Texas A&M
19-2/7-1
Texas Tech
16-6/3-5
No. 6 Aggies Top Lady Raiders, 79-65
Feb 05, 2011 | Women's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - When Gary Blair looks at his leading scorer he's reminded of a former NBA player.
Danielle Adams, sixth-ranked Texas A&M's standout who got 22 of her 26 points in the second half in a 79-65 win over the Aggies on Saturday, always gets it done, he said.
"She's really special," said Blair, highlighting her jumper along the baseline over three Lady Raiders. "That's why I've always said this is my Charles Barkley. She plays the same type of game that Barkley played during his career."
Texas Tech pulled to 53-50 midway through the second half, before the Aggies went on a 20-6 run that included 12 points from Adams to put the game out of reach.
The youthful Lady Raiders are gaining valuable insight even as they struggle with their fifth straight loss, Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry said.
"These kids will continue to grow from these experiences and that's what we have to use them as," she said.
Adams hit 12 of 16 shots, many coming on fast breaks once the Aggies started pulling down rebounds. They outrebounded the Lady Raiders 39-28, after Texas Tech had two more than the Aggies at halftime.
Adaora Elonu added 13 points for Texas A&M (19-2, 7-1 Big 12), which was coming off a three-point loss to No. 1 Baylor.
"We needed the win because our most important game of the year is the one after a loss," Blair said. "And we responded very well."
Casey Morris scored a career-high 23 points to lead Texas Tech (16-6, 3-5). The Aggies nearly shut out Kierra Mallard, the Lady Raiders' leading scorer. Mallard had only two points, both coming at 8:43 in the second half.
Blair said his team didn't do anything special to keep Mallard in check.
"Mallard did it to Mallard," he said. "She's supposed to be the veteran, the scorer on that team. It's up to her to step up in the same way it's up to (Adams) to step up. That's what the star players are supposed to be doing in this league."
Curry said stopping the Aggies inside is a tall order.
"They have Danielle Adams and we don't," she said.
The Aggies led 35-30 at halftime. The Lady Raiders got up 18-13 midway through the first half before they went cold and committed turnovers on five straight possessions. Texas A&M used a 7-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Sydney Carter, to go up 29-22 with about 4 minutes remaining before the break.
The Lady Raiders weren't able to capitalize on turnovers as well as A&M did. Texas Tech got four points on 8 turnovers by the Aggies, while A&M got nine off the Lady Raiders' seven. Texas Tech cut into Texas A&M's scoring chances, outrebounding the Aggies on their offensive board, 10-5.
Tech scored four second-chance points off its eight offensive rebounds, while the Aggies got nine points off their five offensive rebounds.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Karla Gilbert and Danielle Adams. Gilbert became the first true freshman to earn a start since Adrienne Pratcher started at Texas Tech on Feb. 10, 2010. The Aggies are 1-0 with this starting lineup.
- Texas A&M improved to 16-54 in the all-time series with Texas Tech. The Aggies have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals, but just their fourth game all-time in Lubbock, Texas.
- The Aggies tallied six first-half blocked shots to match their first-half season high.
- With just 13 of her game-high 26 points, Danielle Adams scored 1,000 career points. She the 22nd A&M player to reach the 1,000 mark and just the third all-time to have accomplished the feat in just two seasons.
- Within the first three minutes of play, freshman Karla Gilbert set a new career high with three blocked shots. She finished the game with a career-best seven blocked shots which was the most of any Aggie this season. Gilbert also played a career-high 27 minutes.
- Danielle Adams extended her double-digit scoring streak to 30 straight games. She shot a season-best 75 percent (12-of-16) from the field and her 22 second-half points was a career best.
- Five-foot-six guard Sydney Carter matched her career high with nine rebounds and also led the team.
- Adaora Elonu reached double figures for the second time in Big 12 play this year and for the ninth time overall this season. She went 6-of-7 from the floor and was 1-of-1 from the free throw line.
- Sydney Colson dished out 10 assists to mark the fourth time this season she's registered double-digit assists.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gary Blair
On the game...
"This was a good game, a great atmosphere and a good crowd. Kristy (Curry)'s team is playing so hard. Not many teams can lose four games and come out with a good game plan and play as hard as they did. (Teena) Wickett, (Monique) Smalls and (Christine) Hyde were outstanding the whole game, but my team is special because we can overcome adversity during the game. In years past we didn't have maturity."
On changes A&M made in the second half...
"We went with a triple-post lineup to start the second half. We also went to a zone defense because we felt like they didn't have enough great 3-point shooters to hurt us. We just tried to get physical and get the ball inside to (Danielle) Adams early. We made a lot of good passes in our triple post and that's when the game changed. They kept cutting it down on `and-one' plays and kept doing a good job. When we left our zone, we also played a whole lot better man defense than we did in the first half."
On knowing Texas Tech was hungry for win...
"We were hungry for a win, just coming off a loss against the No. 1 team in the country. I can't feel sorry for one of my best friends in the conference. I've been coming to this place and losing, but there have been a lot of great games. A lot of that is due to the respect I have for Tech. We needed the win because our most important games of the year are the next games after a loss and we responded well."
On Danielle's performance against Tech...
"She's done it all year and deserves to be a State Farm All-American. She really deserves it. What about that last triple team, fade-away jumper. That was a heck of a shot. That's why I've always said she is my Charles Barkley."
SENIOR FORWARD/CENTER Danielle Adams
On her second-half performance...
"Like coach said we tried to take the ball inside, I took it off the bounce a couple times, but I mainly did it inside. I took a couple shots in the first half that weren't going in and I got in a little foul trouble, so I knew I had to come out aggressive in the second half and just play my game."
On her fade-away jumper being triple-teamed in the second half...
"I didn't even know there were three defenders to be honest. It was a pretty amazing shot, but I work on it every day in practice."
FRESHMAN CENTER Karla Gilbert
On first start and her performance...
"It felt good to get some quality minutes in today. In some way it was motivation to let me know that if I keep doing what I'm supposed to it will pay off."
