The 15th-ranked Texas A&M women’s basketball team (20-7, 8-6) will host No. 11 Oklahoma (20-8, 10-4) in its regular-season home finale on Tuesday, March 2 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and Sooners is set for 7 p.m. (CT). A&M is currently in a four-way deadlock tie for third place in the latest Big 12 Conference standings along with Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas with an 8-6 league mark. The Aggies are one of six Big 12 squads who have reached 20-or-more overall wins to date showing the strength of the league from top-to-bottom. They have compiled an 11-2 record on their home court this season and have always played well against the Sooners including a four-game winning streak in the home-and-home series at Reed Arena. Three graduating seniors, Damitria Buchanan, Tanisha Smith and Katrina Limbaha, will partake in their final home game of their A&M careers and will be honored prior to the ballgame during Senior Day festivities. OU will be the fourth top 25 opponent the Aggies will have faced in their last five contests (2-1) next to wins over OSU and Texas and a loss to BU. The A&M defense has forced their last four opponents to an average of 21 turnovers per game, while offensively, the Aggies shot a season-high 63.6 percent in a 95-61 rout of Colorado on Feb. 27 in Boulder, Colo. They will finish out regular season play at Kansas on March 6 in Lawrence, Kan., prior to traveling to the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship on March 11-14 in Kansas City.

GAME PROMOTIONS

Texas A&M will host Local Heroes Night against Oklahoma on Tuesday night at Reed Arena. The Aggies will celebrate and salute local heroes in the Bryan-College Station community during the game including firefighters, police officers and EMS personnel. Complimentary tickets are available to local heroes and their families by contacting the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office at: 1-888-99-AGGIE or by ordering online at: https://www.12thmanfoundation.com/tickets.

OKLAHOMA AT A GLANCE

Oklahoma has won five out of its last seven games with quality losses to the two remaining undefeated teams in the country in top-ranked Connecticut (76-60) on Feb. 15 and third-ranked Nebraska (80-64) on Feb. 24. The Sooners are led by the floor leadership of junior point guard Danielle Robinson who is averaging 5.2 assists per game which ranks third in the Big 12 and 30th nationally as of Feb. 28. Like A&M, OU has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation which is currently rated No. 1 ahead of A&M at No. 5. The Sooners will close out regular-season play against their Bedlam rival Oklahoma State on March 7.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

TEXAS A&M

No. Name 2009-10 Stats

4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, So. 7.9 ppg, 3.3 apg

20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, RS-So. 10.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg

22 Tanisha Smith, G/F, 6-0, Sr. 15.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg

21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, So. 8.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg

2 Damitria Buchanan, F, 6-2, Sr. 3.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg

OKLAHOMA

No. Name 2009-10 Stats

13 Danielle Robinson, G, 5-9, Jr. 16.7 ppg, 5.2 apg

1 Nyeshia Stevenson, G, 5-10, Sr. 14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg

45 Jasmine Hartman, G, 5-10, So. 1.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg

21 Amanda Thompson, F, 6-1, Sr. 12.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg

34 Abi Olajuwon, C, 6-3, Sr. 10.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2009-10 Category TAMU OU

Overall Record 20-7 20-8

Conference Record 8-6 10-4

Points Per Game 75.0 72.0

Scoring Margin +15.1 +5.5

Rebounds Per Game 38.8 41.3

Rebounding Margin +2.6 +4.2

Field Goal Percentage 45.9 42.9

Field Goal% Defense 36.9 39.2

Three-Point FG% 35.5 30.0

Free Throw Percentage 67.7 70.9

Turnovers Per Game 15.6 17.0

Assists Per Game 15.9 13.4

Blocks Per Game 5.1 2.9

Steals Per Game 9.8 7.2

SERIES NOTES

Oklahoma holds a 26-13 advantage in the all-time series with Texas A&M. The Aggies, however, have won five out of the last eight meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals including the last four-straight contests played on their home court at Reed Arena. A&M upset then-No. 2 Oklahoma on a last-second and game-winning drive by all-time leading scorer Takia Starks, 57-56, on Feb. 23, 2009 in College Station.

LAST EIGHT GAMES IN SERIES

W, 54-52 on Jan. 27, 2007 in Norman, Okla.

W, 78-68 on Feb. 10, 2007 in College Station

L, 56-68 on Feb. 12, 2008 in Norman, Okla.

W, 73-59 on March 6, 2008 in College Station

L, 71-59 on Jan. 18, 2009 in Norman, Okla.

W, 57-56 on Feb. 23, 2009 in College Station

W, 74-62 on March 14, 2009 in Oklahoma City

L, 65-74 on Jan. 17, 2010 in Norman, Okla.

OKLAHOMA REPLAY

Danielle Robinson scored 24 points, Nyeshia Stevenson added 20 points and No. 13 Oklahoma snapped No. 8 Texas A&M’s seven-game winning streak with a 74-65 victory on Jan. 17 in Norman, Okla. The Sooners stunned A&M at the start of both halves to build a 16-point lead, and then staved off a second-half rally. Robinson hit six free throws in a two-minute stretch after Texas A&M had cut the deficit to three with 6:29 to play, and Oklahoma was able to hang on from there. Tyra White led the Aggies with 18 points and Sydney Colson had 14 points and five steals. Amanda Thompson and Abi Olajuwon had matching double-doubles for Oklahoma, with 14 points and 11 rebounds apiece. For the second straight year, the Sooners denied Texas A&M a chance for its first 3-0 start in Big 12 play.

SENIOR SWAN SONG

The 2010 Senior Class comprised of Damitria Buchanan (Houston, Texas), Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) and Katrina Limbaha (Riga, Latvia) have been a part of three-straight NCAA Tournament squads and a 101-30 (.771) winning record since their arrival in Aggieland. It is the second-best record of any senior class in school history behind a 104-32 (.765) mark compiled by all-time leading scorer Takia Starks, Danielle Gant and La Toya Micheaux from 2006-09.

FROM THE SIDELINES

• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is 7-12 lifetime versus Oklahoma in his 25 years as a Division I head coach. Five of his seven career victories against the Sooners have come during his time in Aggieland.

• The Aggies turned in their fifth-straight 20-win campaign under seventh-year head coach Gary Blair with a 95-61 road victory at Colorado on Feb. 27. It marked Blair’s 19th overall in his 25 years as a Division I head coach at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M combined. He is currently six wins shy (149) of becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history ahead of former head coach Lynn Hickey (154) in career victories.

• Senior Katrina Limbaha has enjoyed the company of her mother, Kristine Limbaha, over the last couple of days leading up to Senior Day festivities versus Oklahoma. Her mother traveled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean from their native Riga, Latvia, to join her daughter for the pregame ceremony. She not only toured the A&M campus for the first time last week, but will watch an Aggie women’s basketball game for the first time on Tuesday night. Limbaha’s maternal grandmother was a professional basketball player and was a member of the Latvia Junior National Team.

• The A&M and OU series has developed into a heated rivalry between two Big 12 powerhouses who have laid claim to a combined six Big 12 trophies since 2006 and three of the last four consecutive postseason tournament titles. The Aggies won the regular-season title in 2007 and postseason tournament title in 2008. In fact, OU and A&M rank No. 1 and No. 2 for the most regular-season Big 12 games won in the last four-year period. The Sooners lead with 49 victories followed by the Aggies and Baylor tied with 43 since the 2006-07 campaign.

COLORADO RECAP

Texas A&M 95, Colorado 61

• For the fourth time this season and fourth consecutive game, Texas A&M used the starting five of Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Tanisha Smith, Adaora Elonu and Damitria Buchanan (3-1).

• A&M claimed its third-ever road win in Boulder in the 18-game all-time series with Colorado. The 34-point margin of victory was the largest of the Aggies’ three road victories in nine all-time trips to Boulder. The two previous wins were won by nine points or less.

• Adaora Elonu scored a career-and team-high 21 points against Colorado, her eighth double-digit game this season and 15th overall of her career.

• Damitria Buchanan recorded a league career-best 14 points versus Colorado. She has now registered back-to-back games with personal bests in Big 12 play. It marked her second contest in double figures this season as well as the second of her career.

• Sydney Colson dished out three assists in the ballgame to register her second consecutive 100+ assist season (100).

• A&M’s 95 points versus Colorado marked the second-most points scored against a Big 12 opponent all-time in the 14-year history of the league behind a league-high 98 points versus rival Texas on March 3, 1998 in Big 12 Tournament play.

• The Aggies turned in their best first-half scoring production this season in Big 12 Conference play with 45 first-half points at Colorado which surpassed 44 first-half points at rival Texas on Jan. 9 in the league opener. A&M also turned in a season-best 64.0 first-half shooting percentage from the floor. For the game, A&M shot a season-high 63.6 percent from the floor (35-55).

AGGIE NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“These seniors have come in and made an impact, even though, we graduated six great players in the last two years – we haven’t missed a beat. A lot of that is due to the character of these kids who wanted to continue to build on the winning tradition at A&M and not be satisfied. Tanisha (Smith) came in as a JUCO All-American player and she accepted the role of being the third option behind Danielle Gant and Takia Starks. This year, she is generally our first option and a main part of what we do on the court. Damitria (Buchanan) has turned into a solid player, especially in this last month. She always guards the other team’s man and we don’t usually double with her. It’s always her against (Brittney) Griner, etc., and she’s just responded very well. Her ability to score in the last couple of games, will make us more multiple dimensional, if we can get hot in the Big 12 and NCAA tourneys. She is starting to understand what her strengths and weakness are and playing to them. Katrina’s (Limbaha) injuries have cut her year short this season. She had been injury free for three and a half years, but will probably have to have shoulder surgery at the end of the year. We are just trying to use her the best way we can. She cannot workout or play right now. Hopefully, if she can get healthier, she will be able to see some playing time during the tournament. This year’s senior class and this year’s team has lived up to everything they were supposed to be. What we have had to do, is get hot in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament, and get the momentum flying high. If that happens, we believe we can play with anyone in this league, so can Missouri and Colorado who are at the bottom of the league. It’s the most balanced league I’ve ever been a part of over the last five years.” – Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair on this year’s graduating senior class

“Oklahoma has changed their lineup since we last saw them. They have been playing with (freshman) Jasmine Hartman into the starting five. She is just playing very solid for them right now. They are going with a seven-player rotation with (Carlee) Roethlisberger and (Joanna) McFarland coming off the bench. Their guards play a lot of minutes. They are in such good shape and like to push the ball. They are one of the best teams in the league at blocking out on the defensive boards. They run a lot of sets and are just very good at execution. People tend to forget that this is the same team that went to the Final Four last year. All of their top six players, besides McFarland, played in the Final Four. They have the experience and the know-how. People shouldn’t rule out Oklahoma. Their experience is outstanding. They will be one of the favorites to win the (Big 12) tournament along with Nebraska, Baylor and hopefully, Texas A&M. You also can’t rule out Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas. Any of those seven have a legitimate shot to win it.” – Coach Blair on Oklahoma and the upcoming Big 12 Championship in Kansas City

“I would like to thank my mom, Beverly Buchanan, for believing in me and helping me push through the hard times of balancing college life and athletics. She was always there to listen to me, help me and motivate me to do whatever I wanted to do in life, regardless if it involved basketball or not. She has supported me in everything I wanted to do since day one.” – Texas A&M Senior Forward Damitria Buchanan on Senior Day

“I would like to thank my mother, Andrea Kelley, my family, the coaching staff, my teammates, the fans and everyone involved with our women’s basketball program at Texas A&M. I also want to give a special thanks to Coach (Louis) Whorton at Arkansas-Fort Smith. He helped me out a lot and did some things for me to get back on track after I transferred from Arkansas. I would not be where I am today without all of their support.” – Texas A&M Senior Forward/Guard Tanisha Smith on Senior Day

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 and former assistant coach Tap Bentz on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.