#6/6 TEXAS A&M (2-0) vs. UALR (1-1)
Game #3
Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
The Jack Stephens Center (5,600)
at Little Rock, Ark.
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M leads 4-1
Internet: Free Live Audio at AggieAthletics.com; live stats and live video at UALRTrojans.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 2-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: #6 (AP), #6 (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 76-58 vs. Louisville on 11/15/11
Up Next: Mississippi State on 11/20/11
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 190-79 (.706)
Career Record: 598-242 (.712)
UALR
Record: 1-1 (0-0 SUN BELT)
Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 60-69 vs. SMU on 11/15/11
Up Next: at Louisiana Tech on 11/22/11
Head Coach: Joe Foley, 10th season
UALR Record: 154-93 (.623)
Career Record: 610-174 (.778)
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QUICK HITS
- Four Aggies are averaging double figures this season with Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tyra White leading the way (17.5 ppg) followed by Sydney Carter (14.0 ppg), Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (13.0 ppg) and Karla Gilbert (10.0 ppg).
- Adrienne Pratcher has been dishing it out in her first two games with a career-high nine assists against Lamar and eight versus Louisville.
- Gilbert is leading the team with 7.0 rebounds per game followed by Adaora Elonu (6.0 rpg), Tyra White (5.0 rpg) and Kelsey Bone (5.0 rpg).
- The Aggies have outscored their opponents by an average of 21.5 points in their first two games.
- The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 27.5 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of +9.0.
SCOUTING UALR
- UALR is located in Little Rock, Ark., has an enrollment of 13,068 and was founded in 1927.
- UALR is 1-1 on the season with a win against Tulsa and a loss against SMU. The Trojans first three games are in the comfort of The Jack Stephens Center.
- The Trojans were an NCAA Tournament team last year, making their second straight and second all-time appearance. They finished the season 23-8 overall and 14-2 in conference play, good for first in the Sun Belt West. UALR also took home their first SBC Tournament title.
- Joe Foley (UCA, '79) begins his 10th season at the helm of the Trojans and holds a 154-93 record at UALR and a 610-174 record for his career.
- The Trojans are 78-11 (.876) when playing at the Jack Stephens Center.
- Six-foot senior center Marian Kursh leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game after UALR's first two contests. Kursh was the Trojan's second-leading scorer a year ago, averaging 8.8 ppg behind Chastity Reed's 19.6 ppg.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
|
No. |
Name |
2010-11 Stats |
|
32 |
Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. |
6.5 ppg, 8.5 apg |
|
4 |
Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
14.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg |
|
20 |
Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. |
17.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg |
|
21 |
Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. |
8.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg |
|
23 |
Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. |
13.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg |
UALR
|
No. |
Name |
2010-11 Stats |
|
02 |
Taylor Ford, G, 5-9, So. |
2.0 ppg, 3.5 apg |
|
24 |
Taylor Gault, G, 5-9, So. |
10.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg |
|
31 |
Britteni Williams, F, 6-2, So. |
2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg |
|
34 |
Janette Merriex, G/ F, 5-10, Jr. |
8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg |
|
54 |
Marian Kursh, C, 6-0, Sr. |
18.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg |
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2011-12 Category |
TAMU |
UALR |
|
Overall Record |
2-0 |
1-1 |
|
Conference Record |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Points Per Game |
79.5 |
56.0 |
|
Scoring Margin |
+21.5 |
-2.5 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
44.5 |
32.5 |
|
Rebounding Margin |
+6.5 |
-7.0 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
44.1 |
40.6 |
|
Field Goal% Defense |
36.1 |
39.3 |
|
Three-Point FG% |
20.8 |
40.9 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
60.7 |
60.7 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
18.5 |
17.5 |
|
Assists Per Game |
17.0 |
12.5 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
6.0 |
3.0 |
|
Steals Per Game |
14.0 |
5.5 |
SERIES HISTORY
- Texas A&M leads 4-1 in the all-times series with UALR and has won the last four games between the two teams in 2003, '04, '05 and '10.
- UALR's only victory in the series was 80-68 on its home court in 2001. This will be the first time the Aggies face the Trojans at The Jack Stephens Center.
- Last season A&M cruised to an 87-41 win over UALR in College Station. A&M's 46-point victory was the largest margin of victory all-time against the Trojans. The Aggies led by 21 at halftime and a 17-1 run later in the second half extended Texas A&M's lead to 69-26. Danielle Adams had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Maryann Baker added 10 points and Karla Gilbert scored 12.
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Dec. 15, 2001 A L, 68-80
Dec. 3, 2003 H W, 54-45
Dec. 12, 2004 A W, 62-55
Dec. 30, 2005 H W, 78-64
Nov. 16, 2010 H W, 87-41
UP NEXT
A&M has its final home game of the month at Reed Arena against Mississippi State on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m. The Aggies then take a tropical trip to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26. The Aggies will face Temple and either Iowa or St. Johns. All three teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament last year.
DEFENDERS OF THE HOME COURT
- Texas A&M has protected its home court well over the last six seasons with the help of the 12th Man. In fact, the Aggies have compiled an unprecedented 84-8 (.913) overall success rate at Reed Arena in those six years, including a 13-1 mark last season and a perfect 16-0 home stand in 2006-07. The eight tallies in the home loss column have only occurred during Big 12 Conference play against nationally-ranked league foes.
- The Aggies have won 45 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a 40-46 loss to Houston on 12/30/03.
AGGIES' LAST FIVE YEARS AT REED ARENA
2010-11 13-1
2009-10 12-2
2008-09 13-1
2007-08 14-2
2006-07 16-0
2005-06 14-2
BLAIR APPROACHING 600 WINS
- A&M head coach Gary Blair is just two victories away from his 600th career win as a Division I head coach. The victories include 190 at A&M (2003-present), 198 at Arkansas (1993-03) and 210 at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) for 598 total wins.
- Should he win his first four games this season, Blair will be the 25th-fastest all-time coach (in all divisions) to reach 600 victories, the 22nd all-time Division I coach and the 36th all-time coach (in all divisions) to reach 600 victories. He will also be one of just 13 active Division I coach with 600 victories.
AGGIE ATTENDANCE
- Texas A&M finished its 2010-11 regular season averaging a program-best 6,104 fans at each home game, which ranked fourth-best in the Big 12 and 12th-best in the country in attendance. A&M has been in the top 25 in national attendance for the past four seasons.
- After two home games this season, the Aggies are bettering their program-best attendance averaging 6,308 fans per game.
2011 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
- In April, Texas A&M won its first NCAA National Championship in program history in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Women's Final Four and eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance.
- Texas A&M ended the season with a 33-5 record, the most victories in program history. It was the first 30-win season in 37 all-time season of Aggie Basketball.
- Texas A&M made a school-record sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the streak, the Aggies had never played in consecutive NCAA Tournaments and had not been a part of March Madness since 1996.
- A&M received a program-best No. 1 national ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, improving on its previous school-best of No. 3 in the Coaches Poll in 2008.
WHAT'S BACK
- The Aggies return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's national championship squad, including Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention Sydney Carter (DeSoto, Texas), senior Adaora Elonu (Houston, Texas), and Preseason All-Big 12 Tyra White (Kansas City, Mo.).
AGGIES PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12
- A&M was selected to finish second in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll. The Aggies received one first-place vote and 73 points, listed only behind preseason favorite Baylor (81).
- A&M was picked second for the second consecutive year, which is its highest spot in the preseason poll since the team was chosen as the favorite prior to the 2007-08 season.
- For the sixth consecutive year, the Aggies were selected among the top five teams in the league. A&M was the preseason favorite to win the regular-season title in 2007-08 (Big 12 postseason champion and NCAA Elite Eight), picked second in 2006-07 (Big 12 regular-season co-champion), fifth in 2008-09 (NCAA Sweet 16), fourth in 2009-10 (Big 12 postseason champion) and second in 2010-11 (NCAA National Champions)
2011-12 Big 12 Preseason Poll
|
1. |
Baylor (9) |
81 |
|
2. |
Texas A&M (1) |
73 |
|
3. |
Texas |
60 |
|
4. |
Oklahoma |
58 |
|
5. |
Iowa State |
43 |
|
6. |
Texas Tech |
37 |
|
7. |
Kansas |
35 |
|
8. |
Oklahoma State |
30 |
|
9. |
Kansas State |
23 |
|
10. |
Missouri |
10 |
WHAT'S NEW
- For the third straight year, Texas A&M welcomes one of its highest-ever rated recruiting class with the addition of three freshmen in 6-foot-7 center Rachel Mitchell out of Atascocita High School in Houston, 5-foot-10 guard Tori Scott from John Ehret High School in Marrero, La., and 5-foot-8 guard and Big 12 Preseason Co-Freshman of the Year Alexia Standish out of Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas. This class was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country by The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
BONE ON BOARD
- Former McDonald's High School All-American and 2011 Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (Houston, Texas), a 6-foot-4 center out of Dulles High School, transfered from the University of South Carolina and had to sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer rules. She is eligible to play for the nationally-ranked Aggies this season and is a redshirt sophomore in athletic eligibility.
- The No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2009 by several scouting services, Bone is the fourth McDonald's All-American and highest-rated player to ever sign with A&M. During her freshman season for the Gamecocks, Bone became the first South Carolina player to be tabbed Southeastern Conference Newcomer of the Year by The Associated Press. She also earned Second-Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors by the league's head coaches. In addition, she was recognized as Second-Team All-SEC by the AP and First-Team Freshman All-America by Full Court Press.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES ROLL IN FOR WHITE
- Leading up to the 2011-12 season, White has earned several preseason accolades. She was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team in addition to being named to the Wade Trophy Watch List and the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 List.
- White is coming off a junior campaign in which she was Texas A&M's second-leading scorer with 13.8 points per game and the team's third-leading rebounder with 5.1 rebounds per game. She was a State Farm All-America Honorable Mention along with being selected to the Women's Final Four All-Tournament Team after leading the Aggies to their first national championship in April. White was also an All-Big 12 First Team member and earned a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.
ELONU LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
- Senior forward Adaora Elonu was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
CARTER TAKES CHARGE
- Texas A&M is known for its signature defense and Sydney Carter is its spokeswoman, regularly given the daunting task of guarding the opponent's best perimeter player. Her play has earned her a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive team last year and she took home the team's Miss Defense Award the past two seasons. Add to that, the fact that she has led the team in charges taken every year she's been at A&M.
Carter's Charges:
29 - Junior (2010-11)
28 - Sophomore (2009-10)
12 - Freshman (2008-09)
FROM THE SIDELINES
- Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair begins his 27th overall season as a Division I head coach. He currently ranks in the top 15 in career victories (598) and in the top 25 by winning percentage (.712) among active Division I coaches in the NCAA women's basketball record books.
- Blair is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 190 wins and a .706 winning percentage (190-79). 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 three all-time NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches to lead two different teams to the NCAA Women's Final Four (Texas A&M and Arkansas) next to C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers, Iowa and Cheyney) and Marianne Stanley (Stanford and Old Dominion).
- Blair is one of only four active Division I coaches (six all-time) to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament next to 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.
HIGHEST PRESEASON RANKING
- The Aggies earned their highest-ever preseason ranking ranked No. 6 in both the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
LOUISVILLE RECAP
TEXAS A&M 76, LOUISVILLE 58
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone... It marked the second start of Bone's Aggie career, the third career start for Pratcher, 56th for Carter, 73rd for White and 76th for Elonu.
- A&M defeated its highest ranked opponent at home since upsetting No. 6 Duke, 95-77, on Nov. 15, 2009.
- The Aggies have now won 45 straight non-conference home games, since a 40-46 loss to Houston in December 2003. In addition, A&M has won 72 of its last 79 home games.
- With the win, Texas A&M evened the all-time series at 1-1.
- Texas A&M's 28 offensive rebounds were the most since grabbing 29 against Lamar on Jan. 4, 2010. A&M's offensive rebound advantage was 28-19.
- Texas A&M lead by as many as 25 in the second half.
- The Aggies outscored Louisville in the paint 42-28.
- The attendance of 6,943 was the largest regular season non-conference crowd in program history.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- White has now started in 60 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
- White has also scored double figures in her last 11 games (which includes nine from last season)
- Carter's career-high eight steals was the most steals by an Aggie since Toccara Williams had nine steals on Jan. 25, 2004 against Texas.
- Pratcher has another solid game with 7 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
- Off the bench, Karla Gilbert added 9 points and seven rebounds.
- Bone and White combined for 11 offensive boards.
- Blair is just two wins away from 600 career wins (598-242).
COMING IN 2012-13
Next season, Blair and his coaching staff will welcome A&M's highest-ever rated recruiting class that was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz, The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, Premier Basketball Report and All-Star Girls Report. The Aggie signees were: 5-foot-10 wing Chelsea Jennings from Fort Worth, Texas, 5-foot-6 point guard Jordan Jones from DeSoto, Texas, 5-foot-7 combo guard Curtyce Knox from Humble, Texas, six-foot wing Peyton Little from Abilene, Texas, 5-foot-8 wing Courtney Walker from Edmond, Okla., and 6-foot-1 forward/guard Courtney Williams from Houston.
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 The Jack Stephens Center alongside color analyst Steve Miller on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.