Texas A&M
25-7, 10-6
Oklahoma
23-10, 11-5
No. 11 Aggies Win Big 12 Conference Championship Title
Mar 14, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 14, 2010
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Adams, Colson, White [mp3] |
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Tyra White carried Texas A&M in the first half and Danielle Adams scored 17 of her 19 points in the second, helping the 11th-ranked Aggies hold off No. 12 Oklahoma 74-67 on Sunday for their second Big 12 tournament title in three years.
White had all of her 16 points in the first half and Texas A&M (25-7) relied on Adams in the second to answer every Oklahoma charge, giving the Aggies a good shot for at least a No. 2 seed when the NCAA brackets are announced Monday. Adaora Elonu added 10 points and hit two big free throws for Texas A&M in its third straight conference title game.
The Sooners (23-10) shot well in the first half, but the four-time tournament champions missed too many shots at the rim in the second to keep up. Amanda Thompson had 20 points and 19 rebounds, and Danielle Robinson scored 18 for the Sooners.
Adams had just three points in the first half, deferring to White, then took over when the game got tight.
The junior from Kansas City hurt the Sooners inside and out, hitting a 3-pointer and powering inside for putbacks and short jumpers. The tournament MVP scored eight straight points for Texas A&M midway through the half to quash a short Oklahoma run and had a three-point play after another Sooners spurt to put the Aggies up 63-59 with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Oklahoma cut the lead to 67-65 when Thompson ripped the ball from Sydney Colson and hit a jumper with 1:11 left. But Colson answered with a runner and Elonu hit two free throws to keep Oklahoma from getting any closer.
Oklahoma and Texas A&M didn't go into the tournament as favorites - seeded third and fourth, respectively - but it's no surprise they ended up in the title game. These two teams have more victories than any other in the Big 12 the past four years and had won three of the previous four conference tournament titles.
They split the two regular-season games, each winning decisively at home.
Round 3 was a shootout early, with neither team playing much defense.
Oklahoma had a hard time finding White, who blew past her 10.5-point scoring average in the first half. The sophomore guard worked to get herself free, but the Sooners also made it easy at times, leaving her open for 3-pointers and allowing her to sneak in for uncontested putbacks.
White hit 6 of 7 shots and made all three 3-point attempts to score 16 points by halftime. Oklahoma wasn't much better against the rest of the Aggies, allowing them to hit 15 of 29 shots for a 40-34 lead.
A&M will learn its postseason fate as the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship field of 64 is announced on Monday, March 15 on ESPN at 6 p.m. (CT).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the nine time this year and ninth consecutive ballgame, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (8-1).
• With the win, the Aggies claimed their second-ever Big 12 Conference postseason championship title next to their 2008 tournament run also made in Kansas City. It marked A&M's third all-time conference tournament title in program history winning the final Southwest Conference Tournament championship game in 1996.
• A&M has now won two-straight in the all-time series with Oklahoma and seven out of the last 10 meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals.
• The Aggies have now won nine of their last 10 games of the season. They beat three consecutive top 25 opponents in this year's title run including No. 15 Texas in the quarterfinals, No. 3 and undefeated Nebraska in the semifinals and No. 12 Oklahoma in the championship game. A&M is 11-5 against ranked opponents this year.
• The victory also gave the Aggies (25-7) their fifth all-time season with 25-or-more wins next to the 1978-79 (26-18), 2006-07 (25-7), 2007-08 (29-8) and 2008-09 (27-8) campaigns. It also marked Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair's 154 career victory with the Aggies which ties former head coach Lynn Hickey (1984-94) as the all-time winningest coach in school history in career victories.
• A&M drained eight three-pointers in the ballgame against Oklahoma. It was the most against a league opponent this season and second most of the year behind a season-high nine versus No. 9 Duke in the season opener on Nov. 15. Ironically, the Aggies knocked down nine three-pointers in the 2008 title game.
• Takia Starks (2008) as the only two Aggies in school history to be honored as such. Adams averaged a team-leading 19.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in all three Big 12 Championship games combined. Meanwhile, Tyra White was selected to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team averaging 15.7 points a game including a trio of three-pointers versus OU.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"We saw a great basketball game by two very, very good teams. We saw execution on the third day, one team shooting 51 percent, the other team shooting 48 percent in the first half. Both teams' powder got a little dry in the second half, but that was because the defense picked up. We made adjustments at halftime. They made adjustments and all of a sudden we didn't get what we normally get. They took our transition game away, because they did such a great job on the offensive boards, particularly in the second half. We played a lot of zone again. Not necessarily to save our legs for the NCAA Tournament, but they're not a great outside shooting team except for (Nyeshia) Stevenson, and so we had to play to what necessarily was not their strength. We did a pretty good job except with the pick-and-roll with (Joanna) McFarland and (Amanda) Thompson in the first half. We adjusted in the second half. They didn't get that action, but they sure got a lot of penetration and dipping it inside. Thompson and (Tanisha) Smith showed they were first-round WNBA draft picks. They played very well. Smith was on Stevenson the majority of the game. (Jasmine) Hartman was doing a good job on her as well. Sometimes we have other options (on our team to score). That is what makes this team so special. But, look at the role players. Look at what McFarland did for them. Look what (Kelsey) Assarian did for us. Look at my bench again and what (Sydney) Colson can do. She's got a `no-fear' attitude."
Texas A&M Junior Point Guard Sydney Colson
On the team's eight three-pointers in the game ...
"A lot of times when we run our high-low plays, whoever was guarding Danielle (Adams) up top or whoever the post was setting the screen up top, they were funneling towards me to try to almost get a trap in to take away the pass back to the top of the key. I found Tyra (White) about two or three times on that. She was hitting shots. I knew I needed to keep coming off looking at where she was to get the ball to her. I knew she would drain the three. Danielle's just an excellent shooter. We looked for her all the time. She's trailing in transition. They were looking to give her the ball for the three or she could take somebody off the dribble. I think we did a good job with shot selection today and people were knocking down shots. We really needed it."
Texas A&M Junior Forward/Center Danielle Adams
On the emotion of winning a Big 12 Championship in her hometown of Kansas City ...
"I was very emotional. I was very happy. I've never won a championship in my life. Just to win with this team was great for me and to hear that I was the most outstanding player was an awesome award. But, it's all for my team. I couldn't have done it without my team. So, it's a team award - a Big 12 Championship."
