COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - The fifth-ranked Texas A&M women's basketball team hits the road for the second time this season, traveling to the Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 in Freeport on the Grand Bahama Island. The Aggies tip off the tournament against Temple at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 and will face either Iowa or St. John's on Saturday, Nov. 26. A&M treks to the Bahamas for the second time in the Gary Blair Era and will enjoy six days in the popular tourist destination.
#5/6 TEXAS A&M (4-0) vs. TEMPLE (2-2)
Game #5
Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 • 2:15 p.m. (CT)
Freeport, Bahamas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: First Meeting
Internet: Live Video link and Free Live Audio at AggieAthletics.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 4-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: #5 (AP), #6 (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 93-47 vs. Mississippi State on 11/20/11
Up Next: vs. Iowa/St. John's on 11/26/11
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 192-79 (.708)
Career Record: 600-242 (.713)
TEMPLE
Record: 2-2 (0-0 Atlantic 10)
Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 52-58 at Northern Illinois on 11/20/11
Up Next: vs. Iowa/St. John's on 11/26/11
Head Coach: Tonya Cardoza, Fourth season
Temple Record: 72-30 (.706)
Career Record: 72-30 (.706)
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QUICK HITS
- Four Aggies are averaging double figures this season with Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (15.5 ppg) leading the way. She is followed by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tyra White (14.5 ppg), senior guard Sydney Carter (12.0 ppg), and senior forward Adaora Elonu (10.5 ppg).
- A&M started the season full force, playing four games in nine days and will taper off with just two games over the next 13 days.
- The Aggies played their last home game for nearly a month on Sunday before taking to a five-game road stand. The team does not have another home game at Reed Arena until Sunday, Dec. 18.
- Bone is leading the team in scoring and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Elonu is second with 6.3 rpg and sophomore Karla Gilbert averages 6.0 rpg.
- The Aggies have outscored their opponents by an average of 29.5 points in their first four games.
- The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 24.3 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of +9.5.
A&M IN THE BAHAMAS
- Texas A&M last travelled to the Bahamas in 2003 and went 1-1 in the Junkanoo Jam that year. The Aggies lost, 72-88, to Minnesota before defeating Seton Hall, 54-52. In the Gary Blair Era, the Aggies have traveled to exotic and international locales including Cancun, U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Europe.
AGGIES CLIMB THE POLLS
- The undefeated Aggies climbed to a No. 5 national ranking and achieved their highest ranking in the AP Poll since the team was ranked fifth for three straight weeks in February 2011. A&M has now been ranked in the AP Poll for 67 consecutive weeks and 48 all-time in the top 10.
BLAIR GETS 600TH WIN
- With a victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 20, 2011, A&M head coach Gary Blair earned his 600th career win as a Division I head coach. The victories include 192 at A&M (2003-present), 198 at Arkansas (1993-03) and 210 at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) for 600 total wins.
- Blair became 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 is one of just 13 active Division I coach with 600 victories.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
- Temple University is located in Philadelphia, Pa., has an enrollment of 37,000 and was founded in 1884.
- The Owls return three starters and eight letterwinners from its 2010-11 squad that finished 24-9 overall and 13-1 in the Atlantic 10 to finish second in the league.
- Temple made its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance last year, losing in the second round, 64-77, to Notre Dame.
- The Owls opened the season at home, but will finish out the month of November on the road, playing six of its first seven games away from the comfortable confines of their home court.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
32 |
Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. |
7.5 ppg, 5.5 apg |
|
04 |
Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
12.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg |
|
20 |
Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. |
14.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg |
|
21 |
Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. |
10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg |
|
23 |
Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. |
15.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg |
TEMPLE
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
01 |
Brittany Lewis, F, 6-2, Jr. |
13.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg |
|
03 |
BJ Williams, G, 5-7, Sr. |
7.8 ppg, 5.3 apg |
|
05 |
Kristen McCarthy, G, 6-0, Jr. |
13.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg |
|
11 |
Shey Peddy, G, 5-7, Sr. |
14.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg |
|
14 |
Joelle Connelly, C, 6-3, Sr. |
6.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg |
IOWA
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
02 |
Kamille Wahlin, G, 5-8, Sr. |
10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg |
|
24 |
Jaime Printy, G, 5-11, Jr. |
20.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg |
|
22 |
Samantha Logic, G, 5-8, Fr. |
7.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg |
|
20 |
Kelly Krei, F, 6-2, Sr. |
11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg |
|
12 |
Morgan Johnson, C, 6-5, Jr. |
13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg |
ST. JOHN'S
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
05 |
Nadirah McKenith, G, 5-7, Jr. |
16.7 ppg, 5.3 apg |
|
22 |
Eugeneia McPherson, G, 5-8, Jr. |
14.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg |
|
35 |
Shenneika Smith, G, 6-1, Jr. |
13.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg |
|
24 |
Mary Nwachukwu, F, 6-2, R-So. |
4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg |
|
02 |
Amber Thompson, F, 6-2, Fr. |
4.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg |
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2011-12 Category |
TAMU |
TU |
IOWA |
STJ |
|
Overall Record |
4-0 |
2-2 |
3-1 |
1-2 |
|
Conference Record |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Points Per Game |
83.8 |
65.0 |
77.2 |
68.7 |
|
Scoring Margin |
+29.5 |
+9.5 |
+6.3 |
+1.3 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
46.2 |
37.0 |
38.5 |
36.0 |
|
Rebounding Margin |
+12.8 |
+1.8 |
-0.5 |
+0.0 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
46.7 |
38.6 |
44.7 |
46.3 |
|
Field Goal% Defense |
34.0 |
39.0 |
39.9 |
39.5 |
|
3-Point FG% |
21.1 |
28.4 |
37.7 |
22.6 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
66.3 |
63.5 |
84.3 |
70.0 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
14.8 |
13.3 |
16.3 |
15.3 |
|
Assists Per Game |
17.0 |
13.5 |
17.5 |
12.0 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
4.8 |
3.3 |
4.8 |
6.0 |
|
Steals Per Game |
12.3 |
9.3 |
6.0 |
10.0 |
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Friday marks the first meeting between Texas A&M and Temple.
- Saturday would mark the first meeting between Texas A&M and Iowa. It would also be the first meeting between the Aggies and St. John's.
SCOUTING IOWA
- The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa, has an enrollment of 30,893 and was founded in 1847.
- The Hawkeyes return four starters from a team that finished the 2010-11 season 22-9 overall and made its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Iowa lost to Gonzaga, 92-86, in the NCAA First Round.
- Lisa Bluder is in her 12th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes and holds a 214-133 (.617) record at Iowa and a 570-275 (.675) career record.
- Iowa is led by Jaime Printy with 20.8 points and 5.8r rebounds per game. Printy has hit 25 of 26 free throws for a 96.2 percentage from the charity stripe.
SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S
- St. John's is located in Queens, N.Y., has an enrollment of 21,354 and was founded in 1870.
- The Red Storm return three starters and eight letterwinners from a 2010-11 squad that finished 22-11 overall and tied for fifth in the BIG EAST with a 9-7 record.
- St. John's made its sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance last season and lost to Stanford, 75-49, in the second round.
- Kim Barnes Arico is in her 10th season at the helm of the Red Storm and holds a 153-126 (.54 8) record at St. Johns and a 247-198 (.555) career record.
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.
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 is in his 27th overall season as a Division I head coach. He currently ranks in the top 15 in career victories (600) and in the top 25 by winning percentage (.713) among active Division I coaches in the NCAA women's basketball record books.
- Blair is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 192 wins and a .708 winning percentage (192-79). 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.
MISSISSIPPI STATE RECAP
TEXAS A&M 93, MISSISSIPPI STATE 47
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone... It marked the fourth start of Bone's Aggie career, the fifth career start for Pratcher, 58th for Carter, 75th for White and 78th for Elonu.
- The Aggies have now won 46 straight non-conference home games, since a 40-46 loss to Houston in December 2003. In addition, A&M has won 73 of its last 80 home games.
- Texas A&M improves to 1-0 in the all-time series with Mississippi State.
- A&M's 11-minute span of holding Mississippi State without a field goal to start the game is the longest in the Gary Blair Era.
- For the third time this season, five different Aggies reached double figures (Bone, Gilbert, White, Pratcher and Adaora Elonu).
- With a season-high 23 assists, the Aggies tallied 20 or more assists for the first time this season.
- The Aggies also had season highs in points (93), field goal percentage (55.9) field goals made (38), and rebounds (53).
- The 46-point margin of victory was the largest since also outscoring ULM by 46 on Jan 4, 2011.
- Texas A&M held Mississippi State to season lows in field goal percentage (25%), rebounds (27), field goals made (14) and attempted (56), and 3-point field goal percentage (7.1%). The Aggies forced the Lady Bulldogs into a season-high 18 turnovers.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Head Coach Gary Blair became the 25th-fastest all-time coach to reach 600 victories with a 600-242 career record.
- White has now started in 62 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
- White has also scored double figures in her last 13 games (which includes nine from last season)
- Bone's 20 points were an Aggie career high as were her 13 rebounds.
- Pratcher's 11 points were a career high.
- Freshman Tori Scott contributed a season-high 6 points.
- After a career performance against UALR, senior Skylar Collins added 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting, four rebounds, a block and a steal in just nine minutes on the court.
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 Bahamas on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.