Texas A&M
22-7, 10-6
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
15-14, 5-11
No. 14 Aggies Use Defense To Down Kansas, 78-54
Mar 06, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2010
Kansas Box Score in PDF Format 
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Tanisha Smith added 16 and No. 15 Texas A&M earned a 78-54 win over Kansas on Saturday night.
The Aggies shot 44 percent en route to their third straight win. Texas A&M also forced 30 turnovers, including 20 in the first half.
Texas A&M (22-7, 10-6) is still vying for the fourth seed in the Big 12 Tournament that starts Thursday.
Without three of its top offensive players--all of whom are injured-- Kansas (15-14, 5-11) never managed a consistent offensive attack. Aishah Sutherland led Kansas with 13 points and the Jayhawks have lost five straight games. Kansas has lost all 10 games against ranked teams.
With Adams controlling the inside and with the Jayhawks' turnovers leading to easy baskets, the Aggies extended their lead in the second half.
Texas A&M secured its fifth consecutive 10-win season in the league as well as its seventh consecutive win against the Jayhawks.
Adams, Smith and Tyra White, who scored 10 points, led Texas A&M's offense. And all three are from the Kansas City metro area--roughly an hour's drive from Lawrence.
The Aggies used a 10-2 run midway through the first half to build an eight-point lead and never looked back.
While Kansas has played the past eight games without leading scorer Danielle McCray and point guard Angel Goodrich, the Jayhawks' bench had one more injured player on Saturday.
Carolyn Davis, who developed into Kansas' go-to scorer in McCray's absence, didn't play because of a concussion suffered during Friday's practice.
Without them, the Jayhawks struggled offensively in the final home game for five seniors. Kansas shot 45 percent and was consistently hurt by turnovers that stopped any offensive rhythm.
Those mistakes fueled a Texas A&M offense that shot just 38 percent in the first half, yet remained in control because of 19 first-half points from Kansas turnovers.
Texas A&M had just six first-half turnovers and held a 41-28 lead.
In their final game in Allen Fieldhouse, Sade Morris scored 12 points and LaChelda Jacobs added nine for a Kansas team that was predicted to finish second in the Big 12 before the season started.
The Aggies will learn their seeding for the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on March 11-14 in Kansas City after the conclusion of league regular-season play on Sunday night.
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the sixth time this year and sixth consecutive contest, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Tanisha Smith, Damitria Buchanan (5-1). The Aggies closed out the regular season with a 5-1 mark in their last six ballgames in Big 12 Conference play. They are winners of six of their last seven.
• With the win, A&M has now won seven-straight in the all-time series with Kansas and picked up its fifth all-time win on the road at Allen Fieldhouse. The Aggies also take a one-game lead in the series at 8-7. Of their eight all-time victories, it was the most lopsided by a margin of 24 points. A&M's 78 points tied the most points scored in the 15-game all-time series next to a 78-66 victory on Jan. 15, 2006 in Lawrence, Kan.
• The Aggies turned in their fifth consecutive 10-win season in league play under head coach Gary Blair.
• Danielle Adams is currently on a four-game double-digit scoring streak with a game-high 18 points versus Kansas.
• Tanisha Smith turned in her first career 100+ assist season (101) with two assists against the Jayhawks. She also added 16 points in the winning cause.
• Adaora Elonu grabbed a game-and team-high seven of the team's 36 rebounds in the ballgame. Elonu has now led the Aggies in the rebounding column on five occasions this season.
• Freshman back-up point guard Adrienne Pratcher saw 13 minutes of action versus KU with a league career-high three points and a career-high tying three rebounds.
• The Kansas City connection of Adams, Smith and Tyra White, A&M's top three leading scorers, combined for 44 of the team's total points in the contest.
• A&M also shot a season-high tying 87.5 percent from the charity stripe (21-of-24) against the Jayhawks.
• The Aggie defense forced Kansas to 20 first-half turnovers which were more than its fewest of the season (11) against Kansas State on Feb. 7 and three short of its previous season-high of 23 versus Missouri on Jan. 17. It matched 20 first-half turnovers by North Texas versus A&M on Dec. 8. For the game, KU turned over the ball a season-high 30 times. It marked the third time this season an A&M opponent had 30-or-more miscues in a contest next to Stephen F. Austin (33) on Dec. 2 and North Texas (37).
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"We've been banged up a little, but we had the depth to overcome injuries this season. Kansas is playing without three starters and without the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year (in Danielle McCray). They were without Carolyn Davis who would have made a big difference tonight. We were able to score as much at will inside. I was really impressed by (Monica) Engleman. It was the first time I really had a chance to watch her. Sade Morris is a next level player, because she can defend and she can guard. She made Tanisha (Smith) shoot poorly in the game. This team is special, because we do not have a lot of egos. We share the ball. Those Kansas City kids (Tanisha Smith, Danielle Adams and Tyra White) were all in double figures tonight and it was special. I was able to keep them fresh and not play them too many minutes. I was also able to completely rest (Sydney) Colson and (Sydney) Carter in the second half. My freshman (Adrienne Pratcher) played very well and with confidence. I like my basketball team. We just had that midseason slump like a lot of teams had, but we've come out of it. If we don't get the four seed, we will be the five seed. It doesn't matter to us. We are just used to playing. Right now, we look forward to practice on Monday and that next game (in the Big 12 Tournament). What (Kansas head coach) Bonnie (Henrickson) has gone through this year, no one should go through. This was a team picked to finish second in the conference. She develops kids and she just had a bad break with a very good team."
On the Big 12 Tournament seeds ...
"Well, we would love to be a four (seed). You have four or five teams that can win it. It also depends what side of the bracket you are on. I haven't seen so many critical injuries or suspensions in the course of the year as I have in this league. Teams with depth have been able to overcome things. We look forward to going to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament."
Texas A&M Senior Forward/Guard Tanisha Smith
On the game ...
"It was a homecoming game, but at the same time, we represent our team and the name in front of our jersey (Texas A&M). We are not individuals out there. We played as a team and shared the ball well. We did a lot of good things tonight. We caused 30 turnovers, but it's our full-court pressure we need to work on. That gets better in time."
Texas A&M Sophomore Guard Tyra White
On the game ...
"It feels good to get a win, especially leading into the Big 12 Tournament. It's a homecoming game, but we took care of business. We were able to get some rookies in and get them some experience. They did a good job of contributing tonight."
