Texas A&M
18-6, 6-5
Oklahoma State
18-7, 6-5
No. 15 Aggies Power Past No. 17 Oklahoma State, 69-52
Feb 17, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2010
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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Tanisha Smith added 14 and No. 15 Texas A&M handed No. 17 Oklahoma State its fourth consecutive loss Wednesday night in a 69-52 rout.
Texas A&M (18-6, 6-5) never trailed and took control with a string of 12 straight points midway through the first half. Smith and Danielle Adams each had a pair of baskets during the stretch, and Adams' layup inside made it 28-12 with 8:05 left before halftime.
It only got worse for the Cowgirls (18-7, 6-5), who yielded a 12-2 run to close the half and fall behind by 18.
Andrea Riley, the nation's third-leading scorer, was 0-for-10 from the field in the first half and didn't play in the second half. She had only two points to snap a string of 82 games with double figure scoring, which had been the second-longest in the country behind Ohio State's Jantel Lavender.
Nothing went right for the Cowgirls, who shot only 37.5 percent and committed a season-high 23 turnovers while losing a third straight home game after starting the season 12-0 at Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU even struggled at the line, making only 12 of 22 free throws.
Toni Young had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Oklahoma State, which had a similar late-season swoon with five straight losses last season, including a 79-49 rout at Texas A&M. That team ended up missing the NCAA tournament.
Adams added 13 points for the Aggies, who led by as many as 28 after White's jumper from the left baseline that made it 62-34 with 9:22 left. Texas A&M had lost four of five before winning back-to-back games to pull even with the Cowgirls for fifth place in the Big 12.
Riley, who was averaging 25.6 points, had scored 27 points in the second half to help OSU overcome a 14-point deficit in a win over the Aggies earlier this season but she didn't even step onto the court after being late coming out of the locker room at halftime. She had been ill leading up to the game.
She had missed her first seven shots and Oklahoma State was 5-for-20 from the field by the time Texas A&M opened its 16-point lead in the first half. She scored her only points and had assists on a pair of 3-pointers by Lakyn Garrison as OSU got back within 30-22 but that was as close as it got.
The Aggies will host No. 12/14 Texas (19-6, 8-3) in the second edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown between the two in-state rivals on Saturday, Feb. 20 at Reed Arena. The game will tipoff at noon (CT) on Fox Sports Net.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (1-0).
- With the victory, the Aggies have now won the last six-straight road contests between the two Big 12 South rivals when playing on the road in Stillwater. The 17-point win marked the second-largest road victory in the all-time series with Oklahoma State.
- The A&M defense forced OSU to commit a season-high 23 turnovers in the ballgame. The Cowgirls came into the contest averaging the fifth-fewest turnovers in the country (13.5). OSU's second-most miscues of the season (21 turnovers) occurred in both team's last meeting on Jan. 31 in College Station.
- The Aggie defense also held Oklahoma State All-American Andrea Riley to 0-of-10 shooting from the floor and 0-for-4 shooting from the three-point line in the first half of play. Her two first-half points came from the charity stripe. Riley did not return to the game in the second half due to flu symptoms. It snapped her 82 consecutive-game double-digit scoring streak which ranked second-best in the nation. A&M held Riley to only four first-half points in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 31.
- Adaora Elonu grabbed a league season-high seven of the team's 35 rebounds against OSU.
- Tanisha Smith turned in her third-straight game in double figures with 14 points and Danielle Adams her sixth-straight game with 13 points.
- Tyra White led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season with a team-high 15 points versus the Cowgirls.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"It's always special to play here. The three best arenas in this league are Reed Arena, Gallagher-Iba Arena and Allen Fieldhouse. It makes you think of basketball with the atmosphere and when both teams are playing hard. We caught Oklahoma State on not a good night. Coach (Kurt) Budke will have them ready to go (for the rest of the season) and they will play a lot better. I thought we did a good job of not putting (Andrea) Riley to the free throw line in the first half. (Sydney) Carter did a great job of guarding her. Tyra (White) played very well and is a great shooter. She is a great zone shooter and made some great shots tonight. That was a major key to the game. Our outside shooters did a good job tonight. We couldn't get it inside when they were playing zone in the first half. I think this was a teaching game for Kurt. He was able to play a lot of his young kids and we were able to play our young kids (in the second half). Every game has been close against Oklahoma State. We expected Carter to play 40 minutes guarding Riley. She directed the show tonight. We've played well against Oklahoma State for the last four years. How many times can you win six-straight times in Stillwater? We'll take the win."
Texas A&M Redshirt Sophomore Guard Tyra White
On the game ...
"I think we did well tonight. We played the defense we know we can play. We just wanted to go out there tonight with a lot of intensity. We (Tanisha and I) were shooting what was open."
Texas A&M Senior Forward/Guard Tanisha Smith
On the difference between the first game of the season with OSU ...
"In the College Station game, we didn't get after it, especially on our defense in the second half. We thought we had the game won. Tonight, we limited (Tegan) Cunningham and (Andrea) Riley's touches in the first half. We did a good job defensively and our young ones were able to get some experience, too. Tonight, I was patient with my shot and took what they were giving me. We came out ready to play and defense sparks our offensive game. Knocking down shots was our reward for our defensive effort tonight."
