Texas A&M
20-2, 8-1
Oklahoma
17-6, 7-3
No. 5 Texas A&M Power Past No. 12 Oklahoma, 92-71
Feb 09, 2011 | Women's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Danielle Adams shook off early foul trouble to finish with 30 points and 13 rebounds as No. 6 Texas A&M rolled to an easy 92-71 win over No. 14 Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
The Aggies (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) never trailed and had built a 19-point lead with nine minutes left in the first half.
Adams sat out most of the first half after picking up two quick fouls, but played almost the entire second half, scoring 21 of her points.
Texas A&M led by 22 points with about four minutes remaining before Oklahoma scored eight straight points to cut the lead to 84-70 with about 2 1/2 minutes left. The Aggies ended the run by scoring four quick points and coach Gary Blair took out his starters soon after that.
Danielle Robinson scored 24 points to lead Oklahoma (17-6, 7-3), which couldn't overcome poor shooting by the rest of the team.
The Aggies, who got a 2-point win in Norman two weeks ago, retain sole possession of second place in the Big 12 with the victory.
Texas A&M shot almost 52 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers. The Aggies made nine 3-pointers, including two in a row from Adams early in the second half. The nine 3-pointers were just one off Texas A&M's season high.
Oklahoma shot under 34 percent overall and just 20 percent from long range as the Sooners dropped their second game in three outings.
The Aggies got 17 points from Sydney Carter and a season-high tying 15 points and 10 rebounds from Adaora Elonu as they won their fourth straight over Oklahoma.
The Sooners cut the lead to 14 points with about 12 minutes remaining, but Texas A&M used a 14-1 spurt over the next three minutes to push the lead to 76-49.
The Aggies led by six points about five minutes into the game before using a 20-7 run to extend the lead to 34-15 nine minutes before halftime. Texas A&M had three 3-pointers to fuel that spurt. They did it without Adams, who got her second foul just before the spurt began and had to watch from the bench.
She returned to the game about five minutes before halftime and scored six points and the Aggies led 46-30 at the break.
Robinson was 6 of 8 and had 16 points in the first half but the rest of the team was terrible, going a combined 5 for 27 before halftime.
POSTGAME NOTES
- For the 15th time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Sydney Colson, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Danielle Adams. The Aggies are 13-2 with this starting lineup.
- Texas A&M improves to 17-26 in the all-time series with Oklahoma and has now won nine of the last 12 meetings between the two teams, including the last five straight contests at Reed Arena. A&M swept OU in the regular season for just the second time in the all-time series, next to its two-game sweep in 2007.
- With 92 points, A&M tallied the second-most points against Oklahoma in the all-time series next to 101 points on Dec. 5, 1989 in College Station.
- With the win Wednesday, the Aggies tallied their sixth straight 20-win season under head coach Gary Blair. It was Blair's 20th 20-win season as a Division I head coach.
- The Aggies forced OU's Danielle Robinson, who averages just 3.6 turnovers per game, to a season-high eight turnovers Wednesday.
- A&M limited the Sooners to just 31.4 percent shooting in the first half, including 10 percent from beyond the arc, while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor. The Aggies limited OU to just four 3-pointers – less than half of its average of 8.3, which ranked fifth in the nation.
- Adaora Elonu registered her third double-double this season and the fourth of her career. She scored a first-half career-high 13 points and added a season-high four assists and two steals.
- Sydney Carter matched a first-half season-high with five rebounds and finished the game with seven.
- Danielle Adams posted her ninth double-double this season and the 11th of her career. She extended her double-digit scoring streak to 31 straight games and scored 30 points for the fifth time this season.
- Skylar Collins drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half to add six points.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Gary Blair
On the game…
"I had no idea we could jump on them like we did that early, but it was us getting off in transition and our half-court defense was very good. We had balanced scoring in the first half without Danielle (Adams) and Adaora (Elonu) is starting to come around and play well. The only thing we didn't do well was force turnovers, because of the style of offense Oklahoma was running. I was really pleased with our defense and I love where my team is at right now."
On the play of the "Two Syds"…
"(Sydney) Carter was magnificent. You may not see it, but look at her line. (Sydney) Colson had her moments. Some were very good and then sometimes I'd love to strangle her, but she did so much better running the offense and staying out of foul trouble than the last time we played Oklahoma. When she realizes she's just as good as (OU's Danielle) Robinson at penetrating and creating for others and then gets in that mindset of what she can do and how effective she is, she's going to have 20 assists in a game one of these days."
On A&M's bench play…
"My bench went 6 out of 9 from the field tonight. Skylar (Collins) came in when Maryann (Baker) was hurt and took advantage of it."
On making a run without Danielle Adams in the first half…
"We shared the ball well. I've got other players that can step up and we called a lot of set plays. We've got a motion offense, but I'm still more of a set-play coach. We were able to execute well and got a couple easy baskets on offensive rebounds that helped."
On what Kansas will bring…
"They're very good inside, that's their strength, similar to Texas Tech. There's no way they're supposed to be 3-7 right now, they're supposed to be in the middle of the pack. I'm really looking forward to our BTHO Breast Cancer game and what it stands for."
SENIOR FORWARD/CENTER Danielle Adams
On getting in foul trouble early…
"I got in foul trouble early in the game and had to sit out, but I knew my team had my back and I wasn't worried, they just kept building up the score. Adaora (Elonu) did well, inside and out, in the first half and I knew in the second half that I needed to come out with that play-hard mentality."
On shooting from the outside in the second half…
"After that first 3-pointer, I was kind of feeling it. I was going to shoot another one, but coach told me they were going to contest it and pump fake and go to the basket. I just felt pretty well tonight in the second half."
On the team's defense…
"We did an awesome job denying the ball tonight. (Sydney) Carter did a tremendous job on (Danielle) Robinson and our wings did a great job denying the ball and getting out on their 3-point shooters. We did a wonderful job tonight on defense."
On the team's confidence going into Kansas…
"I think we have a lot of confidence going into the Kansas game. This game and the Baylor game gave us the most confidence. Our work ethic is great in practice and we're just trying to be that elite team and win as a family."
JUNIOR FORWARD Adaora Elonu
On coming out playing hard…
"Well, I knew from the way I've been playing earlier in conference that I had to come out pretty focused and motivated and that worked out for me. Oklahoma is a great team and I think that when we play our game, and play hard the entire game, it doesn't matter who we're playing, we'll go out and win."
On if Karla's start and play at Texas Tech influenced her effort…
"Definitely and I think that's what the coaches were going for, but I responded. I knew I had to play hard, execute and make it easier for Danielle (Adams) down low."
On what was working in the first half for the team with Danielle Adams on the bench…
"We were being very intense, going with the game pan, playing good defense and boxing out. We practiced very hard and worked on the things we didn't do well in Norman and I think we fixed them in this game. I feel like the momentum we started with, we were able to carry it through without her on the court. It helps coach a lot knowing we can execute when she is on the bench and I think it is a good confidence boost for the team."
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