KNOXVILLE, Tennessee -- No. 13 Texas A&M (21-7, 11-3) travels to historic Knoxville, Tenn. for the first ever match-up with the No. 8 Lady Vols (22-5, 13-1) in the state of Tennessee. The game will be broadcast on CSS, fans are encouraged to check with their television provider to find the game in their area.
The two programs have faced off two times in the past with Tennessee winning both previous match-ups, the most recent was in the Elite 8 in Oklahoma City on April 1, 2008. Candace Parker led the Lady Vols with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting to the 53-45 victory. The Ags put up a fight leading by as much as five with less than six minutes to play, but Tennessee finished on a 16-3 win to defeat the Aggies.
The Aggies are coming off an upset defeat at Vanderbilt 61-51 behind Tiffany Clarke’s career high 30 points. The maroon and white were led by junior Kelsey Bone’s 17 points and senior Kristi Bellock’s seventh double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Courtney Walker had nine points and seven rebounds, senior Adrienne Pratcher dished out six assists in a career high 40 minutes of action.
Texas A&M currents sits tied with Kentucky (23-4, 11-3) and Georgia (23-4, 11-3) at second place in league standing, just two games back of Thursday’s opponent Tennessee (22-5, 13-1).
The Aggies lead the SEC in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio and assists per game heading into the matchup with Tennessee. Individually, Bone leads the SEC in field goal percentage (seventh nationally) and rebounding and places third in scoring. Pratcher is currently first in the SEC and third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73) according to the latest NCAA stats release on Feb. 24.
Pratcher is just three assists short of 300 for her career and 13 assists short of entering the top-10 in program history, Kerrie Patterson (1995-99) sits in 10th with 310 career assists. Bone was the 24th player in program history to pull down 500 rebounds at Texas A&M and just five short of entering the top-20 (Lisa Branch 1992-96, 522) and 77 short of the top-10 (Tyra White 2007-12, 594). Bone is currently 91 points short of 1,000 at Texas A&M, when she passes the threshold she will be the 26th player in school history to do so.
Fans wishing to listen to the game can do so on the Texas A&M Radio Network with Mike Wright (play-by-play) and Steve Miller (commentary) on the call. The game will be broadcast in the Bryan/College Station area on KZNE 1150 AM.
Aggie Women’s Basketball Game #29
Texas A&M (21-7; 11-3 SEC) vs. Tennessee (22-5, 13-1 SEC)
February 28, 2013 · 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: CSS, Comcast Sportsnet (Houston, Mid-Atlantic & California)
Bernie Guenther, Play-by-Play
Maria Taylor, Commentary
RADIO: Texas A&M Radio Network
Mike Wright, Play-by-Play
Steve Miller, Commentary
Local: KZNE-AM 1150 (College Station/Bryan)
LIVE AUDIO/STATS: AggieAthletics.com
