Texas A&M
6-0
California
5-2
No. 7 Texas A&M Outpaces Cal, 74-58
Dec 04, 2010 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Texas A&M coach Gary Blair had a straightforward message during a timeout early in the second half after a sloppy start put the No. 7 Aggies behind by a basket to California.
"Stop turning the dang ball over," Sydney Colson said Blair told them.
They listened and went on to a 74-58 win Saturday over California behind Danielle Adams' 19 points and 10 rebounds with 17 points by Tyra White.
The Golden Bears (5-2) took advantage of five Texas A&M turnovers to go on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the second half and take a 40-38 lead.
"They ran a zone and we were making bad passes on the interior and not even getting shots up," Colson said. "We put ourselves in a bad position, just giving them confidence."
After Blair's directive, the Aggies (6-0) responded with a 12-1 run to go back on top 50-41 with 13 1/2 minutes to play. Texas A&M outscored California over the next few minutes to stretch the lead to 58-45 with nine minutes remaining.
The Golden Bears were led by Layshia Clarendon, who had 19 points, and DeNesha Stallworth added 14.
Adams got two fouls early and played less than eight minutes in the first half. Maryann Baker filled in and added a career-high 14 points and had five rebounds for the Aggies.
"It felt good," Baker said. "It was just what my team needed. Usually, I'm not the offensive spark."
Colson, who struggled with a foot injury earlier this season, had eight points, 10 assists and five steals in a season-high 33 minutes.
"Colson was very good except for the first five minutes of the second half, where we were all bad," Blair said. "Colson, I think is one of the best in the country when healthy. Colson is a leader. You win with guards."
Blair wants to see his team play better in the first few minutes after halftime.
"We were not playing with emotion," he said. "We've got to start the second half with a little more focus and more energy. When a team is down at halftime and they're getting chewed out, they're going to make some adjustments and you better be able to counter their adjustments."
The Golden Bears focused on slowing Adams, but were unhappy with their work against Baker, who scored 10 points between the 14- and 8-minute marks of the first half to keep the Aggies ahead
"That's where I'm disappointed in our team," California coach Joanne Boyle said. "We didn't do anything to take anything away from her. That's the one thing that we could have controlled better."
The Aggies were up 62-47 with about seven minutes remaining after scoring six straight points. California cut into the lead by scoring the next seven points after a 3-pointer by Clarendon with just under five minutes remaining.
Adams made a free throw and a layup sandwiched around a pair of free throws by the Golden Bears to make it 65-56. Then Texas A&M scored six straight points and put the game out of reach with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
"We just didn't do a good job with the speed of the offense we were playing," Boyle said.
Texas A&M finished the first half on a 6-3 run to take a 38-29 halftime lead.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. It was the first start of the season for Colson and the 54th of her career.
- A&M improved to an undefeated 6-0 this season which ties for the second-best start in school history next to a 6-0 start to the 2009-10 and 2006-07 seasons. The Aggies went a program-best 12-0 to start off the 2008-09 season.
- The Aggies have now won 40 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a 40-46 loss to Houston on 12/30/03. In addition, A&M has won 72 of its last 79 home games.
- With the win, the Aggies improve to 2-1 in the all-time series versus Cal. Sixteen points is the largest margin of victory for A&M in the series.
- In the first half, A&M forced 14 Cal turnovers and converted those for 15 points, while not giving up a single point off of a turnover. The Aggies ended the contest with a 31-8 edge in points off turnovers.
- The Aggies outscored Cal in transition, 26-4, including a 16-0 advantage in the first half.
- Senior Sydney Colson (Houston, Texas) was one away from matching career bests with her 10 assists and five steals.
- Senior Maryann Baker (Dallas, Texas) came off the bench for the first time this season and matched her career-high with 10 points in the first half alone. She finished the game with a career-best 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.
- Danielle Adams turned in her fifth career double-double against Cal with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
- With 5,106 fans in attendance, including 1,010 students, it marked the second-largest attendance at Reed Arena this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gary Blair
On Colson's play...
"I thought it was great, I'm glad I held her off in the second half and rested her to finish the game. Colson is one of the best in the country when she's healthy. Sometimes she just needs to recognize what the defense will give us, but she is a leader."
On the team's slow start to the second half...
"We have to do a better job starting the second half, with a little more focus and a little more energy. The turnovers hurt, but take those five away and we only turned the ball over eight times in the rest of the game. That's pretty good."
On upcoming game at No. 5 Duke...
"They're going to have a huge crowd because they know that our crowd affected their play against us last year. Last year was probably one of the best games we played all year. Monday is a win-win opportunity, because it's good for our kids to play at that level.
SENIOR GUARD Sydney Colson
On the slow start to the second half...
"They were in a zone and we were making bad passes in the interior, not even getting shots up on the first four or five possessions. It looked the same as the beginning of the first half, just a lack of intensity. If we would've been solid and scored some more to start the second half, it would've made the game easier on us."
On senior guard Maryann Baker's play...
"She's a huge spark for us, a little energizer bunny out there. She's usually a big spark for us on defense, but her offense today was great. We wouldn't have been in the situation we were in if she' hadn't got to the rim and taken it in. She did a good job, I'm proud of her."
SENIOR GUARD Maryann Baker
On her scoring...
"I hit a few layups, got out on the break in the transition game and was on the good end of the passes. I just felt comfortable out there. I can see what my team needs when I play off of the bench. Usually, I'm not the offensive spark, but today I was able to provide."
On the Corps attending the game...
"It was awesome, it was constant noise. Obviously, having a big crowd like the men have gives us energy. When we have the crowd behind us, that's what A&M is all about. The 12th Man was in real force today."
