in offensive rebounds.
• A&M committed a season-low eight turnovers against TCU which was the least amount of turnovers in a game since Dec. 6, 2009 when the Aggies had just seven turnovers at California.
• With a season-high 25 assists, the Aggies have had 20 or more assists in back-to-back games. They tallied 20 or more assists three times this season, with the other being against UALR on Nov. 16.
• After TCU shot an outstanding 87.5 3-point field goal percentage in the first half, A&M limited the Frogs to just 25 percent in the second half and a 31.6 overall field goal percentage in the half.
• Danielle Adams' career-high 33 points was the fourth-most points scored by an individual all-time in program history. It marked the most points scored by an Aggie since the 2001 season when Jaynetta Saunders scored 34 points twice.
• Sydney Colson finished with a double-double, matched her career high with 11 assists and added five steals (one away from her career best). It was her first double-double of the season and third of her career. Her last double-double was on Nov. 15, 2009 when she registered 17 points and 10 assists against Duke.
BLAIR NOTABLE QUOTABLES
On getting to play at Madison Square Garden…
“It's going to be the last year before renovations. Our players have no clue of the history of it. It's going to be special, but I think it'll be more special for us coaches because we know the significance of the great venues that we have to play our game. Our kids are looking forward to it and have worked hard for this trip.”
On the overall sense inside the athletic program at A&M of something special happening…
“I think it is. It starts by seeing the smile on your AD's face. Bill (Byrne) has worked very hard. He built Nebraska into a great program and had to leave before he got the credit for it. I think the same thing is happening here. Do we appreciate what Byrne has done for all our sports, not just the resurgence of football? We're doing something pretty special. The athletes are feeling good and are going to a lot of other team's sports.”
On playing Rutgers and coaching against Vivian Stringer…
“The last time I played Rutgers was in back-to-back years in 1980 and '81 and we won both games. Vivian was not coaching there. The last time I played against her was in 1982 when she coached for Cheyney in the national championship. That was the first NCAA championship. They are a defense-oriented team. She keeps her thumb on them pretty hard. They are a very deliberate team offensively. They are7-4, but lost at Stanford, at Cal, at Temple and at Boston College. They play that hard schedule to get ready for the Big East. They're good. Vivian is sort of the Nolan Richardson of women's basketball, for what she's done. She hasn't been given the credit that perhaps Pat (Summitt) and Gino (Auriemma) have gotten over the years. She's very good.”
On how to be successful against Rutgers…
“We have to speed it up. Against Duke, we played too much half-court ball and it's hard to execute down the stretch on the road. So, against Rutgers we have to speed it up. They want it in the 50s or 60s, and we want it in the 70s or 80s. They are very, very strong defensively.”
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 Steve Miller on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on AggieAthletics.com.