Aggies Thwart Texas
COLLEGE STATION, TX -- The Texas A&M Aggies used balance offense and stifling defense to defeat arch-rival Texas 76 to 65 Saturday afternoon in front of 5840 fans inside Reed Arena.
The Aggies forced the Longhorns (19-7 overall, 7-5 in the Big 12) to turn the ball over 29 times.
"Congratulations to A&M," said Longhorns head coach Gail Goestenkors. "I thought they played a tremendous defensive game. I know they weren't hitting their offensive shots earlier on. They did a good job defensively and caused us to turn the ball over."
The Aggies (20-5 overall, 8-4 in Big 12) started slowly against the Longhorns' zone defense and trailed Texas 17 to 10 before Danielle Gant keyed an Aggies' comeback.
"We were able to hang in there because we were making them miss on the other end," said Aggies head coach Gary Blair. "They were turning over the ball more than us. That's when they could have really stretched the lead. They didn't take advantage of it."
Gant drained two free throws; hit a jump shot; and scored two layups to pull the Aggies within one point (19 to 18) with 3:44 left in the first half. Nearly two minutes later, Gant drained a short jumper to give the Aggies a 26 to 25 lead.
The Aggies led 31 to 27 at the half. Gant scored 10 first half points.
Texas committed 15 turnovers in the first half and shot 8 for 22 (36.4%) from the field. The Aggies turned over the ball nine times and shot 11 for 29 (37.9%).
Texas started the second half with a 9 to 4 run to lead 36 to 35 before Takia Starks made a three-point shot (her first field goal of the game) to put the Aggies ahead 38 to 36.
Fifteen seconds later, Gant and Longhorn freshman Ashleigh Fontenette banged heads while diving for a loose ball. Both players lay on the court a few minutes before being helped to the bench. While Fontenette returned to the game a few minutes later, Gant never returned to the game because she was suffering concussion-like symptoms. Gant scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 26 minutes.
With Gant out of the game, the Aggies picked up the slack. Freshman Adaora Elonu scored 10 points the rest of the game and Sydney Colson scored six of her eight points in the second half to help the Aggies pull away from the Longhorns.
"We thrive on our defense," saidd Colson. "When we get steals and we are finishing on the other end, it's a real confidence booster for us and gives us the momentum to finish out a half or a game."
Starks added "Like always, when we revert to our defensive mindset, we always make things happen. Our defense always gives us a chance to actually execute on offense, because that's what we strive upon. "
Starks scored 18 points; but, she was just 4 for 16 from the field. She made 8 of her 10 free throws.
With the win, the Aggies broke a four-way tie for third place.
Next up for the Aggies is a Big Monday match-up (ESPN2, 6:30 PM CST) with #2 Oklahoma. The Sooners, 24-2 overall, sit atop the Big 12 with a perfect 12 and 0 conference record.
The Aggies forced the Longhorns (19-7 overall, 7-5 in the Big 12) to turn the ball over 29 times.
"Congratulations to A&M," said Longhorns head coach Gail Goestenkors. "I thought they played a tremendous defensive game. I know they weren't hitting their offensive shots earlier on. They did a good job defensively and caused us to turn the ball over."
The Aggies (20-5 overall, 8-4 in Big 12) started slowly against the Longhorns' zone defense and trailed Texas 17 to 10 before Danielle Gant keyed an Aggies' comeback.
"We were able to hang in there because we were making them miss on the other end," said Aggies head coach Gary Blair. "They were turning over the ball more than us. That's when they could have really stretched the lead. They didn't take advantage of it."
Gant drained two free throws; hit a jump shot; and scored two layups to pull the Aggies within one point (19 to 18) with 3:44 left in the first half. Nearly two minutes later, Gant drained a short jumper to give the Aggies a 26 to 25 lead.
The Aggies led 31 to 27 at the half. Gant scored 10 first half points.
Texas committed 15 turnovers in the first half and shot 8 for 22 (36.4%) from the field. The Aggies turned over the ball nine times and shot 11 for 29 (37.9%).
Texas started the second half with a 9 to 4 run to lead 36 to 35 before Takia Starks made a three-point shot (her first field goal of the game) to put the Aggies ahead 38 to 36.
Fifteen seconds later, Gant and Longhorn freshman Ashleigh Fontenette banged heads while diving for a loose ball. Both players lay on the court a few minutes before being helped to the bench. While Fontenette returned to the game a few minutes later, Gant never returned to the game because she was suffering concussion-like symptoms. Gant scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 26 minutes.
With Gant out of the game, the Aggies picked up the slack. Freshman Adaora Elonu scored 10 points the rest of the game and Sydney Colson scored six of her eight points in the second half to help the Aggies pull away from the Longhorns.
"We thrive on our defense," saidd Colson. "When we get steals and we are finishing on the other end, it's a real confidence booster for us and gives us the momentum to finish out a half or a game."
Starks added "Like always, when we revert to our defensive mindset, we always make things happen. Our defense always gives us a chance to actually execute on offense, because that's what we strive upon. "
Starks scored 18 points; but, she was just 4 for 16 from the field. She made 8 of her 10 free throws.
With the win, the Aggies broke a four-way tie for third place.
Next up for the Aggies is a Big Monday match-up (ESPN2, 6:30 PM CST) with #2 Oklahoma. The Sooners, 24-2 overall, sit atop the Big 12 with a perfect 12 and 0 conference record.
posted by Kris G @ 6:26 PM
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