Jan. 14, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
#7/5 TEXAS A&M (14-1, 2-0) vs. MISSOURI (9-7, 1-1)
Game #16
January 15, 2011 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Columbia, Mo.
Television: FSN
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M leads 9-7
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PREVIEW
The No. 5 Texas A&M women's basketball team (14-1, 2-0) carries an eight-game winning streak on the road to Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, Jan. 15 for a nationally televised game against Missouri (9-7, 1-1). Tipoff between the Aggies and the Tigers is scheduled for an early 11 a.m. start and will air on FSN. The Aggies are off to a 2-0 start to Big 12 Conference play for only the third time in program history and look to continue their winning ways behind one of the nation and league's most exciting offenses. A&M has a loaded arsenal that is producing 83.1 points per game which ranks 10th nationally. The Aggies have outscored their last eight opponents by an average margin of +34.1 points, including league-opening victories over Colorado (85-57) on Jan. 8 and Oklahoma State (82-57) on Jan. 12. A&M leads the nation with a +11.2 turnover margin. The Aggies have been road tested this season with an impressive 7-1 mark away from the friendly confines of Reed Arena. The team will try for just its third-ever win in eight all-time trips to Columbia on Saturday.
ON THE TUBE
Texas A&M will appear on the tube before a national television for the fourth time this season. Play-by-play announcer Brenda VanLengen and color analyst Debbie Antonelli will call the action live on Fox Sports Net with the game being carried nationally on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Houston, Fox Sports Midwest, FSN Northwest, Fox Sports Ohio, FSN Rocky Mountain, Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports West, Comcast Chicago, Comcast Philadelphia and MSG Plus.
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SCOUTING MISSOURI
Missouri was outscored 37-18 in the second half at Texas Tech on Wednesday to fall to 1-1 in league play and 9-7 overall this season. The Tigers had a 38-26 lead at the half, but the Lady Raiders went on a 21-6 run the last eight minutes of the contest to secure the win. Mizzou did, however, upset then-No. 22/24 Texas, 85-80 in overtime at home on Jan. 8 to open Big 12 play. The team is 6-1 at home this season, but has won just one of its last four contests. RaeShara Brown leads the way with 16.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Christine Flores also averages double figures with 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Shakara Jones is Mizzou's third-leading scorer with 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. First year head coach Robin Pingeton holds a 356-171 career record (.664) and came to Missouri from Illinois State.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name (2010-11 Stats)
51 Tanisha Smith scored 19 points each and No. 10 Texas A&M got a 65-55 victory over Missouri. The win ended a two-game skid for the Aggies and was their sixth straight win over Missouri. The Tigers (11-10, 1-7) never led in the second half, but got within one point several times. The last time Missouri had a chance to take the lead, Texas A&M (16-4, 4-3) scored 10 straight points, including four in a row by Tanisha Smith with 1 1/2 left in the first half. The Tigers scored four straight points after that to trail 28-27 at halftime. Christine Flores added 11 points for Missouri. Texas A&M was without starting point guard Sydney Colson who is out with a left leg injury.
UP NEXT
Up next, the Aggies return home for a single game against Texas in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. A&M has won eight straight contests versus the Longhorns and 10 out of the last 11.
AGGIES ON THE ROAD
Texas A&M's RPI of No. 4 and national ranking of No. 5 has been earned on the road. Entering today's game at Missouri, the Aggies have played more games on the road than at home in Aggieland. Today marks the ninth road game of season as compared to seven home games. In fact, the Aggies have enjoyed the road so much this season they stayed on the road after playing at Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
The Aggies have traveled approximately 5,900 miles ONE-WAY, and will total approximately 11,800 ROUND-TRIP miles when they reach College Station Saturday night.
BLAIR SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents recently approved a contract extension for head women's basketball coach Gary Blair through 2015. “Coach Blair has created a culture of excellence in Aggie women's basketball unlike anything ever achieved at Texas A&M,” Director of Athletics Bill Byrne said. “He has built a following for women's basketball that rivals the very best programs in America, and our women's team is now routinely ranked among the best in the United States. Coach Blair is a proven winner himself and I see our program's success continuing for years to come."
A HOT START
Texas A&M is off to one of the best starts in school history, winning 14 of its first 15 games. Gary Blair's Aggies have started the season at 14-1 for three straight seasons now. A win against Missouri would make the 2010-11 team the only team in program history to start the year at 15-1 The last two years (2009-10 and 2008-09) the Aggies have amassed 14-1 records to begin the season.
BEST BIG 12 CONFERENCE START?
For only the past three seasons, the Aggies have gotten out to a 2-0 start in Big 12 play, but have yet to get that third straight win to begin the conference slate. In fact, A&M at best has gone 3-1 three times to start league play (2009-10, 2006-07, 2005-06).
Here is a breakdown of A&M's best three-game conference starts:
2009-10: 2-1 (2-0)
2008-09: 2-1 (2-0)
2006-07: 2-1
2005-06: 2-1
2001-02: 2-1
EIGHT STRAIGHT
A&M suffered its only loss of the season, a three-point setback at then-No. 5 Duke on Dec. 6, 2010. Since then, the Aggies have won eight straight, their longest streak of the season and longest streak since the 2008-09 season when the team started the year with a school-record 12 consecutive wins. During the stretch the Aggies have forced their opponents to make an outstanding 26.8 turnovers per game. A&M is averaging 89.0 points in its last eight games, while holding a 20.6-8.9 edge in assists per game and a +13.3 turnover margin.
ADAMS SELECTED WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON TOP 20 CANDIDATE
Danielle Adams was one of 20 female student-athletes named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 list as announced by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament, making it unique among college postseason awards. Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.
ADAMS NATIONAL LEADER IN POINTS PER MINUTE
Adams is the Big 12's leading scorer and the nation's eighth-best leading scorer who averages 21.7 points per game, but she's also scoring efficiently as she leads the country by scoring the most points per minute. Below are Adam's points per minute, compared to the top 10 national leaders in scoring.
Player, Team (Pts., Min., PPM)
Danielle Adams, Texas A&M (312, 397, 0.785)
Maya Moore, Connecticut (359, 504, 0.712)
Brittney Griner, Baylor (329, 464, 0.709)
Courtney Hurt, VCU (316, 466, 0.678)
Dawn Evans, James Madison (353 539 0.655)
Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts (368, 587, 0.627)
Brittani Shells, Richmond (322, 517, 0.623)
Whitney Hood, Chattanooga (337, 542, 0.622)
Amy Jaeschke, Northwestern (400, 646, 0.619)
Jantel Lavender, Ohio St. (357, 586, 0.609)
THE NATION'S FINEST
In addition to six statistical categories in which Texas A&M is ranked in the top 10 nationally (turnover margin – 1st, assist-to-turnover ratio – 5th, scoring margin – 5th, field goal percentage – 8th, scoring offense – 10th, assists per game – 10th), A&M is ranked in the top 25 in five other categories (turnovers per game – 11th, won-lost percentage – 11th, steals per game – 18th, rebound margin – 19th, scoring defense – 25th). Individually, the A&M guard duo of Sydney Carter and Sydney Colson hold the eighth- (3.1) and ninth-best assist-to-turnover ratios (3.0) in the nation. Danielle Adams ranks ninth with 21.7 points per game and Colson is dishing out the 10th-most assists per game (6.2).
AGGIE ATHLETICS – ELITE IN THE POLLS
Texas A&M (No. 7 WBB, No. 13 MBB, No. 18 FB) is the ONLY school in the nation to be ranked in the top 20 in each of the latest women's basketball, men's basketball and football Associated Press Top 20.
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 (577) and in the top 30 by winning percentage (.708, 577-238) among active Division I coaches in the NCAA women's basketball record books.
• Blair is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 169 wins and a .693 winning percentage (169-75). 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.
• Blair is 10-3 all-time against Missouri in his 26 years as a Division I head coach including a 6-2 record versus the Tigers in Big 12 Conference play (regular season and postseason combined).
• All-America Candidate Danielle Adams, a Kansas City native, originally signed with Missouri and former head coach Cyndi Stein out of Lee's Summit High School, where she earned first-team all-state honors as a senior averaging 21.4 points per game. Adams did not qualify academically for Mizzou and had to go the junior college route to become eligible for Division I play. In two seasons at Jefferson College, located in Hillsboro, Mo., Adams was named a two-time JUCO All-American and the 2009 WBCA National Junior College Player of the Year.
OKLAHOMA STATE RECAP
Texas A&M 82, Oklahoma State 57
• For the ninth 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 8-1 with this starting lineup.
• A&M improved to 19-21 all-time against Oklahoma State and has now won the last seven straight in Stillwater.
• The Aggies are now 14-1 to match the best start in school history next to 14-1 starts in both 2008-09 and 2009-10.
• Texas A&M has won eight straight games, which is its longest winning streak since the 2008-09 season when the team started the year with 12 consecutive wins.
• A&M has defeated its last eight straight opponents by 25 points or more.
• A&M shot .500 from beyond the arc, which was its second-best 3-point field goal percentage of the season.
• The Aggies dished out 18 assists to just four from OSU. In addition, A&M outrebounded the Cowgirls by 14, 46-32.
• Texas A&M held Oklahoma State to just 23.3 percent shooting in the second half, including a 16.7 3-point field goal percentage. The Aggies held OSU to 31 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc.
• Tyra White had a first-half season-best 13 points and matched her first-half season-high with five rebounds. Her 20 points and 13 rebounds marked her first double-double this season and the second of her career.
• Maryann Baker matched her career high with 14 points in the first half alone on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and a first-half season-best four rebounds. She finished on 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. In an all-around game, she matched a career-high with four steals, had a season-high six rebounds and added two assists and a block.
• White and Baker combined for 41 points, half of A&M's total 82 points on the evening.
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 Mizzou Arena alongside color analyst Steve Miller on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on AggieAthletics.com.