The eighth-ranked Texas A&M women’s basketball team (15-3, 3-2) will face off against No. 15 Oklahoma State (17-3, 5-1) in its second-straight top 25 tilt in Big 12 Conference action on Sunday, Jan. 31 at Reed Arena. The Aggies and Cowgirls will tip things off at noon (CT) on Fox Sports Net. A&M has lost two of its last three league games on the road at No. 13 Oklahoma (74-65) on Jan. 17 and recently at No. 14 Baylor (61-53) on Jan. 27. The Aggies are currently in fifth place in the latest Big 12 standings and look to rebound from their recent setback in Waco in which they were held to their lowest offensive performance of the season. However, A&M still ranks among the top 10 teams in the country in scoring offense (8th, 79.4), field-goal percentage (6th, 47.3), scoring margin (10th, 19.3), three-point field goal percentage (6th, 39.9) and assists per game (9th, 17.5). They will have met each of their Big 12 South counterparts in the month of January all of which were ranked in the top 15 or higher, except for one, a 69-54 home victory over Texas Tech on Jan. 23 – the Aggies’ only unranked opponent in league play thus far. The conference race will heat up this week as A&M begins an important three-game in seven days stretch beginning with the Cowgirls and followed up by a home date with Missouri on Feb. 3 and then undefeated and fourth-ranked Nebraska on the road on Feb. 6. The Aggies will enjoy a two-game homestand in the comforts of Reed Arena where they are a perfect 8-0 this season, boast a 14-game home-court winning streak and have won their last eight consecutive Big 12 contests dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.

ON THE TUBE

Texas A&M will appear on national television for the fifth time this season. Play-by-play announcer Brent Stover and color analyst Brenda VanLengen will call the action live on Fox Sports Net with the game being carried nationally on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Houston, Fox Sports Midwest, FSN Northwest, FSN Rocky Mountain, Fox Sports Southwest, Prime Ticket, Comcast Bay Area (Plus), Comcast Chicago, Comcast Philadelphia, MSG Plus, SportSouth and Sun Sports.

A LOOK AT THE COWGIRLS

Oklahoma State carries a two-game winning streak into Sunday’s ballgame with back-to-back victories over Colorado (74-63) on Jan. 24 and Missouri (75-60) on Jan. 26. The Cowgirls have played the majority of their first six league games of the season against the Big 12 North with their one loss on the road at rival Texas (77-63) on Jan. 20. They opened up league play with a 78-65 win over Baylor, A&M’s last opponent. OSU currently ranks fourth nationally in turnovers per game (13.2). The Cowgirls are led by their senior All-American point guard Andrea Riley, a Dallas native, who ranks second in the nation and tops in the league in scoring (26.1 ppg) and third in assists per game (7.6). She is the only player in Big 12 history to record 2,000 points and 600 assists in a career.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

TEXAS A&M

No. Name 2009-10 Stats

51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Jr. 7.8 ppg, 4.8 apg

20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. 11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg

22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. 16.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg

21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. 8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg

23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Jr. 15.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg

OKLAHOMA STATE

No. Name 2009-10 Stats

10 Andrea Riley, G, 5-5, Sr. 26.1 ppg, 7.6 apg

00 Lakyn Garrison, G, 5-5, Jr. 7.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg

24 Precious Robinson, F, 6-0, Jr. 8.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg

1 Tegan Cunningham, F, 6-1, Sr. = 17.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg

33 Megan Byford, C, 6-2, Sr. 3.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2009-10 Category TAMU OSU

Overall Record 15-3 17-3

Conference Record 3-2 5-1

Points Per Game 79.4 76.2

Scoring Margin +19.3 +13.1

Rebounds Per Game 39.4 42.2

Rebounding Margin +3.4 +3.3

Field Goal Percentage 47.3 42.8

Field Goal% Defense 36.0 36.4

Three-Point FG% 39.9 33.2

Free Throw Percentage 68.1 71.1

Turnovers Per Game 16.0 13.2

Assists Per Game 17.5 13.6

Blocks Per Game 5.6 3.7

Steals Per Game 10.3 7.6

SERIES NOTES

Oklahoma State leads 20-17 in the all-time series with Texas A&M, but the Aggies have won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Cowgirls. Last season, A&M swept OSU in the home-and-home series for the fifth time since the league’s inception in 1996-97. The Aggies are 7-9 all-time when playing the Cowgirls at home in Aggieland.

LAST 12 GAMES IN THE SERIES

W, 79-49 on March 5, 2009 in College Station

W, 60-50 on Jan. 24, 2009 in Stillwater, Okla.

W, 64-59 on March 15, 2008 in Kansas City

W, 63-57 on Feb. 27, 2008 in Stillwater, Okla.

L, 58-61 on Jan. 19, 2008 in College Station

W, 62-60 on Feb. 17, 2007 in Stillwater, Okla.

W, 64-63 on Jan. 30, 2007 in College Station

W, 65-47 on March 1, 2006 in Stillwater, Okla.

W, 74-52 on Jan. 4, 2006 in College Station

W, 75-61 on Feb. 23, 2005 in College Station

W, 49-44 on Jan. 12, 2005 in Stillwater, Okla.

W, 65-52 on Feb. 4, 2004 in College Station

OSU REWIND

Four players scored in double figures to lead No. 8 Texas A&M to its fifth-straight win in Big 12 Conference play in a 79-49 rout of Oklahoma State on March 5, 2009, before a crowd of 7,075 which included a school-record 2,091 students at Reed Arena. Takia Starks scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first half of play in which the Aggies jumped out to a 27-9 run behind back-to-back three-pointers by Sydney Colson and a pair by Starks. A&M would go on to bury a season-high nine against the Cowgirls for the ballgame. A&M took a 39-27 lead into the locker room and never relinquished its double-digit advantage in the second half. The Aggie defense held OSU to a season-low 49 points and its top player Andrea Riley to 15. Tanisha Smith found her scoring touch in the second half with 13 of her game-high tying 18 points. Danielle Gant added 11 points in her final game at Reed Arena, while Colson ended the night with 14.

BATTLE OF THE GUARDS

Three of the league’s top point guards will lead their team to battle on Sunday. A&M is represented by the “Two Syds” in starting junior point guard Sydney Colson and back-up sophomore point guard Sydney Carter, while OSU is led by senior floor general Andrea Riley. Both Aggies currently rank No. 2 (Carter – 2.11) and No. 4 (Colson – 1.95) in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio. In fact, three A&M players this year have the potential to turn in 100-or-more assists with Colson just 14 shy of recording her second consecutive 100+ assist season (86) in addition to Carter (59) and Tanisha Smith (68). Meanwhile, Riley leads the league in assists (7.6) followed by Colson in fifth (4.8) and Smith in ninth (3.8).

FROM THE SIDELINES

• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 18-6 lifetime versus Oklahoma State in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. He is 10-3 against the Cowgirls since his arrival in Aggieland in 2003-04. Blair and Oklahoma State head coach Kurt Budke are both disciples of Hall of Fame Louisiana Tech head coach and current Baylor assistant coach Leon Barmore. Blair served as a La. Tech assistant coach from 1980-85, while Budke was an associate head coach from 2000-02 and took over the storied Lady Techster program from 2002-05 after Barmore’s retirement.

• A&M and Oklahoma State are one of only four Big 12 schools who remain undefeated at home. The Aggies and Oklahoma are both 8-0 on their home court this season, while OSU is 12-0 and Nebraska is 10-0. A&M, Nebraska, OSU and Iowa State are four of only 23 teams nationally with three-or-fewer losses on the season. A&M and OSU both finished in the top six in the final conference standings in 2007 and 2008 and met in the Big 12 Championship title game in Kansas City in 2008.

• The Aggies and Cowgirls rank No. 1 and No. 3 respectively in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio and turnover margin. A&M boasts a 1.09 assist-to-turnover ratio which is tops in the league followed by OSU at (1.03). The Aggie defense has caused opponents to turn over the ball an average of 22.2 times per game for a +6.2 turnover margin, while the Cowgirls are averaging the fewest turnovers in the league at 13.2 a game (+3.6).

BAYLOR RECAP

Baylor 61, Texas A&M 53

• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Tyra White, Tanisha Smith, Adaora Elonu, Danielle Adams (0-1). Adams made her fifth career start and second in Big 12 Conference play.

• Tyra White scored a career-and team-high 19 points which marked her 11th game this season in double figures. She has now reached double digits in the last three-straight contests versus Big 12 competition including Texas Tech (11) and Oklahoma (18). It was the fourth time this year in which she led the team in scoring. White also reset a career best in field goals made (8) and tied a career-best with two steals against the Lady Bears.

• The Aggies trailed their opponent at halftime for only the second time this season. Both have been against league and nationally-ranked foes including a 74-65 loss at No. 13 Oklahoma on Jan. 17 in Norman, Okla.

• A&M’s 18 first-half points were its fewest since trailing 28-18 at halftime against rival Texas on Jan. 21, 2007 in Austin, Texas.

• Tanisha Smith grabbed a career-high tying 10 of the team’s 41 rebounds in the ballgame. A&M outboarded Baylor, 41-35. The Lady Bears came into the contest with a +12.7 rebounding margin over their opponents.

• The Aggies shot a season-low 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the floor and season-low 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from beyond the arc versus the Lady Bears. A&M also scored a season-low 53 points for the game one point less than a 56-54 road loss at TCU on Dec. 12.

AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“We are playing two great teams, two great coaches and two potential All-Americans in (Brittney) Griner of Baylor and (Andrea) Riley of Oklahoma State this week. Fans identify with stars. It’s good for the league and the media attention. When we took over at A&M, the two worst teams in the league were Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Both of us are now consistently in the top 25. They’re doing it with their all-time best player who will set the (Big 12 scoring) record held by Courtney Paris of Oklahoma for most points scored in a career. It’s great for the league to have programs that are not the Texas’ and Texas Tech’s, programs that have already won national championships. We’re trying to get Oklahoma State, A&M and Nebraska, teams that have not been to the Final Four, to the forefront. It will continue to help our RPI and help our stature as a league, more than seeing the teams that have been there already. This season, Riley is playing smarter and playing more under control. She knows her role on the team is to score, set people up and not be afraid of a miss. Riley is doing it all on the offensive end. She stays out of foul trouble and plays 39 minutes a ballgame. She is everything for that team.” – Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair on playing Oklahoma State and Andrea Riley

“It’s a 16-game season. What all of us are trying to do is make sure Nebraska doesn’t run away and hide, before somebody really has a chance to go at them like ourselves when we go there this weekend. Right now, Nebraska is playing with so much confidence. Look at Iowa State, you thought they were finished after they left here, but they have rolled off two-or-three straight wins. Look at Oklahoma, they were struggling early on, but keep on finding ways to win. Missouri almost beat Oklahoma and Baylor in one week – and should have beaten Oklahoma. It’s a long season, but people have to position themselves for the Big 12 Tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament. The carrot at the end is what we all want – we want championships.” – Coach Blair on the Big 12 Conference race

“Sydney Colson and Sydney Carter are our quickest guards on our team and will get some stops. Of course, (Andrea) Riley will get her points. She is a great player, but we have great defenders in Colson and Carter. We are just focusing on our next team (Oklahoma State) and not our past losses. We looked at film this week, worked on our weaknesses and corrected our mistakes to do better in this next game. We will give it all that we have.” – Texas A&M Senior Forward Damitria Buchanan on guarding Oklahoma State’s Andrea Riley and rebounding from two tough road losses at Oklahoma and Baylor

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 Reed Arena alongside color analyst Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.