Texas A&M
21-7, 9-6
Oklahoma
20-9, 10-5
No. 14 Aggies Ride Big First Half Past No. 11 Sooners
Mar 02, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2010
Box Score 
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Box Score |
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Tanisha Smith scored 19 points, Danielle Adams added 18 and No. 14 Texas A&M cruised to a 78-55 win over No. 11 Oklahoma on Tuesday night at Reed Arena.
The Aggies (21-7, 9-6) used a dominant first half to build a 19-point lead and didn't allow Oklahoma to get within 10 points after halftime. Adaora Elonu had her first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Sydney Carter had 13 points and a career-high seven assists.
The Sooners (20-9, 10-5) cut the lead to 13 before the Aggies scored eight consecutive points to stretch their advantage to 64-43 with eight minutes left.
Danielle Robinson led Oklahoma with 16 points. Abi Olajuwon had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Sooners struggled in this one because of their 21 turnovers and poor shooting, particularly from 3-point range (0-for-8). Robinson shot 4-of-16 overall and Nyeshia Stevenson was 3-of-14, including 0-for-5 on 3-pointers.
Each time the Sooners got anything going, Texas A&M responded with a big run. Oklahoma scored four quick points with about seven minutes remaining before the Aggies began a 13-4 run that made it 77-51 and put the game completely out of reach with about three minutes left.
Adams, who was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, also had seven rebounds and three blocks. Two of those came when she rejected Olajuwon, who got the rebound and went up for a layup only to get blocked a second time.
Oklahoma trailed by 19 before the Aggies were called for offensive fouls on consecutive possessions to ignite a 6-0 run by the Sooners that cut the lead to 56-43 midway through the second half.
Texas A&M was up by one in the first half before going on a 16-4 run to push its lead to 33-20 about three minutes before halftime. The Sooners had six turnovers and went several minutes between their two baskets during that span.
Oklahoma scored four straight points after that but the Aggies answered with a 10-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Carter, to make it 43-24 at halftime.
The Aggies will close out the regular season at Kansas (15-12, 5-9) on Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m. (CT) in Lawrence, Kan.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the fifth time this season and fifth-straight contest, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (4-1). The Aggies are now 4-1 in their last five ballgames in Big 12 Conference play.
• With the win, A&M has now won six out of the last nine meetings between the two Big 12 South rivals including the last five-straight contests played on their home court at Reed Arena. The Aggies' 23-point margin of victory was the second largest in the 40-game all-time series with Oklahoma and largest since the league's inception in 1996-97. A&M previously beat OU by 25 points in a 99-74 win at G. Rollie White Coliseum on Dec. 18. 1994.
• The Aggies compiled an 12-2 record at Reed Arena this season averaging 5,155 fans per game, which is the second-best single-season home attendance average behind 5,256 (14 games) during the 2008-09 campaign.
• Sydney Carter dished out a career-high seven assists with zero turnovers against Oklahoma. It was the seventh time this season in which she did not give up the ball versus an opponent. Carter also added 13 points.
• Adaora Elonu recorded her first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds versus the Sooners. She has now scored in double figures in back-to-back contests.
• The A&M defense held Oklahoma to a season-low 0-8 shooting percentage from beyond the arc and top scorers Nyeshia Stevenson and Amanda Thompson to six and eight points respectively.
• The Aggies have now turned in back-to-back games scoring 40-or-more points at the half (43). They scored a league season-best 45 first-half points at Colorado on Feb. 27.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"We did a very good job on (Nyeshia) Stevenson and we did a good job on (Danielle) Robinson early. We were trying to cut off their driving lanes. She's arguably the best point guard in our league. We did a good job on their bigs and rotating our three post players in there. I'm just hoping Adaora (Elonu) is coming into her own now, because when she can hit that mid-range shot that can really stretch the defense. Twelve turnovers was the difference in the game. We had some very timely threes when we had to have them. The good thing about this win it that they (Oklahoma) were playing their best basketball in the year, very similar to how Texas came in here having won six in a row. Oklahoma is a team I think can win the Big 12 Tournament. The start of the second half was where they could have taken advantage of us. We ended up trading baskets and we later stretched it to 21 and I finally felt comfortable. (Sydney) Carter did a good job and (Sydney) Colson gives us so much energy when she comes in."
On the win leading into the Kansas game on Saturday ...
"It really felt good playing the No. 11 team in the country. (The) Colorado (win) felt nice and we played extremely well up there. We were defending tonight and we made some very good decisions. There were a lot of loose balls and we were coming up with more. We took it to them early. We were going to run the basketball."
Texas A&M Sophomore Forward Adaora Elonu
On the improvement in her game and getting a win for the seniors ...
"I'm just being relaxed and playing the game I know how to play. In the games before, I was thinking too much and not really reading what the defense was giving me. I am playing more relaxed and playing good basketball. This game meant a lot to us. We wanted to win for our seniors and let them have something they could remember - going out and beating Oklahoma on their Senior Night. We didn't want to disappoint them, so we came out and played hard."
Texas A&M Junior Forward/Center Danielle Adams
On Adoara Elonu's play ...
"Adaora (Elonu) is an amazing player. She has an outside and inside game. You never know what she will do and what she will bring. She has a great shot and just has great moves inside."
On the game ...
"It was a real physical game. Coach (Vic) Schaefer wrote on the board, `be physical' and being physical was what won us the game tonight. We were physical inside and outside with them. We were consistent on our shots, contested their shots and played great defense. I thought it (our defense) got some of them out of their game. We got (Abi) Olajuwon and (Amanda) Thompson in foul trouble early. They got their freshman post player (Lyndsey Cloman) out there and we just took it to them."
Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale
On the last stretch of the game ...
"Amanda Thompson wasn't on the floor and we rely on her heavily. We didn't match up sometimes in transition and we didn't execute on offense."
On the team's shooting in the game ...
"You don't beat anyone shooting 29 percent from the field and zero from the three. I think when you make shots, it gives you life. When you miss them, then they take them away. We just need to go on to the next one and go get ready for Sunday (against Oklahoma State). It was a very physical game and we didn't handle that very well. Bottom line is we have to be tougher. We know what we are going to get when we come here (and face A&M's defense). We have to respond better."
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