Gary Blair
A&M Players
JMU's Kenny Brooks
JMU Players
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M senior Karla Gilbert hopes to finish her career in College Station with a second round victory over James Madison on Tuesday night.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Although just a sophomore, point guard Jordan Jones has become the leader of the A&M team both on and off the playing floor.
Ags go for third Sweet 16 in four years against JMU on Tuesday
COLLEGE STATION - At approximately 5-4, James Madison holds the record as the shortest president in United States history. Chances are his feet were the smallest of any president in history as well. With this line of thought in mind, it was probably hard for him to find a pair of glass slippers.
On Tuesday night, the third-seeded Texas A&M women's basketball team (29-5) hopes to strike midnight on the Cinderella season of the 11th-seeded James Madison Dukes in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Dukes claimed both the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and tournament title earlier this year.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
A&M senior Karla Gilbert hopes to finish her career in College Station with a second round victory over James Madison on Tuesday night.
"Throw the seeds out the window," A&M head coach Gary Blair said of Tuesday's matchup. "I study coaches and tendencies. [James Madison head coach Kenny Brooks] has been just as successful there as A&M at getting to the playoffs, whether the WNIT or NCAA Tournament."
Led by 28 points and 18 rebounds from senior Kirby Burkholder, James Madison pulled the upset over sixth-seeded Gonzaga, 72-63, in the first round of the tournament on Sunday afternoon.
Burkholder comes into Tuesday's contest averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and was honored as the 2014 CAA women's basketball Player of the Year by the league's coaches earlier this month.
"She's not like anything that we've seen in the SEC this year," said Blair of Burkholder. "She's a basketball player. I like what she does without the ball. [She's] the type of player you live for as a coach that you want to put on your roster."
The Dukes present a challenge for the Aggies on both sides of the ball. Among the top-50 Divison I teams on the offensive end, James Madison enters Tuesday's game averaging over 75 points per contest. The Dukes are also extremely solid defensively as they sit sixth in the country in overall scoring defense, giving up an average of just 54.8 points per game.
Blair noted that JMU looks similar to a team A&M lost to early this season, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
"They remind me of Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt had great guard play," said Blair. "James Madison is a very guard orientated team. Can we guard a team that likes to run a five-out offense? Can our fives be effective on defense? If they can't we'll have to go small to stay with them."
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Although just a sophomore, point guard Jordan Jones has become the leader of the A&M team both on and off the playing floor.
While James Madison's smaller lineup could create problems defensively for the slower A&M bigs, the height advantage while A&M is on offense may be worth keeping the size on the floor.
"Can their smalls guard our bigs," Blair asked rhetorically. "We've got to get touches inside. We have an advantage of three inches at the five spot."
For center Karla Gilbert and fellow senior Kristen Grant, the last two Aggies to have played on the 2011 national championship squad, Tuesday will be their final game at Reed Arena. Although the game will have sentimental value, win or lose, the team knows it must be prepared for like any other contest.
"Our seniors mean a lot to us," said A&M sophomore point guard Jordan Jones. "Our seniors last year lost on senior night and in the second round and it wasn't a good feeling. We're all extremely motivated and we know that potentially getting further than the second round is not just a goal, but it's Texas A&M basketball."
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