The No. 5 Texas A&M women’s basketball team (24-4, 12-3) hosts Nebraska (13-16, 3-12) in its regular season finale on Saturday, March 5 at Reed Arena. Tipoff between the Aggies and the Cornhuskers is set for 7 p.m. (CT). A&M looks to bounce back from tough road loss at Kansas State prior to heading to the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship in Kansas City. The Aggies are currently in second place in the latest Big 12 Conference standings, while NU is tied with Oklahoma State for last place in the league and is coming off of a three-point loss to Colorado on Wednesday. The Aggies have compiled a 12-1 record on their home court this season and are 67-6 (.918) at Reed Arena over the last five years. Four graduating seniors, Danielle Adams, Maryann Baker, Sydney Colson and Catherine Snow, will partake in the final home game of their A&M careers Saturday and will be honored prior to the game during Senior Day festivities.
#5/5 TEXAS A&M (24-4, 12-3) vs. NEBRASKA (13-16, 3-12)
Game #29
March 5, 2011 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Reed Arena (12,989)
College Station, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Nebraska leads 14-8
Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at www.AggieAthletics.com
GAME PROMOTION AND TICKET INFORMATION
12th Man Day – All Texas A&M students will be admitted free to the game against Nebraska on Saturday. In addition, all Aggie fans with a ticket stub from the men’s basketball game against Texas Tech earlier in the day will receive free general admission.
Honor Roll Night – A&M will offer Bryan-College Station honor roll students a complimentary ticket to the Nebraska game. This ticket is valid for one free youth admission when accompanied by a paying adult. Parents and family members may purchase tickets for a special discounted rate of $3. These tickets will be available on game day at the Reed Arena ticket office. You will need to present your Honor Roll ticket to receive the discount.
FCA Night – Fans can also get tickets to Saturday’s game for just $3 general admission and $5 reserved seating through FCA Night. Tonya Crevier, the world’s best female basketball handler, will perform at halftime and an FCA Rally will follow the game.
To purchase tickets: Go online at: www.12thManFoundation.com, in person at the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office and Reed Arena Box Office or call 1-888-99-AGGIE.
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SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska has lost eight of its last nine games and plays its final regular season game here in Aggielend. The Huskers started the year strong at 8-1, but the rigors of the Big 12 Conference have taken its toll on the team, winning just three of its last 12 contests. Four-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week Jordan Hooper leads Nebraska with 14.6 points per game and adds a team second-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Lindsey Moore (14.2 ppg) and Dominique Kelly (13.0 ppg) are the other two NU players that average double figures. However, Kelly has struggled with knee and foot injuries this season, limiting her playing time immensely. Catheryn Redmon has a team-high 7.3 rebounds, while Moore is dishing out 5.7 assists per game. Head coach Connie Yori holds a 166-115 record in her ninth season at Nebraska.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name 2010-11 Stats
51 Sydney Colson, G, 5-8, Sr. 7.6 ppg, 6.0 apg
4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Jr. 10.0 ppg, 3.1 apg
20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Jr. 14.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg
21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Jr. 8.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg
23 Danielle Adams, F/C, 6-1, Sr. 23.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg
NEBRASKA
No. Name 2010-11 Stats
5 Kaitlyn Burke, G, 5-7, Jr. 6.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg
00 Lindsey Moore, G, 5-9, So. 14.2 ppg, 5.7 apg
35 Jordan Hooper, F, 6-2, Fr. 14.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg
44 Catherine Redmon, C, 6-3, Sr. 9.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg
13 Jessica Periago, C, 6-4, Sr. 2.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
2010-11 Category TAMU NU
Overall Record 24-4 13-16
Conference Record 12-3 3-12
Points Per Game 79.1 64.6
Scoring Margin +20.7 +0.7
Rebounds Per Game 39.5 38.8
Rebounding Margin +6.9 +0.6
Field Goal Percentage 45.4 39.3
Field Goal% Defense 38.7 40.2
Three-Point FG% 34.0 33.6
Free Throw Percentage 73.1 71.4
Turnovers Per Game 14.3 15.8
Assists Per Game 16.6 13.2
Blocks Per Game 4.2 3.7
Steals Per Game 10.9 5.5
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska leads 14-8 in the all-time series with Texas A&M. However, the Aggies have won five out of the last seven meetings between the two schools. They are 6-5 all-time when playing the Huskers at home and last spoiled then-No. 3 Nebraska’s perfect season after defeating the team 80-70 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship. A&M has won the last two meetings at Reed Arena, but the teams are even (5-5) all-time in College Station.
LAST SEVEN GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 80-70 (+10) on March 13, 2010 in Kansas City, Mo.
L, 60-71 (-11) on Feb. 6, 2010 in Lincoln, Neb.
W, 86-43 (+43) on Feb. 8, 2009 in College Station
L, 60-73 (-13) on Jan. 23, 2008 in Lincoln, Neb.
W, 66-65 (+1) on Jan. 24, 2007 in College Station
W, 73-64 (+9) on March 8, 2006 in Dallas, Texas
W, 69-50 (+19) on Feb. 11, 2006 in Lincoln, Neb.
NEBRASKA REPLAY
Danielle Adams had 22 points while No. 11 Texas A&M forced Kelsey Griffin to the bench with early foul trouble and spoiled No. 3 Nebraska's unbeaten season with an 80-70 victory Saturday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship at Municipal Auditorium. Nebraska was bidding to become just the 12th team to make it to the NCAA tournament unbeaten. Griffin, the Big 12 player of the year and catalyst behind the only undefeated regular season in conference history, had three fouls at halftime and got saddled with her fourth early in the second half. With the 6-foot-2 senior sitting long-faced on the bench for several minutes at a stretch, the Huskers (30-1) could not stop their school-record winning streak from coming to an end. Griffin finished with 15 points in 26 minutes, five below her average. With Adams scoring all but two of her points in the second half, the Aggies (24-7) constructed an insurmountable lead that reached 65-47 when Adaora Elonu stole a Husker pass and Adams converted it into a layup. Texas A&M, which lost to Nebraska 71-60 on Feb. 6, advanced to the tournament championship game for the third year in a row and will meet the winner of the semifinal between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the title game on Sunday. Elonu had 18 points and Tyra White had 13 for the Aggies. Dominique Kelley led Nebraska with 18 points while Yvonne Turner had 14.
UP NEXT
A&M has secured a No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will play next on Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m against the winner of the No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed matchup. Should the Aggies win, they will then play on Friday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. The finals are set for Saturday, March 12 at 11 a.m. Each game is televised nationally on FSN.
BEST SENIOR CLASS
The 2011 senior class comprised of Danielle Adams (Kansas City, Mo.), Maryann Baker (Dallas, Texas), Sydney Colson (Houston, Texas) and Catherine Snow (Temple, Texas ) have been a part of three-straight NCAA Tournament squads, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2008 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2009. They also compiled a 106-28 (.791) winning record since their arrival in Aggieland which is the best record of any senior class in school history. These Aggie seniors have also taken part in three Big 12 Conference Championship titles. During their four-year careers, A&M earned a program-best No. 3 national ranking and four consecutive 20-win campaigns under head coach Gary Blair.
A SIZZLING SEASON
Despite dropping its last game, Texas A&M has never had a team with as good as a record as the Aggies hold going into their final regular season game. The next best record was in 2006-07 when A&M held a 23-5 record after its regular season finale. In Big 12 Conference play, the Aggies match their best record to date with a 12-3 mark and one game remaining. Should A&M win against Nebraska it will match its best conference record at 13-3 in 2006-07.
20 AND 10, YET AGAIN
With a win over No. 12 Oklahoma on Feb. 9, Texas A&M recorded its sixth consecutive 20-win season under head coach Gary Blair and 11th overall in 37 all-time seasons of Aggie Basketball. It was the fastest any A&M team has reached 20 wins in a season and was also Blair’s 20th 20-win season as a Division I head coach. What’s more is against Oklahoma State on Feb. 19, the Aggies earned their sixth consecutive 10-win campaign in league play under Blair. It was the fastest any A&M team has reached 10 Big 12 wins in a season.
THE BEST OF BLAIR
In 26 years as a Division I head coach, A&M’s 24-4 record is the best of any team Gary Blair has coached since 1992. In two seasons at Stephen F. Austin (1989-90 and 1991-92), Blair led his teams impressive 28-3 overall records each year.
FROM THE SIDELINES
• Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is one of only four active Division I coaches (five all-time) to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament next to C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers, Joanne P. McCallie of Duke and Jim Foster of Ohio State. Blair previously coached at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) and Arkansas (1993-03). Blair and Stringer are the only two coaches to guide three different teams to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• Blair is 6-3 lifetime versus Nebraska, including 5-2 here at A&M. Blair and Nebraska head coach Connie Yori were both hired by Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne. Byrne was previously the AD at Nebraska from 1992-02 and hired Yori away from her alma mater Creighton in 2002, while Byrne hired Blair away from Arkansas in 2003 in his first season in Aggieland.
• Coach Blair and Coach Yori are one of only three Big 12 head coaches with 20+ years of service to the women’s game. Blair is in his 26th overall season with career stops at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M, while Yori is in her 21st overall season at Creighton and Nebraska combined. They are joined by Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly who is in his 23rd overall season.
KANSAS STATE RECAP
Kansas State 71, Texas A&M 67
For the 19th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. The Aggies are 15-4 with this starting lineup.
• Texas A&M falls to 7-12 in the all-time series with Kansas State. The Wildcats have won all but two games in Manhattan and got their first win in the last four matchups between the two teams.
• The Aggies outrebounded the Wildcats 40-26, including 21 offensive rebounds, and outscored K-State 34-22 in the paint.
• Sydney Colson matched her first-half career high with 12 points. She reached double figures for the seventh time this season.
• Danielle Adams has now reached double figures in 36 of the last 37 games.
• Sydney Carter registered double figures for the 14th time this season, including the last two straight games.
• Adaora Elonu (6) and Karla Gilbert (6) combined for 12 rebounds on Wednesday.
• In just nine minutes of action, Kelsey Assarian grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
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 AggieAthletics.com and RadioAggieland.com.
