No. 6 Aggies Unveil National Championship Banner Tuesday vs. No. 9 Louisville
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS –
After opening with a convincing win over Lamar on Saturday, the No. 6
Texas A&M women’s basketball team will get its first true test of
the young 2011-12 season Tuesday afternoon in front of a live
television audience when it hosts No. 9 Louisville at Reed Arena. The
top-10 matchup between the Aggies and the Cardinals tips off at 3 p.m.
(CT) on ESPNU as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. A&M
will receive its national championship rings and raise the national
championship banner 20 minutes prior to tipoff. #6/6 TEXAS A&M (1-0) vs. #9/9 LOUISVILLE (1-0) Game #2 Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 • 3:00 p.m. (CT) Reed Arena (12,989) College Station, Texas Television: ESPNU Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (KZNE 1150 AM) Series History: Louisville leads 1-0 Internet: Free Live Statistics and Live Audio at AggieAthletics.com TEXAS A&M Record: 1-0 (0-0 Big 12) Ranking: #6 (AP), #6 (Coaches) Last Result: W, 83-58 vs. Lamar on 11/12/11 Up Next: at UALR on 11/17/11 Head Coach: Gary Blair, Ninth Season Texas A&M Record: 189-79 (.705) Career Record: 597-242 (.712) LOUISVILLE Record: 1-0 (0-0 BIG EAST) Ranking: #9 (AP), #9 (Coaches) Last Result: W, 73-64 vs. Missouri State on 11/13/11 Up Next: vs. Eastern Kentucky on 11/17/11 Head Coach: Jeff Walz, Fifth season Lamar Record: 97-46 (.678) Career Record: 97-46 (.678) TICKET INFORMATION •
Tickets are priced at $15 (courtside), $13 (sideline), $9 (baseline)
and $7 (general admission) and can be purchased online at:
tickets.12thmanfoundation.com, in person at the 12th Man Foundation
Ticket Office and Reed Arena Box Office or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE. AGGIE HOOPS ON THE TUBE •
Texas A&M plays the first of three non-conference games on national
television this season. This year matches the most non-conference
regular season games the Aggies have ever played in front of a national
television audience, next to three in 2010-11. • With Texas
A&M’s six dates on FSN and three on the ESPN family of networks,
the Aggies will appear on tv a school-record nine times during the
regular season. • ESPN’s Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Carolyn
Peck (color analyst) will call the action from Reed Arena on Tuesday
afternoon. FOLLOW @Aggie_W_Hoops ON TWITTER Not
following @Aggie_W_Hoops on Twitter? Sign up or sign in today to find
out what’s happening. You will stay up-to-date on the latest news and
receive live in-game updates at each and every contest. A CLASH OF THE NATION’S BEST •
Tuesday’s matchup marks one of the first games played between two top
10 teams this season. The only other was a 72-53 Maryland win over
Georgetown, who are ranked No. 10 and 11 interchangeably in the AP and
USA Today/ESPN polls. In other top 10 news, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 7
Miami tip off at 5 p.m. (CT) Tuesday. SCOUTING LOUISVILLE • Louisville is located in Louisville, Ky., has an enrollment of 22,000 and was founded in 1798. •
Louisville played its first game of the season on Sunday – a 73-64
victory over Missouri State – and has a quick turnaround to face the
Aggies Tuesday. • The Cardinals finished 22-13 last year and
advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 before Gonzaga ended their tournament
run…Louisville has made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. • Jeff Walz begins his fifth season at the helm of the Cardinals and holds a 97-46 record at Louisville and for his career. •
Senior forward Monique Reid (15.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and sophomore guard
Shoni Schimmel (15.1 ppg, 4.9 apg) return as Louisville’s top scorers,
although it was 6-4 center Cierra Warren who shined off the bench for
the Cardinals Sunday with 18 points, while Schimmel did not play. •
Louisville shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, 25 percent from
beyond the arc and 56 percent from the free-throw line at Missouri
State Sunday…They did however pull down 51 rebounds, swipe 17 steals
and force 25 turnovers from their opponent. PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS TEXAS A&M No. Name
2010-11 Stats 32 Adrienne Pratcher, G, 5-7, Jr. 6.0 ppg, 9.0 apg 4 Sydney Carter, G, 5-6, Sr. 14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg 20 Tyra White, G, 6-0, Sr. 22.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg 21 Adaora Elonu, F, 6-1, Sr. 11.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg 23 Kelsey Bone, C, 6-4, Jr. 11.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg LOUISVILLE No. Name
2010-11 Stats 01 Shelby Harper, G, 5-4, Jr. 0.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg 03 Sheronne Vails, C, 6-4, So. 4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg 12 Shawnta’ Dyer, F, 6-1, RS-Fr. 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg 21 Bria Smith, G, 5-10, Fr. 10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg 25 Tia Gibbs, G, 5-9, Jr. 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg STATISTICAL COMPARISON 2011-12 Category TAMU LOU Overall Record 1-0 1-0 Conference Record 0-0 0-0 Points Per Game 83.0 73.0 Scoring Margin +25.0 +9.0 Rebounds Per Game 42.0 51.0 Rebounding Margin +7.0 +9.0 Field Goal Percentage 47.5 37.5 Field Goal% Defense 35.1 35.6 Three-Point FG% 33.3 25.0 Free Throw Percentage 71.9 55.6 Turnovers Per Game 22.0 19.0 Assists Per Game 17.0 8.0 Blocks Per Game 8.0 5.0 Steals Per Game 15.0 17.0 SERIES HISTORY •
Louisville leads 1-0 in the all-time series versus Texas A&M, with
the only contest between the two teams being played on Dec. 4, 1992
when the Cardinals grabbed a 4-point victory over the Aggies in the
Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. A&M VERSUS THE BIG EAST •
Texas A&M is 8-3 all-time against schools hailing from the Big East
Conference including Cincinnati (1-0), DePaul (0-1), Louisville (0-1),
Notre Dame (2-0), Pittsburgh (1-0), Seton Hall (1-0), Rutgers (2-0),
South Florida (0-1) and West Virginia (1-0). The Aggies are 6-1 versus
Big East opponents in the Gary Blair Era, having last defeated Notre
Dame for the national championship in Indianapolis on April 5, 2011. DEFENDERS OF THE HOME COURT •
Texas A&M has protected its home court well over the last six
seasons with the help of the 12th Man. In fact, the Aggies have
compiled an unprecedented 83-8 (.912) overall success rate at Reed
Arena in those six years, including a 13-1 mark last season and a
perfect 16-0 home stand in 2006-07. The eight tallies in the home loss
column have only occurred during Big 12 Conference play against
nationally-ranked league foes. • The Aggies have won 44 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a 40-46 loss to Houston on 12/30/03. AGGIES’ LAST FIVE YEARS AT REED ARENA 2010-11
13-1 2009-10
12-2 2008-09
13-1 2007-08
14-2 2006-07
16-0 2005-06
14-2 BLAIR APPROACHING 600 WINS • A&M head coach
Gary Blair is just three victories away from his 600th career win as a
Division I head coach. The victories include 189 at A&M
(2003-present), 198 at Arkansas (1993-03) and 210 at Stephen F. Austin
(1985-93) for 597 total wins. • Should he win his first four games
this season, Blair will be 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 will also be just one of 13 active Division I coach with 600
victories. 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. 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 tabbed
Southeastern Conference Newcomer of the Year by The Associated Press.
She also earned Second-Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors by
the league’s head coaches. In addition, she was recognized as
Second-Team All-SEC by the AP and First-Team Freshman All-America by
Full Court Press. PRESEASON ACCOLADES ROLL IN FOR WHITE •
Leading up to the 2011-12 season, White has earned several preseason
accolades. She was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team in addition
to being named to the Wade Trophy Watch List and the John R. Wooden
Award Preseason Top 30 List. • White is coming off a junior campaign
in which she was Texas A&M’s second-leading scorer with 13.8 points
per game and the team’s third-leading rebounder with 5.1 rebounds per
game. She was a State Farm All-America Honorable Mention along with
being selected to the Women’s Final Four All-Tournament Team after
leading the Aggies to their first national championship in April. White
was also an All-Big 12 First Team member and earned a spot on the Big
12 All-Tournament Team. ELONU LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE •
Senior forward Adaora Elonu was selected as one of 30 candidates for
the 2011-12 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a
student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and
have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community,
classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating
Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS
Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to
use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in
their communities. CARTER TAKES CHARGE • Texas
A&M is known for its signature defense and Sydney Carter is its
spokeswoman, regularly given the daunting task of guarding the
opponent’s best perimeter player. Her play has earned her a spot on the
Big 12 All-Defensive team last year and she took home the team’s Miss
Defense Award the past two seasons. Add to that, the fact that she has
led the team in charges taken every year she’s been at A&M. Carter’s Charges: 29 – Junior (2010-11) 28 – Sophomore (2009-10) 12 – Freshman (2008-09) FROM THE SIDELINES •
Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair begins his 27th overall season as a
Division I head coach. He currently ranks in the top 15 in career
victories (597) and in the top 25 by winning percentage (.712) among
active Division I coaches in the NCAA women’s basketball record books. •
Blair is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 189 wins
and a .705 winning percentage (189-79). He surpassed former head coach
Lynn Hickey, who compiled 154 career victories from 1984-1994, with an
84-53 win over Portland State in the NCAA First Round on March 20, 2010
in Seattle, Wash. • Blair is one of only three all-time NCAA
Division I women's basketball coaches to lead two different teams to
the NCAA Women’s Final Four (Texas A&M and Arkansas) next to C.
Vivian Stringer (Rutgers, Iowa and Cheyney) and Marianne Stanley
(Stanford and Old Dominion). • Blair is one of only four active
Division I coaches (six all-time) to lead three different programs to
the NCAA Tournament next to 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. HIGHEST PRESEASON RANKING •
The Aggies earned their highest-ever preseason ranking ranked No. 6 in
both the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches’ Poll and the
Associated Press Top 25 Poll. LAMAR RECAP TEXAS A&M 83, LAMAR 58 •
Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney
Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone. It marked the first
start of Bone’s Aggie career, the second career start for Pratcher,
55th for Carter, 72nd for White and 75th for Elonu…every Aggie player • A&M improved to 19-3 all-time in home openers and has won its last nine consecutive opening day contests at Reed Arena. • A&M is now 6-0 when starting the season at home in the Gary Blair Era. • The Aggies extended their all-time series lead to 15-9 against Lamar. •
The Aggies have now won 44 straight non-conference home games, since a
40-46 loss to Houston in December 2003. In addition, A&M has won 71
of its last 78 home games. • The crowd of 5,672 was the third-largest in program history for a home opener. • White has now started in 59 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar. •
In her first start since her freshman season, Adrienne Pratcher dished
out a career-high nine assists and had just one turnover while adding
six points and five rebounds. • Karla Gilbert had an impressive season opener with 11 points and seven rebounds. • In her Aggie debut, Kelsey Bone was one of five in double figures with 11. • Elonu matched her career-high with four steals. COMING IN 2012-13 Next
season, Blair and his coaching staff will welcome A&M’s
highest-ever rated recruiting class that was ranked as high as No. 2 in
the country by ESPN HoopGurlz, The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report,
Premier Basketball Report and All-Star Girls Report. The Aggie signees
were: 5-foot-10 wing Chelsea Jennings from Fort Worth, Texas, 5-foot-6
point guard Jordan Jones from DeSoto, Texas, 5-foot-7 combo guard
Curtyce Knox from Humble, Texas, six-foot wing Peyton Little from
Abilene, Texas, 5-foot-8 wing Courtney Walker from Edmond, Okla., and
6-foot-1 forward/guard Courtney Williams from Houston.
|