Texas A&M
17-1, 5-0
Iowa State
13-5, 1-3
No. 5 Aggies Earn First-Ever Win at No. 20 Iowa State, 60-51
Jan 22, 2011 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa (AP) - Scratch another milestone off the list for surging Texas A&M.
Danielle Adams scored 25 points and the sixth-ranked Aggies beat No. 20 Iowa State 60-51 on Saturday, snapping the Cyclones 19-game home winning streak with their first victory in Ames.
Sydney Carter added 13 for the Aggies (17-1, 5-0 Big 12), who picked up their 11th straight win and handed the Cyclones their first home defeat since Nebraska beat them 57-49 in last season's Big 12 opener.
"This is just pure history. It feels so great to win here," Carter said. "That's a sign of this team being mentally tough and physically tough. Just having that confidence to walk into the gym on the road in the Big 12 and come out with a win says it all about our team."
The Aggies finally broke through at Hilton Coliseum behind Adams, who finished with 12 rebounds and 14 second-half points as Texas A&M pushed a slim lead to 56-44 with 4:38 to go.
The Cyclones (13-5, 1-3) got to 56-51 with 1:17 left before the Aggies sealed the game at the free-throw line.
Kelsey Bolte had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cyclones (13-5, 1-3), who lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Though Bolte racked up her fourth straight 20-point game in Big 12 play, Iowa State was done in yet again by a lack of scoring punch beyond their senior star.
"Kelsey Bolte is just amazing what she's been doing for this team ... with not a whole lot of help," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "We've had a lot of great players here, but they've had a little more help."
Iowa State had a week off to prepare for the surging Aggies. That wasn't nearly enough time to find an answer for the versatile and physical Adams.
Lauren Mansfield seemed to spark the sluggish Cyclones with a transition layup that brought them within 35-30. But Adams stepped out and drilled an open 3, and Carter leaned in for an 18-footer after a steal to help the Aggies pull ahead 42-30 with 12:13 left.
It was the first cushion for Texas A&M, which had beaten its first four Big 12 opponents by 28.4 points a game. Though Iowa State scored six quick points, Adams banked in a tough jumper and drained a fadeaway 3 from the corner to give Texas A&M a 47-38 lead with nine minutes left.
Adams, the Big 12's leading scorer entering Saturday's action, has scored 59 points in her last two games.
"When she's in the post, she never drops the ball," Bolte said of Adams. "She's great on the outside, too, and she hit some shots."
Carter and Maryann Baker then drilled 3s to put the Aggies ahead 56-44. The Cyclones scored the next seven points, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
Fennelly was whistled a technical late in the first half after berating the officials for a couple of calls that didn't go the Cyclones way. Fennelly, never one to hide his emotions, had to be restrained more than once by his assistant coaches.
Fennelly apologized for the outburst after the game, saying that his "Irish temper" had gotten the best of him.
Mansfield had 13 points and six assists for Iowa State, though she added eight turnovers and missed a jumper with 42 seconds left that would have made it a one-possession game.
The game Saturday kicked off Texas A&M's most brutal stretch yet. The Aggies travel to face No. 14 Oklahoma on Wednesday night, then host top-ranked Baylor on Sunday in a matchup that promises to have major ramifications in the Big 12 race.
Texas A&M took a step in the right direction by winning in a gym that had caused them so much trouble in the past - and playing a style that favored the Cyclones.
"(Fennelly) wanted this game in the 50s. I wanted it in the 70s. We settled. I got to 60 - and we earn every bit of it," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the 12th 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 11-1 with this starting lineup.
- A&M extended its best start in school history both overall (17-1) and in the Big 12 Conference (5-0).
- With its first-ever win in Ames, Iowa, Texas A&M improved to 6-14 in the all-time series against Iowa State. In addition, the Aggies have now won four out of the last five meetings between the two schools. • A&M led by as many as 12 points during the game. Its largest lead at Hilton Coliseum in the previous five games was by just two points.
- For just the second time this season, the Aggies won by single digits. Their other single-digit win was by nine points against Arizona on Nov. 26.
- Texas A&M totaled a season-best 12 blocked shots. Its previous season-best was eight at Rice on Nov. 20. It marked the most blocked shots for A&M since it blocked 12 shots (10 blocks for Adams that game) against Texas Tech on Jan. 23, 2010.
- The Aggies and the Cyclones combined for 18 blocked shots in the game.
- Danielle Adams has now scored in double figures for 27 straight games.
- Danielle Adams had a first-half season-high three blocked shots en route to a season-best six blocked shots.
- Adaora Elonu tallied a season-high three blocked shots and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds for the third time this season.
- With just three of her five assists in the game, Sydney Colson registered 100 assists for the third straight year. She currently has 102 assists this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gary Blair
On the difference in the game...
"The difference in the game was that my two point guards had nine assists to one turnover, while (Lauren) Mansfield had six assists and eight turnovers. Mansfield is very good, she hit some tough shots. We made some defensive mistakes (on Mansfield) and Carter had to guard her most of the night. We go as far as Sydney (Carter). She can do anything and she is our most valuable player. She's going to guard the other team's best player and do all the little things. She'll play 40 minutes if she has to.
"Another key thing was that they had 26 points at the half and it was all (Kelsey) Bolte and (Lauren) Mansfield. They were not getting players like (Chelsea) Poppens and (Anna) Prins involved, so we were able to stay out of foul trouble with our posts. We were just trying to be ahead at the half for the first time in program history. You don't' know how hard it is to come and win here. I'd hate to be the next team that comes in here and plays."
On A&M's defensive pressure...
"Our press is to create pressure. We want pressure from the moment we get off the bus. He (Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly) always has a great press breaker. We turned him over maybe three times on the press, but that creates the defensive intensity we need to have on the other end, particularly with all the back screens, flairs and penetration they're able to do. Bill doesn't have as much fire power on the offensive end as he's had in the past. He wanted the game in the 50s and I wanted the game in the 70s, we settled and I got to 60. We had to earn every bit of it. "
On Danielle Adams...
"One of the key plays in the game was when we ran a play where Danielle set a screen and then and then ended up sliding down there and banking in a shot. She made it of f the bank and that's how talented she is."
SENIOR FORWARD/CENTER Danielle Adams
On A&M's and her start to the game...
"We started off slow. I took a couple of bad shots, one was a fade away and one was a contested three from the corner. After that, I just looked to play my game and get in my rhythm."
On playing against 6-foot-7 Anna Prins...
"I tried my best to get it down low and score over her but she's very a physical and tall player. I just had to make some adjustments."
On ISU's zone defense...
"It was a packed-in zone, so I guess they were trying to take away our inside game. We made adjustments, hit a couple outside shots and it was a very good zone until we started hitting our outside shots."
JUNIOR GUARD Sydney Carter
On getting A&M's first win against ISU in Ames...
"This is just pure history. It feels so great to win here because I remember coming up here as a freshman and it didn't turn out too well. I just think that this team is mentally and physically tough and has the confidence to walk in a gym on the road in the Big 12 and come out with a win. That says it all about our team."
On Danielle Adams and what she does to opposing defenses...
"She is just a versatile player and you never know where to guard her because she can take you down low, she can rebound and you have to guard her on the outside because she can knock down those shots. It puts a question mark on how to guard her. If we pull her out to set a screen she can pop and hit the shot and if we have her down low she has post moves to score around taller players."
