No. 14 A&M Faces Oklahoma in Big 12 Championship Semifinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 14^th-ranked and third-seeded Texas A&M women's basketball team faces No. 2 seed Oklahoma in the semifinals of the 2012 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Friday, March 9. The Aggies and the Sooners tip off at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at Municipal Auditorium and the game is aired live nationally on FSN.    

#3 Seed TEXAS A&M (21-9) vs. #2 Seed OKLAHOMA (20-11)

Game 31

Friday, March 9, 2012 • 2:30 p.m. (CT)

Municipal Auditorium (9,308)

at Kansas City, Mo.

Television: FSN

Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)

Series History: Oklahoma leads 27-19

Internet: Free Live Statistics and live postgame video at Big12Sports.com. Free Live Audio at AggieAthletics.com.

TEXAS A&M

Record: 21-9 (11-7 Big 12)

Ranking: #22 (AP), #14 (Coaches)

Last Result: W, 78-63 vs. Kansas on March 8, 2012

Up Next: If win, Big 12 Championship Final on March 10, 2012

Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season

Texas A&M Record: 209-88 (.704)

Career Record: 617-251 (.711)

AGGIES IN THE BIG 12 TOURNEY

• A&M is the only league school to earn a first-round bye in each of the last seven postseason tournaments.
• Texas A&M are 14-13 all-time in Big 12 Championship games, and are making up for its previous losses in a short period of time. The Aggies have put together an 11-2 record (.846), the best record and winning percentage in the Big 12 over the last four years in postseason play. The Aggies have won two postseason titles (2008 & 2010) in that time.
• The Aggies have the most Big 12 postseason victories of any team in the league (13-4) over the last six seasons.
• A&M is 4-2 all-time in the semifinals and 2-1 against the No. 2 seed.
• The Aggies are the only league school to make their seventh consecutive appearance in the Big 12 Championship semifinals extending all the way back to the 2006 tournament held at Reunion Arena in Dallas.
• Last season, A&M became the first school in Big 12 history with four straight Big 12 Championship final appearances (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).
• Head Coach Gary Blair boasts the second-best winning percentage (.667, 12-6) in the championship, next to only BU's Kim Mulkey (.704, 19-8).

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Oklahoma leads 27-19 in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Aggies, however, have won six of the last seven meetings between the two Big 12 rivals.
• A&M split with OU in the regular season for the first time since 2010.
• The Aggies are 3-2 when playing OU in the Big 12 Championship and have faced the Sooners in the tournament each of the last three years.
• Blair is 13-13 lifetime versus Oklahoma in his 27 years as a Division I head coach. Eleven of his 13 career victories against the Sooners have come during his time in Aggieland.

LAST SEVEN GAMES IN THE SERIES

W, 78-55 on March 2, 2010 in College Station

W, 74-67 on March 14, 2010 in Kansas City

W, 80-78 on Jan. 26, 2011 in Norman, Okla.

W, 92-71 on Feb. 9, 2011 in College Station

W, 81-68 on March 11, 2011 in Kansas City

W, 75-58 on Jan. 8, 2012 in College Station

L, 55-64 on Feb. 21, 2012 in Norman, Okla.

OKLAHOMA REPLAY

• Despite 12 points by Sydney Carter and 11 by Tyra White, the No. 14/11 Texas A&M fell 64-55 at Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Sooners (18-9, 10-5) snapped A&M's six-game winning streak against OU and tied the Aggies for second place in the Big 12 Conference standings. Adaora Elonu and Adrienne Pratcher added 9 points each for the Aggies (19-7, 10-5). Having won only three games all-time in Norman, A&M was down 30-33 at the half. The Sooners came out of the locker room and used a 13-4 run to extend their lead to 46-34 with 15:51 remaining. The Aggies held Oklahoma without a field goal for the following 8 minutes and went on a 9-1 run to make it a 3-point game, 47-44, with just over 8 minutes to play. The Aggies, however, would get no closer. Texas A&M shot just 28.6 percent (18 of 63) from the floor. Aaron Ellenberg led the Sooners with 23 points and Morgan Hook added 19.

A&M'S LAST FOUR

• The Aggies have gone 2-2 in their last four games and have shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the arc. A&M is led by Karla Gilbert's 80 percent shooting and Standish's 61 percent. Standish has also been lighting it up from 3-point range shooting 69 percent (11-16).
• With the A&M offense running on all cylinders, five players (White, Elonu, Bone, Carter and Standish) have averaged double figures.
• The one thing that has been hurting the Aggies is their free throw shooting as A&M has shot just 56 percent from the line over the last four games.

AGGIE ASSISTS

• Adrienne Pratcher and Sydney Carter are approaching the 100-assist mark for the season. With 91 assists, Pratcher leads the team and is on the verge of her first 100-assist season. Carter is second on the team with 86 and is looking for her third consecutive 100-assist season.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS

White

• White is six field goals away (589) from moving into fourth place on the all-time list.
• Against Missouri on Feb. 14, White moved into seventh place on A&M's career points list and currently has 1,454 career points. She is 52 points away from moving into sixth place.
• Against Missouri on Jan. 18, White became the 24^th A&M player to join the 500-rebound club. She is just four rebounds away (578) from moving into A&M's top 10 list.

Elonu

• Against OU on Feb. 21, Elonu (81 career blocks, including an individual season-best 32 this season) moved into the top 10 in career block shots. She is one block away from moving into the ninth place on the all-time list.
• Against K-State on Feb. 8, Elonu moved into seventh place on the career rebounds list. She is just 11 rebounds away (699) from moving into sixth place on the all-time list.
• Against Oklahoma State on Jan. 24, Elonu became 25^th A&M player to pass over 1,000 career points and currently has 1,145.

Carter

• Against OU on Feb. 21, Carter moved into the top 10 in career steals. She is just three steals away (196) from moving into ninth place on the all-time list.
• Against Kansas on Jan. 21, Carter became the 24^th A&M player to pass over 1,000 career points and currently has 1,130.
• Carter holds the best career free-throw percentage (81.6).

A&M 78, KU 63 POSTGAME NOTES

• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Alexia Standish, Sydney Carter, Adaora Elonu, Kelsey Assarian and Kelsey Bone.
• A&M improves to 12-7 in the all-time series with Kansas. The Aggies have won the last 11 straight meetings between the two schools.
• The Aggies improve to 1-0 all-time against Kansas in the Big 12 Championship, 7-1 all-time in the quarterfinals, 2-3 against the No. 6 seed and 14-13 overall in all Big 12 Championship games.
• A&M reaches the Big 12 championship semifinals for the seventh consecutive year.
• The Aggies are 7-5 on national TV this season.
• The Aggies' eight 3-pointers were a season high. In addition, A&M's five first-half 3-pointers were its most in a half this season.
• A&M shot a season-best 61.5 percent (8-13) from 3-point range, its best since shooting 62.5 percent (5-8) against Texas Tech on Feb. 22, 2011.
• A&M's 61.5 3-point field goal percent tied for 10^th all-time in Big 12 Championship contests, and ranked fourth all-time in second-round games.
• Texas A&M committed eight turnovers, which was a season low.
• The Aggies are 10-2 this season when four or more players score double figures.
• The Aggies are 14-1 when scoring over 70 points this season.
• The Aggies are 17-2 when leading at the half
• Standish's 25 points were the most scored by a freshman since Stark's 25 in 2005.
• Standish's six 3-pointers were the most since Carlette Castile hit six in 2005.
• Standish continues her hot streak from 3-point range going 11-16 (.697) in the last four games.
• Carter's eight assists were a season high and matched her career-best.
• Bone scored in double figures for the 22^nd time this season, Elonu scored for the 20^th, Carter for the 18^th and Standish for the third.