Go ladies! Keep making us proud.
Gary Blair
A&M Players
UND Players
Travis Brewster
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Hopefully the members of the Texas A&M women’s basketball team are believers in the saying ‘third time a charm’.
For the third season in a row, Reed Arena is playing host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. For the third year straight, the Aggies hold the three-seed in their region.
Although A&M did advance out of their sub-regional in 2012 by squeaking past Arkansas in the second round, sixth-seeded Nebraska pulled the upset at Reed last year to prematurely end the Aggies season.
In order to live up to their seed and advance to the Sweet 16, A&M must first get by 14th-seeded North Dakota on Sunday night in the tournament’s first round.
“You want to talk about your team more than your opponent in the first round,” said Blair. “You want your team clicking on all cylinders. You do what you do best.”
Unlike the Aggies who have become a traditional power in the tournament, North Dakota is making their first ever appearance in the dance after transitioning to Division I during the 2008-2009 season.
UND head coach Travis Brewster said making the field is a historical accomplishment for the school, but isn’t satisfied with just being happy to be in the tournament.
“We made history for women’s basketball in the state of North Dakota,” said Brewster. “You have to go out and enjoy your time in the tournament, but there’s a task at hand. Obviously A&M is not going to just lay down, we have to go out and try to take care of our business.”
If North Dakota is going to have any chance at becoming the first 14-seed to beat a three-seed, they will have to limit the production of A&M’s trio of starting sophomore guards. All three – Jordan Jones, Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams – will lean on their experience from last year’s tournament to fuel a run this season.
“I think my freshmen that are now sophomores have grown up,” said Blair. “They’re more mature, they have a little bit of a better basketball I.Q.”
Walker agreed that more experience should equal a better finish.
“A year of experience means a whole lot,” stated Walker. “We’re played a whole year and gotten a chance to know each other. Playing last year will calm our nerves and we can get a win.”
If the Aggies are able to get the victory, they will face the winner of the 6-11 contest of Gonzaga and James Madison which is also being played on Sunday at Reed Arena prior to the A&M-UND matchup.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Courtney Walker leads the Aggies in scoring and needs to have a big weekend if A&M wants to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
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James Madison (28-5)
A&M set for ninth straight NCAA Tournament, ready to face UND
Click here to see full quotes from Saturday's press conference and more first and second round information on AggieAthletics.com.
Hopefully the members of the Texas A&M women’s basketball team are believers in the saying ‘third time a charm’.
For the third season in a row, Reed Arena is playing host to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. For the third year straight, the Aggies hold the three-seed in their region.
Although A&M did advance out of their sub-regional in 2012 by squeaking past Arkansas in the second round, sixth-seeded Nebraska pulled the upset at Reed last year to prematurely end the Aggies season.
In order to live up to their seed and advance to the Sweet 16, A&M must first get by 14th-seeded North Dakota on Sunday night in the tournament’s first round.
You want to talk about your team more than your opponent in the first round. You want your team clicking on all cylinders. You do what you do best.
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To do so, A&M head coach Gary Blair knows it starts and ends with his team’s ability to focus on their own game plan.“You want to talk about your team more than your opponent in the first round,” said Blair. “You want your team clicking on all cylinders. You do what you do best.”
Unlike the Aggies who have become a traditional power in the tournament, North Dakota is making their first ever appearance in the dance after transitioning to Division I during the 2008-2009 season.
UND head coach Travis Brewster said making the field is a historical accomplishment for the school, but isn’t satisfied with just being happy to be in the tournament.
“We made history for women’s basketball in the state of North Dakota,” said Brewster. “You have to go out and enjoy your time in the tournament, but there’s a task at hand. Obviously A&M is not going to just lay down, we have to go out and try to take care of our business.”
If North Dakota is going to have any chance at becoming the first 14-seed to beat a three-seed, they will have to limit the production of A&M’s trio of starting sophomore guards. All three – Jordan Jones, Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams – will lean on their experience from last year’s tournament to fuel a run this season.
“I think my freshmen that are now sophomores have grown up,” said Blair. “They’re more mature, they have a little bit of a better basketball I.Q.”
Walker agreed that more experience should equal a better finish.
“A year of experience means a whole lot,” stated Walker. “We’re played a whole year and gotten a chance to know each other. Playing last year will calm our nerves and we can get a win.”
If the Aggies are able to get the victory, they will face the winner of the 6-11 contest of Gonzaga and James Madison which is also being played on Sunday at Reed Arena prior to the A&M-UND matchup.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Sophomore Courtney Walker leads the Aggies in scoring and needs to have a big weekend if A&M wants to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
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Texas A&M (24-8)
- Seed: 3
- Conference: SEC
- Coach: Gary Blair
- Mascot: Aggies
- Bid: At-large
- Last 10 games: 7-3
- Most impressive victory: South Carolina (January 16th)
- Leading scorer: Courtney Walker (15.2 ppg)
North Dakota (22-9)
- Seed: 14
- Conference: Big Sky
- Coach: Travis Brewster
- Mascot: None
- Bid: Big Sky Tournament champions
- Last 10 games: 7-3
- Most impressive victory: Southern Utah (January 2nd)
- Leading scorer: Madi Buck (15.8 ppg)
Gonzaga (29-4)
- Seed: 6
- Conference: West Coast
- Coach: Kelley Graves
- Mascot: Bulldogs
- Bid: West Coast Tournament champion
- Last 10 games: 9-1
- Most impressive victory: BYU (March 11th)
- Leading scorer: Haiden Palmer (15.1 ppg)
James Madison (28-5)
- Seed: 11
- Conference: Colonial Athletic
- Coach: Kenny Brooks
- Mascot: Duke Dogs
- Bid: Colonial Athletic Tournament champion
- Last 10 games: 9-1
- Most impressive victory: UCLA (November 29th)
- Leading scorer: Kirby Burkholder (18.3 ppg)
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