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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.



 

 

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