COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - The No. 4 Texas A&M women's basketball team enters one of its most challenging stretches of the season with a game at No. 13 Purdue on Sunday, Dec. 4, followed by a visit to No. 2 Connecticut on Tuesday, Dec. 6. In a game that is televised nationally by the Big Ten Network, the Aggies and the Boilermakers tipoff at 11 a.m. (CT). Texas A&M and UConn begin their game at 6 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2.
#4/4 TEXAS A&M (6-0) vs. #13/16 PURDUE (6-1)
Game 7
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011 • 11 a.m. (CT)
West Lafayette, Ind.
Mackey Arena (14,240)
Television: Big Ten Network (Channel 610 on DirectTV; Channel 439 or 440 on Dish Network)
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (WTAW 1620 AM)
Series History: Purdue leads 2-1
Internet: Free Live Audio and Live Stats at AggieAthletics.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 6-0 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: #4 (AP), #4 (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 74-58 vs. Iowa on 11/26/11
Up Next: at #2/2 Connecticut on 12/6/11
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 194-79 (.711)
Career Record: 602-242 (.713)
PURDUE
Record: 6-1 (0-0 Big Ten)
Ranking: #13 (AP), #16 (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 64-53 at #8/8 Duke on 12/1/11
Up Next: #3/3 Notre Dame on 12/10/11
Head Coach: Sharon Versyp, Sixth Season
Purdue Record: 117-62 (.654)
Career Record: 234-127 (.648)
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ON THE TUBE
- Sunday, Texas A&M will appear on the tube before a national television audience for the second time this season. Play-by-play announcer Jenn Riehn and color analyst Stephanie White will call the action live on the Big Ten Network (Channel 610 on DirectTV; Channel 439 or 440 on Dish Network).
QUICK HITS
- Four Aggies are averaging double figures this season with Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (14.0 ppg) leading the way. She is followed by senior guard Sydney Carter (13.5 ppg), senior forward Adaora Elonu (13.0 ppg) and Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tyra White (12.7 ppg).
- The Aggies are in the middle of a five-game road stand having played their last home game against Mississippi State on Nov. 20 before taking to the road for nearly a month. The team does not have another home game at Reed Arena until Sunday, Dec. 18.
- Bone is also leading the team in rebounding (7.0 rpg). Elonu is second with 5.7 rpg and sophomore Karla Gilbert averages 5.3 rpg.
- The Aggies have outscored their opponents by an average of 24.3 points in their first six games.
- The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 24.8 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of +10.8.
TWO TOUGHEST ROAD TESTS
- In the history of Texas A&M women's basketball, #13 Purdue and #2 Connecticut are the highest-ranked opponents the Aggies have ever faced consecutively on the road.
- The last time A&M faced back-to-back ranked opponents on the road was Jan. 22, 2011 (No. 20 Iowa State) and Jan. 26, 2011 (No. 12 Oklahoma), both of which resulted in wins.
- A&M has only faced back-to-back ranked non-conference opponents twice in the history of the program. The last time was Dec. 15, 2007 (home vs. No. 14 Auburn - W) and Dec. 20, 2007 (away vs. No. 22 George Washington - L). The only other time was Nov. 17, 1995 (home vs. No. 16 Duke - W) and Nov. 19, 1995 (away vs. No. 11 Colorado - L).
TWELVE STRAIGHT
- A win against Purdue on Sunday would give Texas A&M a program-best 13 consecutive wins. The Aggies have won 12 straight games (including six from last season) which match a school-record 12-game streak that occurred on three other occasions - during the 2010-11, 2008-09 and 2007-08 seasons.
AGGIES CLIMB THE POLLS
- The undefeated Aggies climbed to a No. 4 national ranking in both polls this week.
- It is their highest ranking in the AP Poll since the team was ranked a program-best No. 3 for three straight weeks in late December 2008/early January 2009 and their highest ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll since the team was ranked No. 1 to end the 2011 season.
- A&M has now been ranked in the AP Poll for 68 consecutive weeks and 49 all-time in the top 10 and has been ranked in the Coaches Poll for 104 consecutive weeks and 54 all-time in the top 10.
SCOUTING PURDUE
- Purdue University is located in West Lafayette, Ind., has an enrollment of 39,637 and was founded in 1869.
- The Boilermakers return five starters and six letterwinners from its 2010-11 squad that finished 21-12 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten to finish seventh in the league.
- Purdue made its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance last year, losing in the second round, 40-64, to Connecticut.
- The Boilermakers are in the middle of facing three top-10 teams in-a-row, including a loss at No. 8 Duke on Dec. 1, No. 4 Texas A&M on Dec. 4 and No. 3 Notre Dame on Dec. 10.
- Brittany Rayburn is Purdue's leading scorer with 15.4 points per game. Sam Ostarello is hauling in a team-high 6.7 rebounds, while KK Houser leads the squad with 4.3 assists per game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
32 |
Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. |
7.7 ppg, 4.8 apg |
|
04 |
Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
13.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg |
|
20 |
Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. |
12.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg |
|
21 |
Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. |
13.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg |
|
23 |
Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. |
14.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg |
PURDUE
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
22 |
KK Houser, G, 5-6, RS-So. |
9.3 ppg, 3.6 apg |
|
15 |
Courtney Moses, G, 5-6, So. |
9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg |
|
05 |
Brittany Rayburn, G, 6-0, Sr. |
15.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg |
|
32 |
Sam Ostarello, F, 6-2, Jr. |
7.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg |
|
40 |
Chelsea Jones, C, 6-4, Sr. |
3.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg |
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2011-12 Category |
TAMU |
PU |
|
Overall Record |
6-0 |
6-1 |
|
Conference Record |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Points Per Game |
80.0 |
61.4 |
|
Scoring Margin |
+24.3 |
+12.9 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
43.5 |
39.4 |
|
Rebounding Margin |
+8.2 |
+4.1 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
45.4 |
42.9 |
|
Field Goal% Defense |
36.4 |
31.4 |
|
3-Point FG% |
23.5 |
31.3 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
64.9 |
69.8 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
14.0 |
20.1 |
|
Assists Per Game |
16.7 |
13.7 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
3.5 |
6.7 |
|
Steals Per Game |
12.2 |
10.1 |
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Texas A&M trails 2-1 in the all-time series with Purdue and rolled to a 100-55 victory at home against the Boilermakers last season.
- A&M's 100 points marked the 13th time in program history that the Aggies have scored 100 or more points in a game. Forty-five points was the largest margin of victory all-time between the two teams.
- Prior to 2010, both times A&M faced Purdue, the Boilermakers were ranked in the top 10. The 22nd-ranked Aggies lost in a close contest, 74-72, to the fifth-ranked Boilermakers on Dec. 1, 1995 in the Kona Classic in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. In 1994, No. 8 Purdue downed A&M, 82-56, in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Palo Alto, Calif., on March 24, 1994. That season, Purdue went on to its first NCAA Final Four appearance.
PURDUE (1-2)
Mar. 24, 1994 N L 56-82
Dec. 1, 1995 N L 72-74
Dec. 9, 2010 H W 100-55
PURDUE REWIND
- Danielle Adams scored 27 points and No. 7 Texas A&M cruised to a 100-55 victory over short-handed Purdue on Thursday night. The Aggies built a big lead in the first half and were up 63-35 with about 15 minutes remaining before using a 13-3 run to push their advantage to 76-38 with about 11 minutes left. Texas A&M hit a season-high 10 3-pointers in the victory to rebound from its first loss of the season, a 61-58 defeat by No. 5 Duke on Monday. The Boilermakers entered the game with two starters missing and played most of the second half without a third after Brittany Rayburn was ejected with 17 1/2 minutes for elbowing Sydney Carter in the face. Courtney Moses led Purdue with 26 points. The Boilermakers' Drey Mingo was recovering from bacterial meningitis, and KK Houser was out for the season with a right knee injury. Purdue had trouble dealing with Texas A&M's speed and had 26 turnovers to nine by the Aggies. Karla Gilbert scored a season-high 15 points and Adaora Elonu added 11.
AGAINST THE BIG TEN
- Texas A&M is 20-21 all-time against schools hailing from the 12-member Big Ten Conference including Indiana (1-0), Iowa (1-0), Michigan (3-0), Michigan State (0-1), Minnesota (3-3), Nebraska (9-14), Northwestern (0-1), Penn State (1-0), Purdue (1-2) and Wisconsin (1-0).
- The Aggies are 14-4 versus Big Ten opponents in the Gary Blair Era.
MORE ON THE BIG 12/BIG TEN CHALLENGE
- The inter-conference series began in 2010 and features a home-and-home format over a two-year agreement. Texas Tech will represent the Big 12 in two games, while Big Ten member Nebraska will sit out in 2011 due to the uneven number of teams among the two conferences. Last season, the Big Ten claimed the inaugural challenge, 7-5.
A&M IN THE BAHAMAS
- Texas A&M got two victories and won the Lucaya Division championship of the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas, last week. The Aggies improved their all-time record at the tournament to 3-1 and had Carter named MVP and Elonu selected to the all-tournament team.
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 included 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.
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 (602) 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 .711 winning percentage (194-79). 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.
IOWA RECAP
TEXAS A&M 74, IOWA 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 sixth start of Bone's Aggie career, the seventh career start for Pratcher, 60th for Carter, 77th for White and 80th for Elonu.
- Texas A&M improved to 1-0 in the all-time series with Iowa.
- Texas A&M forced the Hawkeyes into a season-high 25 turnovers.
- The Aggies outscored Iowa 24-11 in second-chance points.
- Texas A&M shot 50 percent in the second half, its best second-half field-goal percentage since shooting 61 percent against Mississippi State on Nov. 20.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- White has now started in 64 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
- Carter's 17 points in the first half were a career-high and led her to a season-high 21 points.
- Alexia Standish scored a career-high 8 points, including going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
- Adrienne Pratcher matched a career-high with four steals.
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 Mackey Arena alongside color analyst Steve Miller on WTAW 1620 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.