COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - The No. 6-ranked and defending national champion Texas A&M women's basketball team returns home on Sunday for a matchup with future Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State as part of the Super Six Series. The Aggies and the Lady Bulldogs tipoff at 1:30 p.m. (CT) from Reed Arena.
#6/6 TEXAS A&M (3-0) vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-0)
Game #4
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011 • 1:30 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Internet: Free Live Video and Live Statistics at AggieAthletics.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 3-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: #6 (AP), #6 (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 83-54 vs. UALR on 11/17/11
Up Next: vs. Temple on 11/25/11
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 191-79 (.707)
Career Record: 599-242 (.712)
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Record: 3-0 (0-0 SEC)
Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 66-48 vs. Alcorn State on 11/17/11
Up Next: Mississippi Valley State on 11/23/11
Head Coach: Sharon Fanning-Otis, 17th season
Mississippi State Record: 270-216 (.556)
Career Record: 597-444 (.573)
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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 (15.7 ppg) followed by Sydney Carter (14.3 ppg), Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (14.0 ppg) and Adaora Elonu (10.7 ppg).
- Texas A&M plays its last home game for nearly a month on Sunday against MSU. The Aggies take to a five-game road stand afterwards and do not return to Reed Arena until Sunday, Dec. 18.
- Starting point guard Adrienne Pratcher dished it out in her first two games with a career-high nine assists against Lamar and eight versus No. 9 Louisville.
- Elonu is leading the team with 7.0 rebounds per game followed by Bone (6.0 rpg) and Karla Gilbert Tyra White (5.7 rpg).
- The Aggies have outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points in their first three games.
- The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 26.3 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of +11.0.
BLAIR LOOKING FOR 600TH WIN
- A&M head coach Gary Blair is just one victory away from his 600th career win as a Division I head coach. The victories include 191 at A&M (2003-present), 198 at Arkansas (1993-03) and 210 at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) for 599 total wins.
- Should A&M win Sunday's game, 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.
SUPER SIX SERIES
- The Super Six Series is an annual showcase highlighting two squads from each conference in early-season inter-conference matchups. This is the second year of what has been extended to a four-year agreement between the conferences. Two teams from each conference will participate, resulting in six games played in on-campus venues. Each conference will have one home game and one away game annually. Games will be played during the beginning of the season each year.
Super Six Series Games
November 16
Georgetown 40, LSU 50
November 17
Utah 50, Michigan 55
November 18
Illinois 74, Oregon 78
November 19
Georgia Tech 74, Marquette 63
November 20
Kansas at Wake Forest, 1 p.m. CT
Mississippi State at Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m. CT
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
- Mississippi State is located in Starkville, Miss., has an enrollment of 20,424 and was founded in 1878.
- The Lady Bulldogs opened the season with three straight home games and have their first road test of the season in Aggieland.
- The team returns four starters and 10 letterwinners from its 2010-11 squad that finished 13-17 overall and 4-12 in the SEC.
- Sharon Fanning-Otis is in her 17th season at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs and holds a 270-216 record at Mississippi State and a 597-444 career record.
- Senior guard Diamber Johnson leads the team with 21.7 points and 4.7 assists per game while fellow senior guard Porsha Porter is the only other Lady Bulldog averaging double figures with 12.3 points per game. Martha Alwal, a 6-foot-4 center, leads the team with 14.7 rebounds and 5 blocks per game. Alwal contributed 22 boards in MSU's last game against Alcorn State.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
32 |
Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. |
6.3 ppg, 5.7 apg |
|
4 |
Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
14.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg |
|
20 |
Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. |
15.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg |
|
21 |
Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. |
10.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg |
|
23 |
Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. |
14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg |
MISSISSIPPI STATE
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
03 |
Diamber Johnson, G, 5-7, Sr. |
21.7 ppg, 4.7 apg |
|
04 |
Porsha Porter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
12.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg |
|
10 |
Martha Alwal, C, 6-4, Fr. |
9.0 ppg, 14.7 rpg |
|
14 |
Kendra Grant, G, 5-11, Fr. |
8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg |
|
34 |
Catina Bett, C, 6-5, Sr. |
6.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg |
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2011-12 Category |
TAMU |
MSU |
|
Overall Record |
3-0 |
3-0 |
|
Conference Record |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Points Per Game |
80.7 |
71.7 |
|
Scoring Margin |
+24.0 |
+20.3 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
44.0 |
47.3 |
|
Rebounding Margin |
+8.3 |
+11.0 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
43.8 |
42.3 |
|
Field Goal% Defense |
37.2 |
34.6 |
|
3-Point FG% |
22.6 |
30.2 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
67.1 |
57.1 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
15.3 |
15.7 |
|
Assists Per Game |
15.0 |
13.0 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
5.3 |
8.3 |
|
Steals Per Game |
13.0 |
15.3 |
SERIES HISTORY
- Sunday marks the first meeting between Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
UP NEXT
The Aggies then take a tropical trip to the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving Break 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
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.
UALR RECAP
TEXAS A&M 83, UALR 54
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone... It marked the third start of Bone's Aggie career, the fourth career start for Pratcher, 57th for Carter, 74th for White and 77th for Elonu.
- Texas A&M improves to 5-1 in the all-time series with UALR and has now won the last five straight games between the two teams.
- Texas A&M outrebounded UALR 42-31, including 22-11 in offensive boards. At the end of the first half, A&M had as many offensive rebounds (13) as UALR did total rebounds (13).
- Texas A&M lead by as many as 32 in the second half.
- The Aggies outscored the Trojans in the paint 38-18.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- White has now started in 61 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
- White has also scored double figures in her last 12 games (which includes nine from last season)
- Skylar Collins scored a career-high 14 points going 5-of-7 from the floor, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
- Kelsey Bone's 16 points were an A&M career high.
- Elonu's nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
- Blair is just one win away from 600 career wins (599-242).
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 Reed Arnea alongside color analyst Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.