Gary Blair
Carter, White, Elonu
Iowa State Cyclones
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Out of an Iowa State timeout called to ice the shooter, Carter stepped to the line and drained a pair of critical free throws to give the Aggies a 66-64 advantage. Bone then intercepted a pass near midcourt and the clock expired, giving the Aggies a hard-fought 66-64 victory.
* A plus-plus community turnout and a decent group of students — a total crowd of 6,054 — came out to the gym to show their support on a Sunday afternoon. The Ags rewarded them with a thrilling last-second victory, and it was not without one heck of a fight by the Iowa State Cyclones. The game featured a whopping 11 ties and six lead changes. With the win, A&M improves to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play. ISU falls to 11-8 and 2-6 in the league.
* As Gary Blair said after this game, A&M needed this game badly. The Ags were coming in at 4-3 in the league and struggling to get things rolling in the Big 12. They really needed to win this one and they can't really afford to lose more than a couple of home games if they want to have a great seed, because this particular group is going to lose a few road games as it's have already shown. You have to win the home games, and the Ags have already lost at home to Texas and still have Baylor on the schedule (twice, for what it's worth).
* In the first meeting between A&M and ISU 15 days ago in Ames, the Aggies held the Cyclones to just 33 points on 28.9 percent shooting, forcing 18 turnovers. What a difference two weeks can make for a team that started out 0-5 in conference play but came into Reed Arena having won its last two games. The Cyclones scored more points (39) in the first half of this game than they did against A&M in the entire game two weeks ago. They played extremely well and gave the Aggies a tough battle.
This time around, ISU shot 46.2 percent from the field and 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from three-point range. They had three players reach double figures in scoring and Poppens scored a game-high 22 points … just 11 less points than they managed to score as a team in the last matchup.
* The Aggies did a great job early of getting the ball inside early against the ISU zone. Typically when you think zone, you think outside shooting and hoping to make enough shots to soften up that zone and allow you to get the ball inside. But on Sunday, A&M made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to Kelsey Bone and Adaora Elonu, and both A&M bigs were finished with authority when they got the ball in the block. The duo scored 10 of A&M's first 17 points and were key to the Aggies' ability to build an early 17-10 lead over the Cyclones.
* After that, the Ags went into a shell on the offensive end, managing just two points during a stretch that lasted 6:35. During that time, ISU was able to knock down some shots and make a few free throws … keying a 7-2 run to pull to within two, 19-17. It took its first lead of the game, 25-23, thanks to a Poppens layup with 5:12 remaining in the first.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies struggled with ISU's bigs inside but made just enough plays to be in a position to win at the end.
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* It was back-and-forth for the remainder of the half, as each team got hot on the offensive end, making shots from outside and getting into the lane and finishing close to the cup.
ISU's ability to knock down open looks from three-point range and A&M leaving shooters wide open during that spurt allowed the Cyclones to maintain a slim lead throughout the final 5:12 of the first half. Poppens' and-one layup and successful free throw during that run put Iowa State up by seven points momentarily, before a three-pointer by Alexia Standish closed the scoring in the first half with A&M down by four, 39-35.
* Iowa State started the second half on the same pace that it ended the first. It quickly went on an 8-2 run to extend its lead to eight points, 47-39. Poppens was a big part of that, scoring four points in the paint and having her way with Bone inside.
* But as we've seen throughout this season, when Kelsey Bone decides to play, she can have such a profound impact on the game. After the first media timeout of the second half, Bone decided it was time to pick it up on both ends, leading the charge on an 8-0 run that allowed the Aggies to storm back and tie it up at 47-47 … igniting the crowd in the process. During that stretch, Bone scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. She wasn't exceptional in the game, but she certainly wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. This stretch was by far the best Bone played in 21 minutes on the floor, and A&M might not have been able to get back into the game without her effort and toughness to fuel that 8-0 run.
* The Aggies were finally able to regain the lead at 53-52, thanks to an and-one layup and free throw by Karla Gilbert with 9:46 on the clock. From that point until the closing seconds, it was back-and-forth, with three ties and five lead changes over the final 9:46 of the game. Elonu's short jumper with 2:49 left to play gave the Ags a 64-63 advantage. Poppens then got fouled on a very questionable call and made one-of-two at the line. Neither team could score over the final 2:10 and the scored remained tied at 64-64 with 7.3 seconds remaining. A&M got the ball back after ISU freshman guard Nikki Moody failed to execute a late-clock situation and allowed the shot clock to expire without getting off a shot. That's when Carter went to work, drawing the foul and making the two free throws to put A&M on top for good.
* How about Sydney Carter? Here's a kid that is struggling with a foot injury that she says is no longer bothering her, but I have a hard time believing her. She did not play a good basketball game … not even close. Carter logged only 24 minutes because, maybe for the first time in her A&M career, she was not giving enough on the defensive end. She picked up two fouls in the first half, sat on the bench for 11 minutes, and sat another five minutes in the second. She got beat a couple of times on defense and had a world of trouble finding her touch with the jump shot.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M's gritty leader played poorly by her standards but nailed two free throws without hesitation.
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Syd entered the closing seconds without a point in the game, but Gary Blair went back to the well because he needed her speed to drive the length of the court and make the right decision with the ball. The senior managed that final possession beautifully, drawing a foul and stepping to the line like a true champion … hammering home two free throws to win the game for the Maroon and White.
Sometimes, even great players don't have their best "stuff" but they don't allow that to cause them to go into a shell. Carter kept fighting through it and she found a way to do what she does best … win!
* Tyra White is one of the many women's college basketball players around the nation that has struggled with the three-point line being moved back to match the men. She came into the game shooting just 24.1 percent from downtown but got the Ags rolling early, draining a three-ball on the first possession of the game and making another outside jumper that was ruled a two but that I thought was surely behind the line.
That made Iowa State have to stay honest on the A&M shooters in that zone and kept them from sinking down on the Aggie post players. White scored seven first half points and all three of her made field goals came beyond 18 feet. She finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals … and much of her second half production came around the hoop on offensive rebounds and stick backs. That is what she's known for and Blair said after the game that he may consider giving Tyra a few minutes at the four spot moving forward because of her toughness and quickness in the post.
* During Iowa State's first-half flurry when they were having their way on the A&M defense, Alexia Standish came up huge and gave the Ags some much-needed scoring to counter what the Cylcones were doing with the basketball. She hit two threes and scored eight of A&M's final 10 points in the first half. Without Standish's effort on offense, ISU's four-point halftime lead would have looked much more like 10. And who knows what would have happened at that point. All eight of Lexi's points came during that stretch. She also pulled down two boards, dished out three assists and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes on the court.
Here's an amazing stat on Standish … she has turned the ball over just four times combined in her last six games, compiling 19 assists during that same stretch. The kid needs to start taking more chances with the basketball, but for a freshman to have just four turnovers in six games and go three of those contests without a turnover, that says a lot about Lexi's ability to handle the basketball, how much she values each possession and how good this young lady is going to be as her career progresses.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Elonu's presence greatly aided the Aggies once again as her triumphant senior campaign rolled on.
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* What more can you say about Adaora Elonu? She's a totally different player as a senior than she has been over her first three seasons in Aggieland. She's extremely aggressive, diving for loose balls and playing with max effort on the defensive end. She's also way more assertive on offense than ever before, finishing strong near the hoop and making great passes from the high post or anytime she gets doubled down low. Adaora is just a very smart and very good all-around basketball player and it's so great to finally see her shine.
Elonu had 10 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 19 points. She also had five rebounds (four offensive), four assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Elonu gets overlooked sometimes because of the other "star" names on the team, but I'm not so sure Adaora isn't A&M's best player right now. She's undoubtedly the Aggies' most consistent performer, night-in and night-out.
* Give a lot of credit to Karla Gilbert for her effort off the bench. She scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds (four offensive) in 16 minutes, and did a great job of battling with the Cyclone bigs. Gilbert also stepped up big at the foul line, knocking down 5-of-7 at the stripe.
* Nothing like hanging out with the family at a Texas A&M sporting event. Fortunately, we have a setup where our good friends, the Stewart Family, has season tickets just above where I sit in the media area along the Southeast corner of Reed. So I was able to sit at the top of the media section, with my wife and daughter - and a few of our very good friends - hanging out. It was just one of those special treats for me and it's always a great time when I can mix my job with my beautiful family! And Gary Blair threw me a piece of candy that I gave to Ella before the game, so that was pretty cool, too!
"That is so much different from the team we saw in Iowa. The reason was they went 0-5 (to start Big 12 play) and they have a great coaching staff. They went back to the drawing board and said we’ve got a little bit of pride. They lost on a one-second play to Texas and now a close one to us."
"In the first half we had to get out of our press because we got into foul trouble. When we didn’t turn them over, they were making threes, hitting threes and killing us with dribble penetration. Give them credit for a great game plan; we had to make adjustments all along."
On Sydney Carter’s game-winning free throws…
"I was trying to figure out if we make the first, I was thinking about missing the second to try and run another second off of the clock. Thank heavens for Carter. Carter was the only kid that could’ve gotten down the floor that fast."
On Nikki Moody’s turnover on Iowa State’s last possession…
"Yeah, that’s a freshman. She turned it over ten times (in the last game), but I thought she won the battle today. Her penetration was very good and she was able to set other people up. She’ll be a good one, even when she’s a sophomore."
On Alexia Standish and her lack of turnovers…
"She’s been safety conscious. Sometimes that’s good, but against a zone and in transition, I need her to be a little more creative. She’s not turning it over, and I love her for that. The first half, she kept us in it."
On Tyra White’s rebounding and inside play…
"I think she’s better, and I’m going to look at possibly putting her in the post more…Getting her down low and not letting her settle out on the wing."
On the team’s need for a win…
"We needed this game badly. Just think about going into Lubbock- they had 10,000-plus in there the other day to beat Texas."
G Sydney Carter
On the plan on the last play of the game…
"Get to the basket and score. I knew that if I drew the foul, free throws are like layups for me. I know if I can’t make any other shots, I can make free throws with confidence."
"I think I get my points from getting stops on the defensive end. If I’m getting assists and rebounds, I think I’m doing my job on the court."
On whether they feel that they stole a win today…
"I don’t think it’s necessarily a steal because it’s a home game. You can’t afford to lose any games in the Big 12 because the league is so balanced this year. I don’t think it’s a steal — you just have to win at home. It’s all or nothing for these last few games, if it means getting a black eye, a black eye and a win is better than a loss."
F Tyra White
On offensive rebounding…
"They were real big for me. That’s the main key coming into conference, for me to rebound. I get in trouble every day for not rebounding. It’s a big key for me."
F Adaora Elonu
On what picked the team up in the second half…
"The fact that we didn’t want to lose, and the coach got on us for not playing hard. I think it was between us seniors that we needed to wake up and do the things we needed to do to win the game."
On Karla Gilbert’s play…
"I think she plays that way all the time. She’s a great helper, she has good hands and she can score. She did a great job down the stretch."
"Certainly a great college game. Both teams played really hard, I was really proud of our kids’ effort. A&M really got after us at our place, I thought our players played hard and put themselves in a position to get a win on the road against a very good team."
On the last few possessions of the game…
"We practice those situations all the time, I don’t know. We do late game situations every day, the shot clock is a different color and I don’t know. She made a freshman mistake. We knew how much time was on the clock and we talked about the difference. They defended it very well; she (Nikky Moody) just couldn’t get a shot off."
* Texas A&M improved to 8-14 in the all-time series against Iowa State. In addition, the Aggies have won six of the last seven meetings between the two schools.
* The Aggies are 5-3 against the Cyclones when playing in College Station.
* The Aggies are 5-2 on national TV this season.
* A&M shot a first-half season-best 51.9 percent against ISU.
* The Aggies held ISU to a 37.9 shooting percentage in the second half after allowing the Cyclones to shoot 56.6 percent in the first half.
* A&M forced 18 ISU turnovers while only committing 10.
* White has now started in 77 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
* White has scored double figures 25 of her last 27 games. Elonu scored in double figures for the 14th time this season and Bone for the 13th.
* Elonu dished out a season-high four assists, one away from her career best.
* White’s eight rebounds matched her season best.
* Karla Gilbert added 9 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is now 8-5 lifetime versus Iowa State in his 27 years as a Division I head coach. All of his eight career victories against the Cyclones have been while at the helm of the Aggies.
WBB Thoughts: Ags squeeze by ISU in last seconds, 66-64
Post-game thoughts
* There were 7.3 seconds on the clock … A&M had the ball coming out of a timeout with the score tied at 64-64. Sydney Carter, who was scoreless in the game to that point, took the inbounds pass, drove the length of the court, got a tremendous pick by Kelsey Bone at midcourt — shades of Joseph Jones at Baylor in 2008 — and got fouled driving to the basket with 2.4 seconds left to play.Out of an Iowa State timeout called to ice the shooter, Carter stepped to the line and drained a pair of critical free throws to give the Aggies a 66-64 advantage. Bone then intercepted a pass near midcourt and the clock expired, giving the Aggies a hard-fought 66-64 victory.
* A plus-plus community turnout and a decent group of students — a total crowd of 6,054 — came out to the gym to show their support on a Sunday afternoon. The Ags rewarded them with a thrilling last-second victory, and it was not without one heck of a fight by the Iowa State Cyclones. The game featured a whopping 11 ties and six lead changes. With the win, A&M improves to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play. ISU falls to 11-8 and 2-6 in the league.
* As Gary Blair said after this game, A&M needed this game badly. The Ags were coming in at 4-3 in the league and struggling to get things rolling in the Big 12. They really needed to win this one and they can't really afford to lose more than a couple of home games if they want to have a great seed, because this particular group is going to lose a few road games as it's have already shown. You have to win the home games, and the Ags have already lost at home to Texas and still have Baylor on the schedule (twice, for what it's worth).
The Aggies have a nice stretch of very winnable games. A&M heads to Texas Tech this week before returning with home dates with Kansas and Kansas State. A&M 'should' go 3-0 in those games, which would put it at 8-3 in the league and riding a four-game winning streak heading into the first of two meetings with the Bears.
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But with the win over ISU, all of a sudden, the Aggies have a nice stretch of very winnable games. A&M heads to Texas Tech this week before returning with home dates with Kansas and Kansas State. A&M "should" go 3-0 in those games, which would put it at 8-3 in the league and riding a four-game winning streak heading into the first of two meetings with the Bears. But the key to all of that taking place was to get this one at home against a pretty decent Iowa State team that can hang with anyone when it's shooting well from outside and when it gets 5 player Chelsea Poppens involved.* In the first meeting between A&M and ISU 15 days ago in Ames, the Aggies held the Cyclones to just 33 points on 28.9 percent shooting, forcing 18 turnovers. What a difference two weeks can make for a team that started out 0-5 in conference play but came into Reed Arena having won its last two games. The Cyclones scored more points (39) in the first half of this game than they did against A&M in the entire game two weeks ago. They played extremely well and gave the Aggies a tough battle.
This time around, ISU shot 46.2 percent from the field and 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from three-point range. They had three players reach double figures in scoring and Poppens scored a game-high 22 points … just 11 less points than they managed to score as a team in the last matchup.
* The Aggies did a great job early of getting the ball inside early against the ISU zone. Typically when you think zone, you think outside shooting and hoping to make enough shots to soften up that zone and allow you to get the ball inside. But on Sunday, A&M made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to Kelsey Bone and Adaora Elonu, and both A&M bigs were finished with authority when they got the ball in the block. The duo scored 10 of A&M's first 17 points and were key to the Aggies' ability to build an early 17-10 lead over the Cyclones.
* After that, the Ags went into a shell on the offensive end, managing just two points during a stretch that lasted 6:35. During that time, ISU was able to knock down some shots and make a few free throws … keying a 7-2 run to pull to within two, 19-17. It took its first lead of the game, 25-23, thanks to a Poppens layup with 5:12 remaining in the first.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies struggled with ISU's bigs inside but made just enough plays to be in a position to win at the end.
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ISU's ability to knock down open looks from three-point range and A&M leaving shooters wide open during that spurt allowed the Cyclones to maintain a slim lead throughout the final 5:12 of the first half. Poppens' and-one layup and successful free throw during that run put Iowa State up by seven points momentarily, before a three-pointer by Alexia Standish closed the scoring in the first half with A&M down by four, 39-35.
* Iowa State started the second half on the same pace that it ended the first. It quickly went on an 8-2 run to extend its lead to eight points, 47-39. Poppens was a big part of that, scoring four points in the paint and having her way with Bone inside.
* But as we've seen throughout this season, when Kelsey Bone decides to play, she can have such a profound impact on the game. After the first media timeout of the second half, Bone decided it was time to pick it up on both ends, leading the charge on an 8-0 run that allowed the Aggies to storm back and tie it up at 47-47 … igniting the crowd in the process. During that stretch, Bone scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. She wasn't exceptional in the game, but she certainly wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. This stretch was by far the best Bone played in 21 minutes on the floor, and A&M might not have been able to get back into the game without her effort and toughness to fuel that 8-0 run.
* The Aggies were finally able to regain the lead at 53-52, thanks to an and-one layup and free throw by Karla Gilbert with 9:46 on the clock. From that point until the closing seconds, it was back-and-forth, with three ties and five lead changes over the final 9:46 of the game. Elonu's short jumper with 2:49 left to play gave the Ags a 64-63 advantage. Poppens then got fouled on a very questionable call and made one-of-two at the line. Neither team could score over the final 2:10 and the scored remained tied at 64-64 with 7.3 seconds remaining. A&M got the ball back after ISU freshman guard Nikki Moody failed to execute a late-clock situation and allowed the shot clock to expire without getting off a shot. That's when Carter went to work, drawing the foul and making the two free throws to put A&M on top for good.
* How about Sydney Carter? Here's a kid that is struggling with a foot injury that she says is no longer bothering her, but I have a hard time believing her. She did not play a good basketball game … not even close. Carter logged only 24 minutes because, maybe for the first time in her A&M career, she was not giving enough on the defensive end. She picked up two fouls in the first half, sat on the bench for 11 minutes, and sat another five minutes in the second. She got beat a couple of times on defense and had a world of trouble finding her touch with the jump shot.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M's gritty leader played poorly by her standards but nailed two free throws without hesitation.
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Sometimes, even great players don't have their best "stuff" but they don't allow that to cause them to go into a shell. Carter kept fighting through it and she found a way to do what she does best … win!
* Tyra White is one of the many women's college basketball players around the nation that has struggled with the three-point line being moved back to match the men. She came into the game shooting just 24.1 percent from downtown but got the Ags rolling early, draining a three-ball on the first possession of the game and making another outside jumper that was ruled a two but that I thought was surely behind the line.
That made Iowa State have to stay honest on the A&M shooters in that zone and kept them from sinking down on the Aggie post players. White scored seven first half points and all three of her made field goals came beyond 18 feet. She finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals … and much of her second half production came around the hoop on offensive rebounds and stick backs. That is what she's known for and Blair said after the game that he may consider giving Tyra a few minutes at the four spot moving forward because of her toughness and quickness in the post.
* During Iowa State's first-half flurry when they were having their way on the A&M defense, Alexia Standish came up huge and gave the Ags some much-needed scoring to counter what the Cylcones were doing with the basketball. She hit two threes and scored eight of A&M's final 10 points in the first half. Without Standish's effort on offense, ISU's four-point halftime lead would have looked much more like 10. And who knows what would have happened at that point. All eight of Lexi's points came during that stretch. She also pulled down two boards, dished out three assists and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes on the court.
Here's an amazing stat on Standish … she has turned the ball over just four times combined in her last six games, compiling 19 assists during that same stretch. The kid needs to start taking more chances with the basketball, but for a freshman to have just four turnovers in six games and go three of those contests without a turnover, that says a lot about Lexi's ability to handle the basketball, how much she values each possession and how good this young lady is going to be as her career progresses.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Elonu's presence greatly aided the Aggies once again as her triumphant senior campaign rolled on.
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Elonu had 10 points in the first half and finished with a team-high 19 points. She also had five rebounds (four offensive), four assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Elonu gets overlooked sometimes because of the other "star" names on the team, but I'm not so sure Adaora isn't A&M's best player right now. She's undoubtedly the Aggies' most consistent performer, night-in and night-out.
* Give a lot of credit to Karla Gilbert for her effort off the bench. She scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds (four offensive) in 16 minutes, and did a great job of battling with the Cyclone bigs. Gilbert also stepped up big at the foul line, knocking down 5-of-7 at the stripe.
* Nothing like hanging out with the family at a Texas A&M sporting event. Fortunately, we have a setup where our good friends, the Stewart Family, has season tickets just above where I sit in the media area along the Southeast corner of Reed. So I was able to sit at the top of the media section, with my wife and daughter - and a few of our very good friends - hanging out. It was just one of those special treats for me and it's always a great time when I can mix my job with my beautiful family! And Gary Blair threw me a piece of candy that I gave to Ella before the game, so that was pretty cool, too!
Texas A&M post-game quotes
Head Coach Gary Blair"That is so much different from the team we saw in Iowa. The reason was they went 0-5 (to start Big 12 play) and they have a great coaching staff. They went back to the drawing board and said we’ve got a little bit of pride. They lost on a one-second play to Texas and now a close one to us."
If we make the first (free throw at game's end), I was thinking about missing the second to try and run another second off of the clock. Thank heavens for Carter. Carter was the only kid that could’ve gotten down the floor that fast.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"right","Quote":"If we make the first (free throw at game\u0027s end), I was thinking about missing the second to try and run another second off of the clock. Thank heavens for Carter. Carter was the only kid that could’ve gotten down the floor that fast.","Author":"Gary Blair"}
On Iowa State’s offense…"In the first half we had to get out of our press because we got into foul trouble. When we didn’t turn them over, they were making threes, hitting threes and killing us with dribble penetration. Give them credit for a great game plan; we had to make adjustments all along."
On Sydney Carter’s game-winning free throws…
"I was trying to figure out if we make the first, I was thinking about missing the second to try and run another second off of the clock. Thank heavens for Carter. Carter was the only kid that could’ve gotten down the floor that fast."
On Nikki Moody’s turnover on Iowa State’s last possession…
"Yeah, that’s a freshman. She turned it over ten times (in the last game), but I thought she won the battle today. Her penetration was very good and she was able to set other people up. She’ll be a good one, even when she’s a sophomore."
On Alexia Standish and her lack of turnovers…
"She’s been safety conscious. Sometimes that’s good, but against a zone and in transition, I need her to be a little more creative. She’s not turning it over, and I love her for that. The first half, she kept us in it."
On Tyra White’s rebounding and inside play…
"I think she’s better, and I’m going to look at possibly putting her in the post more…Getting her down low and not letting her settle out on the wing."
On the team’s need for a win…
"We needed this game badly. Just think about going into Lubbock- they had 10,000-plus in there the other day to beat Texas."
G Sydney Carter
On the plan on the last play of the game…
"Get to the basket and score. I knew that if I drew the foul, free throws are like layups for me. I know if I can’t make any other shots, I can make free throws with confidence."
I think I get my points from getting stops on the defensive end. If I’m getting assists and rebounds, I think I’m doing my job on the court.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"left","Quote":"I think I get my points from getting stops on the defensive end. If I’m getting assists and rebounds, I think I’m doing my job on the court.","Author":"Syndey Carter"}
On not scoring too much in the game…"I think I get my points from getting stops on the defensive end. If I’m getting assists and rebounds, I think I’m doing my job on the court."
On whether they feel that they stole a win today…
"I don’t think it’s necessarily a steal because it’s a home game. You can’t afford to lose any games in the Big 12 because the league is so balanced this year. I don’t think it’s a steal — you just have to win at home. It’s all or nothing for these last few games, if it means getting a black eye, a black eye and a win is better than a loss."
F Tyra White
On offensive rebounding…
"They were real big for me. That’s the main key coming into conference, for me to rebound. I get in trouble every day for not rebounding. It’s a big key for me."
F Adaora Elonu
On what picked the team up in the second half…
"The fact that we didn’t want to lose, and the coach got on us for not playing hard. I think it was between us seniors that we needed to wake up and do the things we needed to do to win the game."
On Karla Gilbert’s play…
"I think she plays that way all the time. She’s a great helper, she has good hands and she can score. She did a great job down the stretch."
Iowa State post-game quotes
Certainly a great college game. Both teams played really hard, I was really proud of our kids’ effort. I thought our players played hard and put themselves in a position to get a win on the road against a very good team.
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Head Coach Bill Fennelly"Certainly a great college game. Both teams played really hard, I was really proud of our kids’ effort. A&M really got after us at our place, I thought our players played hard and put themselves in a position to get a win on the road against a very good team."
On the last few possessions of the game…
"We practice those situations all the time, I don’t know. We do late game situations every day, the shot clock is a different color and I don’t know. She made a freshman mistake. We knew how much time was on the clock and we talked about the difference. They defended it very well; she (Nikky Moody) just couldn’t get a shot off."
Post-game notes
* For the seventh 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 5-2 with this starting lineup.* Texas A&M improved to 8-14 in the all-time series against Iowa State. In addition, the Aggies have won six of the last seven meetings between the two schools.
* The Aggies are 5-3 against the Cyclones when playing in College Station.
* The Aggies are 5-2 on national TV this season.
* A&M shot a first-half season-best 51.9 percent against ISU.
* The Aggies held ISU to a 37.9 shooting percentage in the second half after allowing the Cyclones to shoot 56.6 percent in the first half.
* A&M forced 18 ISU turnovers while only committing 10.
* White has now started in 77 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
* White has scored double figures 25 of her last 27 games. Elonu scored in double figures for the 14th time this season and Bone for the 13th.
* Elonu dished out a season-high four assists, one away from her career best.
* White’s eight rebounds matched her season best.
* Karla Gilbert added 9 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
* Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair is now 8-5 lifetime versus Iowa State in his 27 years as a Division I head coach. All of his eight career victories against the Cyclones have been while at the helm of the Aggies.
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