COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 7 Texas A&M women's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track and ends a tough five-game road swing at TCU on Sunday, Dec. 11. The Aggies and the Horned Frogs tip off at 2 p.m. (CT) in a contest that is televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
#8/7 TEXAS A&M (6-2) at TCU (4-4)
Game 9
Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 • 2 p.m. (CT)
Fort Worth, Texas
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
Television: CBS Sports Network
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (WTAW 1620 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M leads 30-4
Internet: Free Live Audio and Live Stats at AggieAthletics.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 6-2 (0-0 Big 12)
Ranking: #8 (AP), #7 (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 51-81 at #2/2 Connecticut on 12/6/11
Up Next: vs. USC on Dec. 18, 2011
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 194-81 (.706)
Career Record: 602-244 (.712)
TCU
Record: 4-4 (0-0 Mountain West)
Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Last Result: W, 73-59 vs. Lamar on 12/4/11
Up Next: vs. Sam Houston State on 12/18/11
Head Coach: Jeff Mittie, 13th Season
TCU Record: 264-130 (.670)
Career Record: 415-189 (.687)
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ON THE TUBE
- Sunday, Texas A&M will appear on the tube before a national television audience for the fourth time this season. Play-by-play announcer Brent Stover and color analyst Tammy Blackburn will call the action live on CBS Sports Network (Channel 123 on Suddenlink, 613 on DIRECTV, 152 on Dish Network and 94 on FIOS).
- The Aggies are 1-2 on national TV this season.
QUICK HITS
- Four Aggies are averaging double figures this season with Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (12.8 ppg) leading the way. She is followed by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tyra White (12.6 ppg), senior forward Adaora Elonu (12.0 ppg) and senior guard Sydney Carter (11.0 ppg).
- Bone is also leading the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg). Elonu is second with 5.8 rpg and sophomore Karla Gilbert averages 5.1 rpg.
- The Aggies have their final contest of a five-game road stand at TCU on Sunday. They played their last home game against Mississippi State on Nov. 20 before taking to the road for nearly a month. The team returns to Reed Arena Sunday, Dec. 18 against USC.
- The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 23.0 turnovers per game, second-best in the Big 12.
- Texas A&M boasts the best turnover margin (+7.5) in the conference.
- The Aggies are 6-0 when holding their opponents under 60 points.
SCOUTING TCU
- Texas Christian University is located in Fort Worth, Texas, has an enrollment of 9,142 and was founded in 1873.
- The Horned Frogs return six letterwinners and three starters from its 2010-11 squad that finished with an overall record of 22-11 and a 13-3 mark (2nd) in the MWC.
- TCU lost in the first round of the WNIT last year, 74-78, to Oral Roberts. Their last trip to the NCAA Tournament was in 2010.
- Texas A&M will be the second ranked opponent the Horned Frogs have faced this season next to an 83-60 loss at then-No. 12/13 Georgia.
- TCU is 2-1 at home this season and is in the middle of a four-game stretch at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
- The Horned Frogs are led by Natalie Ventress with 10.5 points per game and Latricia Lovings with 7.1 rebounds per game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
32 |
Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. |
7.9 ppg, 4.6 apg |
|
04 |
Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. |
11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg |
|
20 |
Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. |
12.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg |
|
21 |
Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. |
12.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg |
|
23 |
Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. |
12.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg |
TCU
|
No. |
Name |
2011-12 Stats |
|
01 |
Antoinette Thompson, G, 5-7, Sr. |
9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg |
|
02 |
Whitney Whilliams, G, 5-7, Jr. |
7.9 ppg, 4.6 apg |
|
21 |
Latricia Lovings, C, 6-2, So. |
5.3 ppg, 7.1 apg |
|
22 |
Delisa Gross, F, 6-2, Jr. |
6.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg |
|
24 |
Natalie Ventress, F, 5-11, Fr. |
10.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg |
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2011-12 Category |
TAMU |
TCU |
|
Overall Record |
6-2 |
4-4 |
|
Conference Record |
0-0 |
0-0 |
|
Points Per Game |
72.8 |
62.9 |
|
Scoring Margin |
+13.4 |
+6.6 |
|
Rebounds Per Game |
42.8 |
39.6 |
|
Rebounding Margin |
+7.5 |
-4.0 |
|
Field Goal Percentage |
41.9 |
41.3 |
|
Field Goal% Defense |
38.8 |
30.6 |
|
3-Point FG% |
25.7 |
33.3 |
|
Free Throw Percentage |
62.4 |
60.2 |
|
Turnovers Per Game |
15.5 |
18.5 |
|
Assists Per Game |
15.4 |
15.1 |
|
Blocks Per Game |
3.6 |
6.3 |
|
Steals Per Game |
11.1 |
8.3 |
INSIDE THE SERIES
- Texas A&M holds a 30-4 advantage in the all-time series with TCU. The Aggies have won three of the last four meetings between the two former rivals, who prior to 2006, had not played each other since the final season of the old Southwest Conference in 1995-96. Sunday's game will mark the fourth year in-a-row in which the Horned Frogs will go up against a top-10 ranked Aggie squad. In 2008-09, A&M was ranked No. 3, in 2009-10 A&M was ranked No. 5 and in 2010-11 Texas A&M was ranked No. 7. All of the Frogs' four wins in the series have occurred at home or at a neutral site.
TCU REWIND
- Danielle Adams had 33 points and No. 7 Texas A&M rolled to a 91-66 victory over TCU. It was the 18th straight double-figure scoring game for Adams and she had seven rebounds for the Aggies, who picked up their second win since a 61-58 loss to No. 5 Duke on Monday. The Aggies trailed in the first three minutes of the game before taking a big lead and didn't let TCU get closer than nine points in the second half. Helena Sverrisdottir had 23 points for the Horned Frogs (5-5) and Emily Carter added 19. The Aggies scored 25 points off 19 TCU turnovers and outscored the Horned Frogs 36-10 in the paint. Colson had 10 points and tied a career-high with 11 assists, while Sydney Carter added 15 points and Tyra White had 13.
TWO TOUGHEST ROAD TESTS
- In the history of Texas A&M women's basketball, #13 Purdue and #2 Connecticut were the highest-ranked opponents the Aggies have ever faced consecutively on the road.
- The Aggies came away with two tough losses, but had not dropped two consecutive games since February 2010.
PRESSURE DEFENSE
- Texas A&M is known for its pressure defense and has forced six of its first eight opponents into season high turnovers: Lamar (28), Louisville (27), UALR (24), Mississippi State (18), Iowa (25) and Temple (27).
AGGIES IN THE POLLS
- A&M has been ranked in the AP Poll for 69 consecutive weeks and 50 all-time in the top 10
- A&M has been ranked in the Coaches Poll for 105 consecutive weeks and 55 all-time in the top 10.
TWELVE STRAIGHT
- Prior to their loss at Purdue, the Aggies had won 12 straight games (including six from last season) which matched a school-record 12-game streak that occurred on three other occasions - during the 2010-11, 2008-09 and 2007-08 seasons.
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.
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 (.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 194 wins and a .706 winning percentage (194-81). 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.
UCONN RECAP
TEXAS A&M 51, UCONN 81
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone... It marked the eighth start of Bone's Aggie career, the ninth career start for Pratcher, 62nd for Carter, 79th for White and 82nd for Elonu.
- Texas A&M is in its second year being a part of the Jimmy V Classic and falls to 0-2.
- Texas A&M's is now 1-2 on national television this season.
- Texas A&M moves to 0-1 in the all-time series against Connecticut.
- With the loss Texas A&M drops two consecutive games for the first time since February 2010.
- The Aggies held a 25-12 rebounding advantage at the half and a 43-32 final advantage.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- White has now started in 66 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
- White has scored double figures in 15 of her last 16 games.
- White added a team-high seven rebounds. Adaora Elonu also added seven rebounds.
- Adrienne Pratcher contributed 9 points.
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 Will Johnson will call the action live from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum alongside color analyst Steve Miller on WTAW 1620 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.