Dec. 27, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
#7/5 TEXAS A&M (9-1) vs. Drexel (7-2)
Game #11/#12
December 28, 2010 • 9:00 p.m. (CT)
Viejas Arena (12,414)
at San Diego, Calif.
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Internet: Free Live Statistics, Live Video and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The fifth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team (9-1) competes in the four-team San Diego Surf 'N Slam College Hoops Classic held Dec. 28 and 30 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, Calif. The Aggies face Drexel in the opening round of the tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 9 p.m. (CT). They will then move on to play either host San Diego State (5-5) or UTSA (4-7) in the consolation or championship game on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7 or 9 p.m. (CT). It marks the first time A&M will play in the Surf 'N Slam Classic. The Aggies return to competition after a 79-50 rout of Rutgers at the Maggie Dixon Classic on Dec. 19.
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
Drexel is off to its best non-conference start under eighth year head coach Denise Dillon and is coming off of an 84-73 victory at Penn State on Dec. 21. The Dragon's top player, junior Kamile Nacickaite (18.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) matched her career high with 27 points in the contest, while the team's second-leading scorer, senior Jasmina Rosseel (12.1 ppg) poured in a season-best 20 points. Drexel is shooting 45.5 percent (75-of-165) from three-point range, which ranks first in the nation in this category. The Dragons have yet to play a game at a neutral site this season.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
Host San Diego State is coming off of a 66-57 win against Washington State at home on Dec. 21 to mark its first victory at home this season. With a 1-3 mark at Viejas Arena, the Aztecs are receiving a team-best 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds out of 6-foot-4 senior center Paris Johnson. Sophomore Courtney Clements is the only other player averaging double figures with 12.1 points per game. Head coach Beth Burns is in her sixth season of her second stint at the helm of SDSU and took the program to new heights as the team advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year with victories over No. 25 West Virginia and No. 17 Texas in the tournament.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA has lost five of their last six games, with their only win in the stretch coming against Kansas State. The team last lost to St. Bonaventure, 46-37, on Dec. 21. The Roadrunners will play their first contest at a neutral site this season against SDSU on Dec. 28. They are led in scoring by senior guard Amber Gregg who averages 13.0 points per game. Junior Ashley Gardner is also averaging double figures with 10.5 points per game, while senior Alysse Davis (7.5 rpg) and senior Ashleigh Franklin (7.6 rpg) lead the team in rebounding. Head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair is in her 11th season at UTSA.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 6.0 apg)
4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Jr. (8.6 ppg, 4.2 apg)
20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Jr. (13.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Jr. (10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Sr. (21.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
DREXEL
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
3 Tyler Hale, F, 6-0, Jr. (8.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
5 Jasmina Rosseel, G, 5-8 Sr. (12.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
12 Marisa Crane, G, 5-5, Jr. (3.0 ppg, 3.2 apg)
20 Taylor Wootton, F, 6-1 So. (8.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
23 Kamile Nacickaite, F/G, 5-11, Jr. (18.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
SDSU
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
1 Jessika Bradley, F, 6-3, Sr. (8.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
2 Coco Davis, G, 5-9, Sr. (9.6 ppg, 6.9 apg)
25 Sajoyia Griffin, G, 5-5, Jr. (3.8 ppg, 2.4 apg)
32 Paris Johnson, C, 6-4 Sr. 18.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg)
54 Courtney Clements, G, 6-0, So. 12.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
UTSA
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
3 Jermini Malone, G, 5-2, So. (5.4 ppg, 4.4 apg)
22 Ashley Gardner, G/F, 6-0, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
24 Alysse Davis, G, 6-1, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
40 Ashleigh Franklin, F, 5-6, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
55 Cori Cooper, F, 6-1, So. (5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Tuesday marks the first meeting all-time between Drexel and Texas A&M. The Aggies are 2-0 against San Diego State, having played both games in San Diego. The last time the two teams faced each other was on March 20, 1994, in a 75-72 overtime victory. A&M is 10-4 all-time against UTSA and has won the last four consecutive contests, including a 91-52 win in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Baton Rouge, La. In the Gary Blair Era, the Roadrunners are the only team Texas A&M has faced with the '08 victory and a 74-48 win at home in 2004.
ADAMS BACK-TO-BACK BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Danielle Adams picked up her second straight Big 12 Player of the Week award last week and her third career honor after averaging 24.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in A&M's win against Rutgers. Her points and rebounds were game highs, and she matched her career best with 12 rebounds. She also added two assists, two blocks and a steal. Adams recorded her conference-best fifth double-double of the season and seventh of her career against the Scarlet Knights. She also extended her double-digit scoring streak to 19 games and has posted 20+ points in the last three consecutive contests. Adams averaged 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks the previous week, including 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.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Aggies started the season with their highest-ever preseason ranking at No. 8 in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. This week, A&M remained at a No. 7 national ranking in the AP Poll and improved two spots to No. 5 in the Coaches' Poll. The Aggies achieved their highest ranking since Dec. 8, 2009, when the team was also ranked fifth in the Coaches Poll. A&M has now been ranked in the Coaches Poll for 86 consecutive weeks and 40 all-time in the top 10. The Aggies have been ranked for 51 consecutive weeks in the AP poll and 33 all-time in the top 10.
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 – 7, 18, 18
MSU – 12, 20, 7
OSU – 13, 2, 6
UP NEXT
Up next, the Aggies return home to Reed Arena for its last non-conference game against Louisiana-Monroe on Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. A&M then begins Big 12 play at home on Jan. 8 with Colorado.
RPI RATINGS
In the most recent release of rpiratings.com's women's college basketball RPI on Dec. 26, Texas A&M was ranked third behind only Duke and Connecticut. The NCAA does not release their RPI until the first of the year. This list is an independent duplication of the RPI without input from the NCAA. It is derived from three component factors: Div. I winning percentage (FI, 25%), schedule strength (FII, 50%); and opponent's schedule strength (FIII, 25%).
PASSING IT AROUND
The Aggies have nearly doubled their opponents assists this season. A&M has recorded 180 assists to its opponents' 95, with senior guard Sydney Colson dishing out 48 and junior guard Sydney Carter 42. The team is averaging 18.0 apg, a mark that ranks 18th nationally. What's more is A&M has had 20+ assists three times this season.
REBOUNDING RUNDOWN
Texas A&M has outrebounded its opponents in all but two of its 10 games. The Aggies sport a +8.6 rebounding margin and have recorded at least a +14 advantage in five contests. A&M posted a season-high 54 rebounds at Rice.
THREE-POINT SUCCESS
In their last three games, the Aggies have converted 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from beyond the arc. A&M also shot 47.3 percent (95-of-201) from the floor in those games. Individually, junior Tyra White has led the team with a 55.2 percent (16-of-29) field goal percentage and a .600 (3-of-5) three-point field goal percentage.
LEADING THE BIG 12
Texas A&M leads the Big 12 with a +10.0 turnover margin and ranks second with 18.0 assists per game, 17.7 offensive rebounds per game, a +25.7 scoring margin, a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio, 13.8 turnovers per game and 11.8 steals per game. Preseason All-Big 12 selection and All-America candidate Danielle Adams leads the conference in scoring with 21.9 points per game. 2010 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection Sydney Carter ranks second with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio (42-13) and Adams is second with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game. Sydney Colson also ranks third with 6.0 assist per game.
RUTGERS RECAP
Texas A&M 79, Rutgers 50
• For the fourth time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. The Aggies are 3-1 with this starting lineup.
• The Aggies won the first-ever meeting between to the two teams and improved to 1-0 all-time against Rutgers.
• A&M forced Rutgers to miss their first 11 shots and started 2-of-15 from the floor. In addition, A&M held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for 9:04 in the first half and just one field goal in final 12:16.
• A&M limited Rutgers to a first-half season-low five field goals, zero 3-pointers, a 15.2 shooting percent from the floor and a 0.0 percent from beyond the arc.
• A&M held Rutgers to a season-low 26.5 percent from the floor and 0.0 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Aggies forced the Scarlet Knights to make a season-high 27 turnovers and converted 38 points off of turnovers, compared to just seven from Rutgers. It marked the most turnovers forced by a team in the history of the Maggie Dixon Classic.
• The Aggies' 13 steals set a Maggie Dixon Classic team record, while A&M's 18 assists matched the record. The previous record was 12 steals by Duke on Dec. 8, 2007.
• Sydney Colson set a Maggie Dixon Classic individual record with nine assists. The previous record was 5 assists on several occasions.
• Danielle Adams posted her fifth double-double of the season and seventh of her career against Rutgers. She extended her double-digit scoring streak to 19 games and has posted 20+ points in the last three consecutive games. • Sydney Carter scored a season-best 18 points.
• Tyra White tallied 15 of her 17 points in the second half and was a season-best 8-of-11 from the floor, including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc.
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 Viejas Arena alongside color analyst Steve Miller on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on AggieAthletics.com.