Aggies Lose to K-State
Wednesday night at Reed Arena, the Kansas State Wildcats defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 67 to 54 before a crowd of 3,196 fans.
The Wildcats' win ended A&M’s school-best 26 consecutive home court winning streak which previously led the nation. It was the first loss at home for the Aggies since falling to ninth-ranked Oklahoma (73-54) on Feb. 18, 2006.
"That’s the same type of offensive Iowa State ran to beat us last year," said Aggies head coach Gary Blair after the game. "We were prepared to play this game as any this year. Give credit to Kansas State. They stayed within their game plan, even though we made those comebacks to get even or ahead. The game was won at the point guard position with (Shalee) Lehning. She didn’t panic and kept her team in the ballgame."
K-State's offense in the first half was a model of extreme efficiency. The Wildcats (9-5, 1-0) shot 15 for 31 (48.4%) in the half. Fourteen of those 15 made shots came from assists. Wildcats junior guard Shalee Lehning handed out eight assists in the opening 20 minutes. K-State took advantage of the Aggies' pressure defense on the wings and scored lay-up after lay-up off backdoor cuts throughout the first half.
"Most of the North teams like to play the pretty ball and that’s what K-State plays," said Aggies senior point A'Quonesia Franklin after the game. "We had so much pressure on the perimeter. The only way their wings were able to score was on backdoor cuts."
With 5:16 left in the first half, the Aggies (12-3, 0-1) trailed 29 to 17 before junior guard Takia Starks sparked a 12 - 0 run with eight consecutive points combined with four points from teammate Morenike Atunrase. Atunrase tied the game at 29 with 2:04 remaining in the half on a driving lay-up.
The Wildcats calmly answered the run with a three-point shot by sophomore Ashley Sweat (assist from Lehning). Next, Lehning dished to Sweat for a lay-up and an "and one". Finally, K-State closed out the first half with a three-point bucket by freshman Shalin Spani (assist from Lehning).
The Wildcats led 38 to 29 at the half.
The Aggies began the second half with pressure defense and forced eight K-State turnovers. Those turnovers helped lead to a 12 to 0 A&M which put the Aggies ahead 41 to 39 with 15:48 left in the ball game.
The game went back and forth over the next few minutes; however, with the game tied at 45, Wildcats' senior Kimberly Dietz converted two free throws which began a 15 to 3 Wildcats' run which lasted six minutes and 34 seconds.
"I was so proud of the answer we brought to the big burst A&M brought to the floor in the second half," said Deb Patterson, Wildcats head coach. "We just continued to go about our business. We didn’t overreact in any fashion."
Dietz finished the game with 20 points and six assists.
Lehning scored only four points (2 for 8 from the field); but, she grabbed 10 rebounds; dished out eight assists; and picked up three steals.
Ashley Sweat added 14 points on 5 for 8 field goal shooting.
Kansas State's defense limited the Aggies to 30.6% (19 for 62) field goal shooting. However, the Wildcats converted 23 of their 45 shots for 51.1% for the ball game.
"I thought defensively, we did a really good job of limiting their ability to get easy touches in the paint for any sustained point in time," said Coach Patterson after the game.
"They were doing a good job on the defensive end," said coach Gary Blair. We ran about everything we had. The game is about execution and hustle. They beat us on all of them and they were quicker than us. The key to the second half was when we fought to get back in the ballgame. They didn’t get rattled and came right back and did what they had to do. They settled down like a good basketball team and ran their stuff."
Next up for the Aggies is a road trip to Waco to face the Baylor Lady Bears on Saturday, January 12. Tip-off is set for 12:30pm.
"I think we've dug ourselves a hole because four of our next five are on the road. We're about to play a lot of Top 25 teams -- even before we get to Oklahoma (Feb. 12); Baylor back at home (March 1); and Texas (Feb. 9 and Feb. 24). You cannot overlook anyone in this league."
The Wildcats' win ended A&M’s school-best 26 consecutive home court winning streak which previously led the nation. It was the first loss at home for the Aggies since falling to ninth-ranked Oklahoma (73-54) on Feb. 18, 2006.
"That’s the same type of offensive Iowa State ran to beat us last year," said Aggies head coach Gary Blair after the game. "We were prepared to play this game as any this year. Give credit to Kansas State. They stayed within their game plan, even though we made those comebacks to get even or ahead. The game was won at the point guard position with (Shalee) Lehning. She didn’t panic and kept her team in the ballgame."
K-State's offense in the first half was a model of extreme efficiency. The Wildcats (9-5, 1-0) shot 15 for 31 (48.4%) in the half. Fourteen of those 15 made shots came from assists. Wildcats junior guard Shalee Lehning handed out eight assists in the opening 20 minutes. K-State took advantage of the Aggies' pressure defense on the wings and scored lay-up after lay-up off backdoor cuts throughout the first half.
"Most of the North teams like to play the pretty ball and that’s what K-State plays," said Aggies senior point A'Quonesia Franklin after the game. "We had so much pressure on the perimeter. The only way their wings were able to score was on backdoor cuts."
With 5:16 left in the first half, the Aggies (12-3, 0-1) trailed 29 to 17 before junior guard Takia Starks sparked a 12 - 0 run with eight consecutive points combined with four points from teammate Morenike Atunrase. Atunrase tied the game at 29 with 2:04 remaining in the half on a driving lay-up.
The Wildcats calmly answered the run with a three-point shot by sophomore Ashley Sweat (assist from Lehning). Next, Lehning dished to Sweat for a lay-up and an "and one". Finally, K-State closed out the first half with a three-point bucket by freshman Shalin Spani (assist from Lehning).
The Wildcats led 38 to 29 at the half.
The Aggies began the second half with pressure defense and forced eight K-State turnovers. Those turnovers helped lead to a 12 to 0 A&M which put the Aggies ahead 41 to 39 with 15:48 left in the ball game.
The game went back and forth over the next few minutes; however, with the game tied at 45, Wildcats' senior Kimberly Dietz converted two free throws which began a 15 to 3 Wildcats' run which lasted six minutes and 34 seconds.
"I was so proud of the answer we brought to the big burst A&M brought to the floor in the second half," said Deb Patterson, Wildcats head coach. "We just continued to go about our business. We didn’t overreact in any fashion."
Dietz finished the game with 20 points and six assists.
Lehning scored only four points (2 for 8 from the field); but, she grabbed 10 rebounds; dished out eight assists; and picked up three steals.
Ashley Sweat added 14 points on 5 for 8 field goal shooting.
Kansas State's defense limited the Aggies to 30.6% (19 for 62) field goal shooting. However, the Wildcats converted 23 of their 45 shots for 51.1% for the ball game.
"I thought defensively, we did a really good job of limiting their ability to get easy touches in the paint for any sustained point in time," said Coach Patterson after the game.
"They were doing a good job on the defensive end," said coach Gary Blair. We ran about everything we had. The game is about execution and hustle. They beat us on all of them and they were quicker than us. The key to the second half was when we fought to get back in the ballgame. They didn’t get rattled and came right back and did what they had to do. They settled down like a good basketball team and ran their stuff."
Next up for the Aggies is a road trip to Waco to face the Baylor Lady Bears on Saturday, January 12. Tip-off is set for 12:30pm.
"I think we've dug ourselves a hole because four of our next five are on the road. We're about to play a lot of Top 25 teams -- even before we get to Oklahoma (Feb. 12); Baylor back at home (March 1); and Texas (Feb. 9 and Feb. 24). You cannot overlook anyone in this league."
posted by Kris Gardner @ 12:42 PM
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