No. 5 Aggies Travel to Bahamas for Junkanoo Jam
COLLEGE
STATION, TEXAS – The fifth-ranked Texas A&M women’s basketball team
hits the road for the second time this season, traveling to the
Junkanoo Jam Nov. 25-26 in Freeport on the Grand Bahama Island. The
Aggies tip off the tournament against Temple at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov.
25 and will face either Iowa or St. John’s on Saturday, Nov. 26.
A&M treks to the Bahamas for the second time in the Gary Blair Era
and will enjoy six days in the popular tourist destination. #5/6 TEXAS A&M (4-0) vs. TEMPLE (2-2) Game #5 Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 • 2:15 p.m. (CT) Freeport, Bahamas Television: None Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM) Series History: First Meeting Internet: Live Video link and Free Live Audio at AggieAthletics.com TEXAS A&M Record: 4-0 (0-0 Big 12) Ranking: #5 (AP), #6 (Coaches) Last Result: W, 93-47 vs. Mississippi State on 11/20/11 Up Next: vs. Iowa/St. John’s on 11/26/11 Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season Texas A&M Record: 192-79 (.708) Career Record: 600-242 (.713) TEMPLE Record: 2-2 (0-0 Atlantic 10) Ranking: NR (AP), NR (Coaches) Last Result: L, 52-58 at Northern Illinois on 11/20/11 Up Next: vs. Iowa/St. John’s on 11/26/11 Head Coach: Tonya Cardoza, Fourth season Temple Record: 72-30 (.706) Career Record: 72-30 (.706) FOLLOW @Aggie_W_Hoops ON TWITTER Not
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receive live in-game updates at each and every contest. QUICK HITS •
Four Aggies are averaging double figures this season with Big 12
Preseason Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (15.5 ppg) leading the way.
She is followed by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Tyra White (14.5
ppg), senior guard Sydney Carter (12.0 ppg), and senior forward Adaora
Elonu (10.5 ppg). • A&M started the season full force, playing
four games in nine days and will taper off with just two games over the
next 13 days. • The Aggies played their last home game for nearly a
month on Sunday before taking to a five-game road stand. The team does
not have another home game at Reed Arena until Sunday, Dec. 18. •
Bone is leading the team in scoring and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Elonu is
second with 6.3 rpg and sophomore Karla Gilbert averages 6.0 rpg. • The Aggies have outscored their opponents by an average of 29.5 points in their first four games. • The Aggies have forced their opponents into an average of 24.3 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of +9.5. A&M IN THE BAHAMAS •
Texas A&M last travelled to the Bahamas in 2003 and went 1-1 in the
Junkanoo Jam that year. The Aggies lost, 72-88, to Minnesota before
defeating Seton Hall, 54-52. In the Gary Blair Era, the Aggies have
traveled to exotic and international locales including Cancun, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Europe. AGGIES CLIMB THE POLLS •
The undefeated Aggies climbed to a No. 5 national ranking and achieved
their highest ranking in the AP Poll since the team was ranked fifth
for three straight weeks in February 2011. A&M has now been ranked
in the AP Poll for 67 consecutive weeks and 48 all-time in the top 10. BLAIR GETS 600TH WIN •
With a victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 20, 2011, A&M head
coach Gary Blair earned his 600th career win as a Division I head
coach. The victories include 192 at A&M (2003-present), 198 at
Arkansas (1993-03) and 210 at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) for 600 total
wins. • Blair became the 25th-fastest all-time coach (in all
divisions) to reach 600 victories, the 22nd all-time Division I coach
and the 36th all-time coach (in all divisions) to reach 600 victories.
He is one of just 13 active Division I coach with 600 victories. SCOUTING TEMPLE • Temple University is located in Philadelphia, Pa., has an enrollment of 37,000 and was founded in 1884. •
The Owls return three starters and eight letterwinners from its 2010-11
squad that finished 24-9 overall and 13-1 in the Atlantic 10 to finish
second in the league. • Temple made its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance last year, losing in the second round, 64-77, to Notre Dame. •
The Owls opened the season at home, but will finish out the month of
November on the road, playing six of its first seven games away from
the comfortable confines of their home court. PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS TEXAS A&M No. Name
2011-12 Stats 32 Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. 7.5 ppg, 5.5 apg 04 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. 12.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg 20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. 14.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg 21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. 10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg 23 Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. 15.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg TEMPLE No. Name
2011-12 Stats 01 Brittany Lewis, F, 6-2, Jr. 13.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg 03 BJ Williams, G, 5-7, Sr. 7.8 ppg, 5.3 apg 05 Kristen McCarthy, G, 6-0, Jr. 13.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg 11 Shey Peddy, G, 5-7, Sr. 14.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg 14 Joelle Connelly, C, 6-3, Sr. 6.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg IOWA No. Name
2011-12 Stats 02 Kamille Wahlin, G, 5-8, Sr. 10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg 24 Jaime Printy, G, 5-11, Jr. 20.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg 22 Samantha Logic, G, 5-8, Fr. 7.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg 20 Kelly Krei, F, 6-2, Sr. 11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg 12 Morgan Johnson, C, 6-5, Jr. 13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg ST. JOHN’S No. Name
2011-12 Stats 05 Nadirah McKenith, G, 5-7, Jr. 16.7 ppg, 5.3 apg 22 Eugeneia McPherson, G, 5-8, Jr. 14.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg 35 Shenneika Smith, G, 6-1, Jr. 13.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg 24 Mary Nwachukwu, F, 6-2, R-So. 4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg 02 Amber Thompson, F, 6-2, Fr. 4.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg STATISTICAL COMPARISON 2011-12 Category TAMU TU IOWA STJ Overall Record 4-0 2-2 3-1 1-2 Conference Record 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Points Per Game 83.8 65.0 77.2 68.7 Scoring Margin +29.5 +9.5 +6.3 +1.3 Rebounds Per Game 46.2 37.0 38.5 36.0 Rebounding Margin +12.8 +1.8 -0.5 +0.0 Field Goal Percentage 46.7 38.6 44.7 46.3 Field Goal% Defense 34.0 39.0 39.9 39.5 3-Point FG% 21.1 28.4 37.7 22.6 Free Throw Percentage 66.3 63.5 84.3 70.0 Turnovers Per Game 14.8 13.3 16.3 15.3 Assists Per Game 17.0 13.5 17.5 12.0 Blocks Per Game 4.8 3.3 4.8 6.0 Steals Per Game 12.3 9.3 6.0 10.0 INSIDE THE SERIES • Friday marks the first meeting between Texas A&M and Temple. •
Saturday would mark the first meeting between Texas A&M and Iowa.
It would also be the first meeting between the Aggies and St. John’s. SCOUTING IOWA • The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa, has an enrollment of 30,893 and was founded in 1847. •
The Hawkeyes return four starters from a team that finished the 2010-11
season 22-9 overall and made its fourth straight trip to the NCAA
Tournament. Iowa lost to Gonzaga, 92-86, in the NCAA First Round. •
Lisa Bluder is in her 12th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes and holds
a 214-133 (.617) record at Iowa and a 570-275 (.675) career record. •
Iowa is led by Jaime Printy with 20.8 points and 5.8r rebounds per
game. Printy has hit 25 of 26 free throws for a 96.2 percentage from
the charity stripe. SCOUTING ST. JOHN’S • St. John’s is located in Queens, N.Y., has an enrollment of 21,354 and was founded in 1870. •
The Red Storm return three starters and eight letterwinners from a
2010-11 squad that finished 22-11 overall and tied for fifth in the BIG
EAST with a 9-7 record. • St. John’s made its sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance last season and lost to Stanford, 75-49, in the second round. •
Kim Barnes Arico is in her 10th season at the helm of the Red Storm and
holds a 153-126 (.54 8) record at St. Johns and a 247-198 (.555) career
record. 2011 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS • In April, Texas
A&M won its first NCAA National Championship in program history in
its first-ever trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four and eighth all-time
NCAA Tournament appearance. • Texas A&M ended the season with a
33-5 record, the most victories in program history. It was the first
30-win season in 37 all-time season of Aggie Basketball. • Texas
A&M made a school-record sixth straight appearance in the NCAA
Tournament. Prior to the streak, the Aggies had never played in
consecutive NCAA Tournaments and had not been a part of March Madness
since 1996. • A&M received a program-best No. 1 national ranking
in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll, improving on its
previous school-best of No. 3 in the Coaches Poll in 2008. WHAT’S BACK •
The Aggies return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year’s
national championship squad, including Preseason All-Big 12 honorable
mention Sydney Carter (DeSoto, Texas), senior Adaora Elonu (Houston,
Texas), and Preseason All-Big 12 Tyra White (Kansas City, Mo.). AGGIES PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 •
A&M was selected to finish second in the Big 12 Conference
Preseason Poll. The Aggies received one first-place vote and 73 points,
listed only behind preseason favorite Baylor (81). • A&M was
picked second for the second consecutive year, which is its highest
spot in the preseason poll since the team was chosen as the favorite
prior to the 2007-08 season. • For the sixth consecutive year, the
Aggies were selected among the top five teams in the league. A&M
was the preseason favorite to win the regular-season title in 2007-08
(Big 12 postseason champion and NCAA Elite Eight), picked second in
2006-07 (Big 12 regular-season co-champion), fifth in 2008-09 (NCAA
Sweet 16), fourth in 2009-10 (Big 12 postseason champion) and second in
2010-11 (NCAA National Champions) 2011-12 Big 12 Preseason Poll 1. Baylor (9) 81 2. Texas A&M (1) 73 3. Texas 60 4. Oklahoma 58 5. Iowa State 43 6. Texas Tech 37 7. Kansas 35 8. Oklahoma State 30 9. Kansas State 23 10. Missouri 10 WHAT’S NEW •
For the third straight year, Texas A&M welcomes one of its
highest-ever rated recruiting class with the addition of three freshmen
in 6-foot-7 center Rachel Mitchell out of Atascocita High School in
Houston, 5-foot-10 guard Tori Scott from John Ehret High School in
Marrero, La., and 5-foot-8 guard and Big 12 Preseason Co-Freshman of
the Year Alexia Standish out of Colleyville Heritage High School in
Colleyville, Texas. This class was ranked as high as No. 3 in the
country by The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. BONE ON BOARD •
Former McDonald’s High School All-American and 2011 Big 12 Preseason
Newcomer of the Year Kelsey Bone (Houston, Texas), a 6-foot-4 center
out of Dulles High School, transfered from the University of South
Carolina and had to sit out the 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer
rules. She is eligible to play for the nationally-ranked Aggies this
season and is a redshirt sophomore in athletic eligibility. • The
No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2009 by several scouting
services, Bone is the fourth McDonald’s All-American and highest-rated
player to ever sign with A&M. During her freshman season for the
Gamecocks, Bone became the first South Carolina player to be
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