March 14, 2011
NCAA Tournament Central
Photo Gallery | Complete NCAA Tournament Bracket 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team earned its fourth consecutive No. 2 seed in the upcoming 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship as the field of 64 was announced on Selection Monday.
A&M (27-5) is making its eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and was one of 33 at-large teams selected for the 2011 championship. They are the only team in NCAA Tournament history to be selected a No. 2 seed for four straight years.
The Aggies will face 15th-seeded McNeese State (26-6) in the first round of the Dallas Regional to be held on Sunday, March 20 at 4:00 p.m. (CT) in Shreveport, La. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 and ESPNU. The winner will move on to the second round and meet either seventh-seeded Rutgers (19-12) or 10th-seeded Louisiana Tech (24-7) on Tuesday, March 22 at 8:30 p.m. (CT). First- and second-round games will be played at the CenturyTel Center.
A&M was one of seven Big 12 Conference schools to dance in March along with top-seeded Baylor, sixth-seeded Oklahoma, seventh-seeded Iowa State, eighth-seeded Kansas State and Texas Tech and ninth-seeded Texas. The Big 12 was the league with the most teams in the tournament, next to the Big East with nine teams.
The Aggies are 6-2 against McNeese State in the 37-year history of the program, while Louisiana Tech leads 6-0 in the all-time series and A&M leads 1-0 versus Rutgers. McNeese State is one of six teams to make their first trip to the Big Dance in this year's tournament field.
Fans are asked to request ticket information through the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Center online at www.12thManFoundation.com or by phone at 1-888-99-AGGIE.
TEXAS A&M ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES (8)
2011 - TBD (No. 2 seed)
2010 - NCAA Second Round (No. 2 seed)*
2009 - NCAA Sweet 16 (No. 2 seed)
2008 - NCAA Elite Eight (No. 2 seed)*
2007 - NCAA Second Round (No. 4 seed)
2006 - NCAA First Round (No. 6 seed)
1996 - NCAA First Round (No. 7 seed)*
1994 - NCAA Sweet 16 (No. 13 seed)
* NCAA Automatic Bid
QUOTES
Head Coach Gary Blair
On the Aggies' tournament draw...
“The one through eight, they try to do geographically. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way because of “safety nets.” But I told Drew Hancock, who's on the selection committee, 'I do not mind going to Shreveport and to Dallas, even if it means seeing Baylor and playing them a fourth time.' Our job is to survive and advance, and we feel like we know how to play Baylor. Our kids are not afraid of Baylor. I'm more afraid of who the next two games are because we haven't gotten there yet. And every time a team like us says, 'Oh, we want that chance again,' you overlook [other teams]. And you cannot overlook - we got beat by Arizona State and we got beat by Gonzaga [in the last two NCAA Tournaments]. Our job will be totally on the [opening weekend's game]. We don't have to prepare any more for Baylor if that match happens.”
On the possibility of facing Baylor in Dallas in the Elite Eight...
“I think it would first be good for the city of Dallas because we will have the largest attendance if we can get our butts back to Dallas and Baylor gets there too. That will probably be the biggest region that's ever attended there because people will come out of the woodwork and it will be good knowing how many high school players from Texas will be on both teams and will get to be rewarded. I like that aspect.”
On playing in Shreveport...
“Shreveport was my number one choice. Albuquerque was two and Wichita was number three. Getting a chance to go back with the possibility of playing a Louisiana Tech if we can get by McNeese - that excites me. We played one of our best games of the year against Rutgers ... we were outstanding that night. Rutgers has gotten a whole lot better. Louisiana Tech got beat on a last-second shot against Fresno State or else they would have won the league and the tournament. McNeese State coach Brooks Donald-Williams is a good friend of ours and having them come over in November and study what we do for a couple of days was a huge compliment to our staff.”
On it being highly unlikely that the Big 12 will have two Final Four teams since A&M was a two-seed and Baylor was a one-seed in the same region...
“I thought [Stanford's region] was where we'd be going, which I didn't mind. Really, I thought Tennessee was playing so well that I wanted to stay away from them. Is it good for the conference? No, but don't ever rule out what Oklahoma's done and there could be Iowa State or Kansas State [making a run] ... who knows? But we need to get at least one there and if we can do that, then I think you'd have a chance to win it. But to win it, you have to have some breaks and some upsets. When I got to the Final Four in 1998, the 16 beat the one. Stanford got beat on their home court and so it made our second round easier when we played Harvard. Then we went to San Jose and upset Duke and Kansas.”
On trying to keep the players from focusing on Baylor and playing in Dallas if they can win their first two games...
“I think it is [difficult to not focus on Baylor]. You've got four Dallas kids who want to get back there. I'm getting a chance to go back home to Shreveport and Louisiana Tech, which is in Ruston, where I started my coaching career in college. We cannot allow ourselves to think ahead at all. It's not that it would be embarrassing if you didn't get to Dallas ... but it would be that we didn't play up to our potential. I think right now we're playing pretty good basketball. Baylor has made us a better team. Even by losing three times in a row, we're a better ball club because we realize how much you have to focus to be able to beat a team like Baylor. So far, we haven't done it because we haven't played well in the last three minutes of the game. I think [Brittney] Griner is the best player in America, and I think right now, Baylor is the best team in the country. They've proven it. What we want to do is get there and then take our chances. That's all it is - our goal is to get to Dallas, and to get there, you have to go through Shreveport.”
On what Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey's reaction likely was after seeing that Baylor may have to face A&M again...
“I know what Mulkey would say: 'Bring 'em on. It doesn't matter.' That's the way Kim will be. At the same time, I think it's good for basketball in the State of Texas, but we have to get there and don't forget that Florida State is number three and they're very good.”
On needing to stay consistent if they want to make a deep run...
“When we play well, like we did against Texas, we can play with anyone in the country. But when we stumble a little, don't make the right decisions and get into foul trouble, we're just like any of the other top 30 teams in the country. But when we play our game, I think we're in the top six in the country.”
Senior guard Sydney Colson
On the draw for Texas A&M...
“I'm shocked that we could be potentially playing so many teams that we've already played. We really wanted to end up in the same region with Baylor, but I'm not sure we really thought that it was going to happen. I think we were leaning a little bit toward being in Tennessee's region, but I'm happy with what's come of the seeding and I think if we go out and take care of business in those games, then we'll end up getting a chance to play against Baylor. And as long as there aren't any other upsets, we could be playing two teams that we've already played once in two years. It'll be interesting, but I think we're definitely going to be motivated and this will encourage us a lot to get back to Baylor.”
On chest-bumping Gary Blair at the Selection Show...
“Maryann came back [from speaking] and she said, 'Chest bump.' He's the one that told her! I wouldn't have done that by myself - I don't want to hurt him.”
On whether the draw benefits Texas A&M or Baylor more...
“I think in a way, they could be having the [negative] mentality of having to beat someone for a fourth time. But they think that, kind of like we have Texas, they have us down a little bit. But it's a whole new game when you're playing in the NCAA Tournament - people find another level of play and things happen in March that don't happen in many other months. We'll see what happens, but we're excited.”
On whether it's a feeling of pressure or excitement facing Baylor again and looking for her first win over the Bears as a starter...
“Pressure and excitement, but not just about that game. The pressure is going to be taking care of business in the first three games before that. Excitement will come when we're at that game and I think we won't feel as much pressure in it just because we know that we've had a shot at them before and we're capable of getting a win ... we just haven't done it yet. But like I said, none of the coaches want us to look ahead and we're definitely not. We have to take care of business before we get to them.”
On wanting to be in Baylor's region...
“It's really just to have another shot at them because I think we're capable of beating them. It would have been awesome either way - to be able to play in somebody else's region and be able to beat somebody else to go to the Final Four. Baylor and A&M both deserve to be in the Final Four and it's kind of unfortunate that we're in the same bracket, but we can't worry about that now. It is what it is, so now we'll focus on each game one at a time.”
Senior center Danielle Adams
On how the draw sets up for A&M...
“I'm really looking forward to it. We're excited about it and getting another chance at Baylor. We're looking forward to the games we have in front of us before Baylor.”
On a chance to beat Baylor...
“If we take care of our business, and they take care of theirs, we're going to have a good shot at Baylor and hopefully we come out with the win this time.”
On approaching the first weekend of the tournament this year differently than last year...
“We just have to keep our focus, keep our aggression and come into each practice and work hard.”
On where she thought A&M would be before the Selection Show...
“[I thought we would be] out west, with Stanford, or with Tennessee. We're pretty excited for the Dallas region and we're looking forward to it.”
“There's always nothing to lose when you're playing against Baylor. We just have to go out there, leave our hearts on the floor, and just play our hearts out for each other and keep the momentum that we have now.”