COLLEGE STATION, TX -- The No. 14 Texas A&M women’s basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways on Tuesday, Feb. 14 when the Aggies travel to take on Missouri. Tipoff between A&M and the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.
#14/14 TEXAS A&M (17-6, 8-4 Big 12) at MISSOURI (10-13, 0-12 Big 12)
Game 24
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Columbia, Mo.
Television: None
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM)
Series History: Texas A&M leads 11-7
Internet: Free Live Audio and Live Stats at AggieAthletics.com
TEXAS A&M
Record: 17-6 (8-4 Big 12)
Ranking: #14 (AP), #14 (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 48-71 at #1/1 Baylor on 2/11/12
Up Next: vs. Oklahoma State on 2/18/12
Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season
Texas A&M Record: 205-85 (.707)
Career Record: 613-248 (.712)
MISSOURI
Record: 10-13 (0-12 Big 12)
Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches)
Last Result: L, 60-64 at Oklahoma on 2/11/12
Up Next: vs. Oklahoma State on 1/21/12
Head Coach: Robin Pingeton, Second Season
Missouri Record: 23-31 (.426)
Career Record: 359-187 (.658)
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 the Mizzou Arena alongside color analyst Steve Miller on KZNE 1150 AM. A live audio feed will also be available on RadioAggieland.com.
QUICK HITS
• The Aggies limited Iowa State (33) and Kansas State (36) to their lowest point totals of the season and are the only team in the Big 12 to have held any opponent, let alone two, under 40 points in conference play this year.
• Texas A&M sits in a two-way tie for second place with Oklahoma.
• The Aggies lead the Big 12 by forcing their opponents into an average of 21.3 turnovers per game, with a turnover margin of +5.7, and by averaging 17.3 offensive rebounds per game. The team also averages 10.3 steals, which is second-best in the Big 12.
• The Aggies have the 17th-best turnover margin in the nation at 5.7, while Kelsey Bone holds the 15th best field goal percentage in the country at 54.0.
• Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone is third-best in the conference with her 54.0 field goal percentage. In conference play, senior Adaora Elonu’s (3.4) and Bone’s (3.0) offensive rebounds per game are third- and fifth-best in the league. At 14.4 points per game in league play, senior Tyra White is ranked sixth.
SCOUTING MISSOURI
• The University of Missouri is located in Columbia, Mo., has an enrollment of 33,805 and was founded in 1839.
• The Tigers return two starters and eight letterwinners from their 2010-11 squad that finished the season 13-18 overall and 5-11 (12th) in the Big 12.
• Mizzou last made the NCAA field of 64 in 2006, its ninth all-time appearance.
• Despite starting the year 10-1, the Tigers have since lost 12 straight, all in its Big 12 Conference slate.
• Mizzou is led by Christine Flores with 17.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. BreAnna Brock is also averaging double figures with 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M
No. Name 2011-12 Stats
10 Alexia Standish, G, 5-8, Fr. 4.0 ppg, 2.1 apg
04 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. 11.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. 14.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg
21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. 11.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg
03 Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. 12.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg
MISSOURI
No. Name 2011-12 Stats
03 Bree Fowler, G, 5-9, Fr. 2.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg
15 Kyley Simmons, G, 5-7, Fr. 4.2 ppg, 3.7 apg
22 BreAnna Brock, F, 6-2, Sr. 14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg
30 Morgan Eye, G, 5-9, Fr. 7.1 ppg, 3.1 apg
50 Christine Flores, F, 6-3, Sr. 17.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
2011-12 Category TAMU MU
Overall Record 17-6 10-13
Conference Record 8-4 0-12
Points Per Game 68.9 61.4
Scoring Margin +10.2 -1.9
Rebounds Per Game 40.0 37.6
Rebounding Margin +6.2 -1.5
Field Goal Percentage 42.4 39.9
Field Goal% Defense 40.4 36.3
3-Point FG% 28.3 32.9
Free Throw Percentage 65.5 71.4
Turnovers Per Game 15.7 16.8
Assists Per Game 15.1 12.9
Blocks Per Game 4.8 6.0
Steals Per Game 10.3 5.4
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Texas A&M holds an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series with Missouri.
• The Aggies are currently riding an eight-game winning streak in the series dating back to a 72-52 victory at home on Jan. 21, 2006 in College Station. A&M has outscored Missouri by an average of 19.8 points over that eight-game stretch.
• Last season, Texas A&M defeated Missouri by 45 points, its largest margin of victory in a Big 12 Conference game.
• A&M is 3-5 when playing the Tigers on the road, but has earned its wins in its last three visits to the Mizzou Arena.
• Missouri is one of only two league teams, the other being Kansas, that A&M has a winning record against in the all-time series.
• Head Coach Gary Blair is 12-3 all-time against Missouri in his 27 years as a Division I head coach including an 8-2 record versus the Tigers while at the helm of the Aggies.
LAST EIGHT GAMES IN THE SERIES
W, 78-52 (+26) on Jan. 18, 2011 in College Station
W, 85-40 (+45) on Jan. 15, 2011 in Columbia, Mo.
W, 65-55 (+10) on Feb. 3, 2010 in College Station
W, 62-56 (+6) on Jan. 10, 2009 in Columbia, Mo.
W, 65-39 (+26) on March 12, 2008 in Kansas City
W, 62-43 (+19) on Jan. 29, 2008 in College Station
W, 69-63 (+6) on Feb. 7, 2007 in Columbia, Mo.
W, 72-52 (+20) on Jan. 21, 2006 in College Station
MISSOURI FLASHBACK
• Sydney Carter and Adaora Elonu each scored 16 points and No. 14/13 Texas A&M beat Missouri 78-52 to give Blair his 200th victory at A&M. The Aggies were up by nine points early in the second half before going on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 58-41 with about 10 minutes remaining. Missouri's Morgan Eye hit a 3-pointer before Texas A&M (12-4, 3-2) used a 14-2 spurt, keyed by 3s from Tyra White and Adrienne Pratcher, to push its advantage to 72-46 with about three minutes left. Missouri was led by Christine Flores, who had 13 points. White added 15 points for the Aggies and had six rebounds and five assists. Kelsey Bone helped out with nine rebounds, six points and three steals. BreAnna Brock, who was coming off a career-high 26-point performance in Missouri's loss to Kansas, added 12 points and had nine rebounds. The Aggies took advantage of 25 turnovers by Missouri which they converted into 39 points. Freshman Kyley Simmons committed 10 of Missouri's turnovers. The Tigers got off to a quick start and led 14-7 just more than five minutes into the game. The Aggies answered with a 12-0 run, powered by five points from Carter, to take a 19-14 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Missouri cut the lead to two points several times in the last 10 minutes of the first half, but never regained the lead and A&M was up 40-33 at halftime.
SHOW-ME STATE TALENT
Texas A&M senior Tyra White played at Hickman Mills High School in Kansas City. The Show-Me State talent of White used to play her high school tournament games at the Hearnes Center, the old home to Mizzou Basketball in Columbia, Mo.
SENIOR SCORING AND BALANCE = WINS
• Texas A&M has one of the most balanced-scoring teams in the Big 12 with four players averaging double figures. Three of those players are seniors Carter, Elonu and White. When this trio of leaders scores double digits, A&M has lost just a single game at 9-1.
• What’s more is four Aggies have scored double figures on nine occasions this season and A&M is an undefeated 9-0 in those games.
STANDISH STARTING FRESH
• Alexia Standish is only the fifth true freshman to start at point guard in Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair’s nine seasons in Aggieland and she has the second-most starts of that impressive group.
Name Starts Year
Adrienne Pratcher 1 2009-10
Sydney Carter 1 2008-09
Sydney Colson 2 2007-08
Alexia Standish 11 2011-12
A’Quonesia Franklin 28 2004-05
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
• With 1,384 career points, White is in eighth place on A&M’s career points list. She is just 2 points away from passing All-American Danielle Adams (1,386 career points) and moving into seventh place.
• Carter is five steals away (185) from moving into the top 10 all-time at A&M.
• With two rebounds against K-State, Elonu moved into seventh place on the career rebounds list and currently has 665 boards.
• Carter and Elonu recently became the 24th and 25th players to pass over 1,000 career points– Carter against Kansas on Jan. 21 and Elonu against Oklahoma State on Jan. 24.
• With six rebounds against Missouri on Jan. 18, White became the 24th A&M player to join the 500-rebound club and now has 544 career boards.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
• All but two of A&M’s losses have come by just 9 points or less. Those two losses were against the No.1 (Baylor) and the No. 2 (UConn) teams in the nation.
• All but two of the Aggies’ wins have come by 10 points or more.
• In the two wins decided by less than 10 points, Sydney Carter provided the game-winning heroics versus USC (3-pointer) and Iowa State (pair of free throws).
• In all but one of A&M’s losses (at Kansas State), the team has shot less than 40 percent.
• In all but two of A&M’s wins (McNeese State and at Iowa State), the team has shot 40 percent or better.
• The Aggies have trailed at the half seven times this season, four of which ended in a loss and three of which A&M won.
• In all but one of A&M’s wins (at Kansas), the team has outscored its opponent in the second half.
• In all but one of A&M’s losses (at Oklahoma State), the team has been outscored in the second half.
• Here is a comparison of key statistics in A&M’s wins vs. losses:
Team Stat Wins Losses
Points per game 73.0 57.2
Opp points per game 54.9 69.3
Scoring margin +18.1 -12.2
FG Percentage 45.3 34.1
Opp FG Percentage 37.6 47.4
Free-Throw Percentage 67.3 60.0
Assists 16.1 12.2
Turnovers per game 14.8 18.3
Turnover Margin +7.4 +0.8
Steals per game 11.0 8.3
• Five of the Aggies’ six losses have occurred on the road. Here is a comparison of key statistics in A&M’s home vs. away games:
Team Stat Home Away
Points per game 74.0 62.5
Scoring margin +16.5 +2.5
FG Percentage 45.9 38.5
Opp FG Percentage 38.3 42.6
Assists per game 17.5 12.2
RPI RATING
• In the most recent release of the NCAA RPI on Feb. 6, Texas A&M was ranked seventh. The Aggies have the fourth-best strength of schedule in the nation. Baylor holds the top spot in RPI followed by Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee. Delaware is sixth, while Duke, Kentucky and Rutgers are 8, 9, 10.
AGGIE ATTENDANCE
• Texas A&M finished its 2010-11 regular season averaging a program-best 6,104 fans at each home game, which ranked fourth-best in the Big 12 and 12th-best in the country in attendance. A&M has been in the top 25 in national attendance for the past four seasons.
• After nine home games this season, the Aggies are averaging 6,143 fans per game, fifth-best in the Big 12 and against 13th-best in the country.
AGGIES IN THE POLLS
• A&M has been ranked in the AP Poll for 79 consecutive weeks and 55 all-time in the top 10
• A&M has been ranked in the Coaches Poll for 115 consecutive weeks and 60 all-time in the top 10.
BAYLOR RECAP
BAYLOR 71, TEXAS A&M 48
TEAM NOTES
• For the 11th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Alexia Standish, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone…The Aggies are 8-3 with this starting lineup.
• The Aggies move to 36-48 in the all-time series against Baylor and are now 13-26 when playing the Lady Bears in Waco.
• The Aggies are 5-3 on national TV this season.
• A&M is 0-5 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the country.
• Texas A&M was held to a season-low 48 points.
• Texas A&M held the advantage in turnovers, 18-14.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• White has now started in 81 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
• White has now scored in double figures 28 of her last 31 games.
• Carter scored double figures for the 14th time this season.
• Elonu grabbed a career-best eight offensive rebounds and a season-high 12 total boards.
• Karla Gilbert added five rebounds.
