Story Poster
Gary Blair
Carter, White & Elonu
Missouri Tigers
Texas A&M Women's Basketball

WBB: Blair notches win No. 200 as Ags roll Mizzou, 78-52

January 18, 2012
441

Post-Game Thoughts

* Congrats to Coach Gary Blair for picking up win No. 200 in his storied A&M career. Blair has had quite a run in his career as a head coach, winning big at Stephen F. Austin and faring very well at Arkansas prior to arriving in Aggieland nine years ago. Who would have thought when he got here that he would have been able to get to 200 wins within nine seasons? Pretty amazing stuff!

* Missouri started the game by taking a stranglehold on the early momentum. The Aggies looked sloppy and lazy on both ends, getting whistled for four fouls in the first three minutes and allowing the Tigers to get easy looks at the basket. Gary Blair had to call timeout with 14:51 remaining in the half, following a Mizzou 8-2 run to jump on top, 14-7. At that time, the only Aggies playing was Adaora Elonu, who scored A&M's first five points and opened the contest on the same tear that she has been on throughout Big 12 play. For the game, Elonu had 16 points and six rebounds to help lead the way for Texas A&M.

Matt Sachs, TexAgs Sydney Carter was a perfect 5-of-5 at the line and finished with 16 points to lead the way for A&M. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Sydney Carter was a perfect 5-of-5 at the line and finished with 16 points to lead the way for A&M.","MediaItemID":14271}
* After the early timeout to stop the early bleeding, A&M started picking it up on D and putting it together on O. Tyra White and Sydney Carter kick started a 12-0 run by getting to the line and knocking down free throws. It should be noted that throughout the extended blitzkrieg by the maroon and white, the point guard on the floor was Adrienne Pratcher. Unlike last Wednesday in the loss to Texas, A-Game was mentally into the game from the onset and in total control on the floor. Alexia Standish got the start for the fourth straight game, but Pratcher came in and brought great energy off the bench. If she can do that with greater consistency, the Ags will suddenly have a nice situation emerging at lead guard. Pratcher had six points, three assists (two turnovers) and three steals in 17 minutes. Standish dis not score in 16 minutes. She had two assists and one turnover.

* The Aggies used all three of their five players in the first five minutes of the game. Kelsey Bone picked up a quick foul and didn't seem "in it" from the start, and Karla Gilbert looked a bit overmatched by the Mizzou bigs early. Enter Kelsey Assarian. A&M's senior "energy post" did just that … energized the team and the crowd with her toughness on defense. And then she got rewarded on the end, scoring a huge layup and-one and draining the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 14-14. She connected on another putback layup after grabbing a pair of rebounds later in the flurry, capping the 12-0 run to give A&M a 19-14 advantage. Kelsey finished with a solid five points, three boards, two blocks and two steals in the game.

* Assarian's effort seemed to have sparked fellow five players Bone and Gilbert. They came in down the stretch in the first half and actually spent the final 6:22 of the period playing together on the court. They combined 10 points over the final 6:41 to help the Ags build a seven-point halftime lead, 40-33. Bone finished with six points and nine rebounds. Gilbert had six points and three rebounds.

* Tyra White quietly put together one heck of a first half, scoring eight points to go along with four rebounds, five assists and two steals while playing the entire 20 minutes. She finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. She spent much of the second half in foul trouble and played only nine minutes after the break … otherwise her stats would have looked even better. White is having a very nice senior year, leading the Aggies in scoring despite not shooting it very well at all from outside. Tyra showed tonight why she's probably the best offensive rebounder of any wing player in the nation. The 2010-11 Big 12 leader in offensive rebounds had two quick putback layups early in the second half helping A&M extend their lead and give them some breathing room in this one.

* The Aggies came out in the second half and put the clamps on the Tigers with stifling defensive intensity. They forced 12 turnovers in the first half and 13 after the break, coming up with nine steals in the period … with many of those coming at the top of the key. That lead to many easy fastbreak baskets and allowed A&M to slowly-but-surely extend the lead heading down the stretch.

* Sydney Carter did not shoot the ball very well but, as always, she does so many things that have "winning" written all over it. Carter finished with 16 points and five assists, and played with her typical "energizer bunny" attitude and effort. This just in … Syd Carter is good at basketball. :)

Matt Sachs, TexAgs Skylar Collins played much better than her stats would indicate, especially on defense. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Skylar Collins played much better than her stats would indicate, especially on defense.","MediaItemID":14216}
* A little shoutout to Skylar Collins, who put together her second consecutive strong performance on the defensive end. Collins came up with three steals and played much better than her numbers (two points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals) would indicate. The Aggies need production from the bench and they got it tonight from a number of players, with Collins leading the charge.

* Mizzou five player Christine Flores is probably the best player in the Big 12 that nobody knows about. "The Tigers don't win enough and aren't on TV enough, but Flores is dang good." That is what one longtime observer of A&M women's basketball told me at halftime. He's absolutely right. Flores is a center that stands around 6-4 and can do so many things well on the floor. She's the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging close to 20 points per game. She also averages nearly eight rebounds per contest. She averages close to four blocks per game and has shot more than 50 three-pointers this season. Flores was very in this game, putting up 13 points, four rebounds, six assists, five blocks and two steals. She made it difficult on A&M inside because she's quick enough to get out and guard the perimeter in Missouri's zone defense. Offensively, she's tough on the A&M bigs because she's such a good inside-outside player. She must be accounted for out to about 20 feet. Pretty impressive, to say the least. If Flores' three-point shot would have fallen, her number would have been through the roof, as she was just 1-of-5 from downtown.

* A very nice crowd of 5,845 came out to support the Aggies. I was particularly impressed with the student turnout, as the north end was about 65 percent full of Aggie students and the south bowl had a nice 12th Man contingent as well. The total number of students was officially tallied at 638.

* Be on the lookout for DeShawn Jones of Franklin. The pre-teen gal can shoot the basketball, making a quick layup and draining a free throw and a three-pointer but missing on the half court jumper during the Chick-fil-A "Shoot for your Dinner" contest. Very impressive form and certainly a name to keep an eye on in recruiting in about six-to-eight years.

* Famous dunk artists "Acrodunk" stole the show at halftime. They had the crowd on their feet unlike anything I've seen since the great Prairie View A&M band came to Reed and brought the house down about a decade ago. They even busted out a home made "BTHO Missouri" sign and one of the guys ripped through it in the air and dunked the ball. Throughout Acrodunk's performance, A&M men's players Ray Turner and Keith Davis were on their feet with their phones out, thoroughly enjoying themselves. The dunksters did a great job of playing to the crowd … a good time was had by all.

* The Aggies have another very winnable game coming up this weekend, as they head to Lawrence to take on Kansas Saturday at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Legendary former A&M point guard A'Quonesia Franklin will be on the opposing bench, as she is in her first year as a KU assistant.



Post-Game Quotes

Head Coach Gary Blair
Opening Statement…?
"Overall it was a good ball game. (Adrienne) Pratcher came in and really helped us early in the second half. I thought she ran the offense pretty well. (Skylar) Collins, (Kelsey) Assarian and (Cierra) Windham all came in off the bench and were very, very good for us. Cierra’s been playing well in practice. She came in and showed what she’s capable of doing. She’s a pretty good player. Assarian really gave us a big boost in the first half. I told her dad a while ago, I don’t monitor her fouls, I monitor how many times she hits the floor and how many times she knocks the loose ball. People don’t like to play against her. She is physical and that’s the way I like it."
 
On senior Adaora Elonu’s performance…
"I had no idea she had 16 points. That was the quietest 16 points, but we have to have her on the court.  I’m really going to miss those seniors, and I’m going to miss Collins and Assarian. Adaora just does the little things, she was playing well. Normally, she’s never in foul trouble, but she’s steady, she knows where her game is. She has that mid-range shot that most post players don’t have."
 

Guard Sydney Carter
On forcing season-high turnovers against Missouri…
"I think (Missouri’s Kyley) Simmons did a really good job tonight, because I was really pressuring her. Skylar (Collins) came in and got some key steals. I think we held them to 19 points in the second half and so that’s saying a lot about the effort we’re putting forth on the defensive end. That’s our M.O. here that we’re playing hard defense and being aggressive."
 
On if the team has confidence going to Kansas this weekend…
"We definitely have confidence and we have to take that confidence into road games. We lost our first game at K-State, but we can’t harp on that and we definitely have to respect Kansas. We need to stick to our fundamentals. We need to be the aggressor. We have to come in there with that punch first attitude and take it to them."
 
On pressuring freshman opponents…
"I think I definitely need to kind of have that mindset that I’m a senior, I’ve been doing this four years and she’s a beginner, but I respect each opponent I play against. I take so much passion and pride into playing defense that it doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a fifth-year senior, I’m going to do my job, and that’s to be aggressive and play hard for my team on defense. It doesn’t matter what your classification is, I’m going to give everybody the same miserable treatment."
 

Forward Adaora Elonu
On what has gotten into her improved play…
"Nothing. I don’t know, maybe I’m a little more focused understanding that I need to make a difference. At least score or rebound, do something productive, and not just be in the game."
 
On what got the team behind early in the game…
"We weren’t ready to play at all and I think it showed with the way they started. We came out a little too relaxed, and Sydney (Carter) told us pregame that we can’t look at their 0-4 start and think we have nothing to lose. They took advantage of that and started pretty well."
 

Guard-Forward Tyra White
On what helped the team turnaround from being down at the start…
"I think it’s just us as a team…having all three seniors starting for us and being able to control the ball, calm down and not rush things. We did a good job and got inside a lot with Karla (Gilbert) and Kelsey (Bone). I think it’s us having the leadership we’ve been looking for."


Missouri Head Coach Robin Pingeton
On if turnovers were they the story of the game…
"Yeah, I mean give A&M a ton of credit; they’re a great team. They’re known for their tenacious defense. I thought we did a good job of breaking that pressure in the full court, but in the half court they’re relentless. We have a young, inexperienced point guard, and they scored what, 39 points off of turnovers? You just can’t afford to give up that many points off of turnovers."
 
On what caused the team to lose the early lead…
"I think it’s probably a combination of all of the above. I think that kind of defensive pressure wears on you, and it showed up in the second half. The second half, fatigue was more of a factor. They upped the ante, and I’m sure it was a big factor in the game."
 
On A&M’s post players…
"They’re just such big strong athletes. They’re big bodies out there. They’re very good, no doubt about it. A&M is a great team."



Post-Game Notes

* For the fourth time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Alexia Standish, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone… The Aggies are 3-1 with this starting lineup.

* Texas A&M improves to 11-7 in the all-time series against Missouri and is 7-1 against the Tigers in Aggieland.

* The Aggies’ 40 points at the half marked the fourth time, and the first in Big 12 play, this season A&M has tallied 40 or more points in the first half.

* Texas A&M forced Missouri into a season-high 25 turnovers.

* The Aggies held the Tigers to just a 27.3 field goal percentage in the second half, six field goals and a second-half season-low 19 points.

* The Aggies registered a season-best 17 steals.

* A&M has shot 90 percent (18-20) from the free-throw line in its last two games.

* A&M dished out 19 assists, the second-most all season.

* White has now started in 74 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.

* White dished out the ball a career-best five times against Missouri and Carter matched a season-high with five.

* With six rebounds against Mizzou, White became the 24th A&M player to join the 500-rebound club with 504 career boards.

* Elonu scored in double figures for the 12th time this season, Carter for the 10th time and White has scored in double figures 22 of her last 24 games.

* Elonu shot a season-best 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the field.

* Collins had a career-best three steals and three assists.

* Kelsey Assarian contributed season-highs with 5 points, two steals and two blocked shots.

* In just two minutes of action, Cierra Windham contributed 4 points, two rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
 
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