Aggies 'happy to be here' but focused on taking next step

INDIANAPOLIS - Texas A&M senior Sydney Colson said it best during Saturday's pre-Final Four press conference.

"Of course, we're happy to be at this point," Colson said. "This is a first time for us, in Texas A&M history, that we've made it to the Final Four. But we kind of put the excitement to the side. We don't want to make it seem like we weren't expecting to be here, because from the beginning of our season, we were confident that we were capable of making it to this point.

"We knew it was a matter of time and it was really up to us working hard throughout the year, not giving in when adversity hit," Colson added. "And I'm proud that we did that. We were strong mentally and physically throughout this entire season, and we're happy to be at the point that we're at right now."

Happy to be in the Final Four? Yes. Willing to sit back and allow it to end now? Not a chance.

At least not without valiant effort.

“[Getting to the Final Four] is a wonderful feeling," junior Adaora Elonu said. "But we know that there are two more games left that we could possibly play so we are still focused and still hungry to win.”

On paper, Texas A&M is out-manned and out-sized at pretty much every position, but that of course has not slowed them down yet. Even Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair admits that Stanford looks like the team with the advantage heading into Sunday's 6 p.m. tipoff. But there is one thing on A&M's side that is far superior to the Stanford counterpart.

"This is a complete team that has no weaknesses … all the way from the coaching staff on down," Blair said. "The only thing we've got better than them … I like my Yell Leaders a lot better than that tree that walks around."

If the Aggies are going to get past the talented and experienced Stanford Cardinal -- which has reached the Final Four in each of the past four seasons -- they will have to bring their lunch pale and hard hat to the gym with them and put together 40 minutes of in-your-face, gritty defensive intensity.

"This team has earned its way here," Blair said. "We've done it the hard way. Our strength of schedule is No. 3 or 4 in the country. We play in the Big 12, which we consider the best conference in the country.  We can all run the floor. We can all play defense. But we try to play pressure defense for 94 feet [most of the time]. But when you come down, we want it to be hard for you to run your offense. We're not going to play hope-you-miss defense. We're going to hopefully play make-you-miss."

And the queen of the "Make-you-miss" defensive tribe is junior guard Sydney Carter. The DeSoto product is perhaps the top lockdown perimeter defender in the Big 12. At 5-foot-6, she's a bit undersized nearly every time she lines up between the lines. But Carter makes up for it with incredible tenacity and all-out effort.

"I just go into that game, especially if they're taller, with that mindset that I've got to play taller and I've got to be smarter than that person," Carter said. "I'm pretty defensive-minded. I've got to make sure I'm playing with that passion and that intensity that [associate head coach Vic] Schaefer coaches me with, because that's what I'm in the game to do. I'm in there to guard the best player, so I guess I come in there with the mindset that I have to be the aggressor on the defensive end. Especially if they're an aggressive offensive player, I've got to outdo them on the defensive end. I just have to make sure I bring that physicalness to every single game."

In fact, much of A&M's offense comes from their effort on defense which leads to easy buckets on the other end.

"We like to get up and pressure people," Colson said. "[Playing defense] is a big part of where we get our energy from and where we get a lot of momentum from. So when Syd and I are clicking and playing a point guard hard or taking away passes on the wing and making the point guard do something that they don't want to do, we know we're doing our job and we're getting steals and getting out in transition. That's what we really enjoy doing, and it [leads to] easy points. So that's why we work so hard on defense, just to try to convert on the other end."

Another key factor in this game will be rebounding … and the Cardinal enters the game with a huge advantage in that category. The Aggies average a respectable 39.7 rebounds per game and are plus 6.5 boards per game. Meanwhile, Stanford averages a robust 11.6 more rebounds per game than their opponents, entering the Final Four matchup with a 43.6 average.

Leading the charge on the class are Cypress Fair products and sisters Nnemkadi and Chiney Ogwumike, along with 6-4 wing Kayla Pedersen. The trio combines to average 7.9 rebounds per game this season. Blair is particularly impressed with the Ogwumike sisters, who he recruited and knows well.

"What those two sisters bring is so much energy," Blair said. "They're very special. They're great students, they're great young ladies and they just kill you on the boards. They constantly move without the ball. And that's what a basketball coach looks for … somebody that can do something when they do not have the ball. That's what makes them very efficient. Now, what are we going to do with them? Try first to keep them off the boards."

“That’s always a team goal to rebound and to find a player, box them out, and then go get the rebound. As far as our guards, we are going to need them to come down and help us get rebounds because we are going to have our hands full with them. Knowing how good they are, of course I am going to be focusing on being a lot more physical with my box out.”

Fellow Houston area standout Adaora Elonu -- also of Nigerian descent -- has a lot of respect for the Ogwumike sisters. She knows that they will present a difficult challenge but winning the rebounding battle against them will be a huge recipe for success.

“[Rebounding well] is always a team goal," Elonu said. "To find a player, box them out and then go get the rebound. As far as our guards, we are going to need them to come down and help us get rebounds because we are going to have our hands full with [the Ogwumike sisters]. Knowing how good they are, of course I am going to be focusing on being a lot more physical.”

Senior Maryann Baker, a future coach, knows exactly what it will take to rebound against the Cardinal.

“It’s really important for the posts not to just turn around and find them, but to get them out of the paint," Baker said. "By opening the paint up, our guards will be able to come in and get some easy [rebounds] because we have seen multiple times on film how you think they are boxed out but they just reach over you because they are so tall and long. To me, the key is the guards helping the posts out because the posts are going to have their hands full.”

Adams will team with Elonu in an effort to defend and rebound against the Ogwumike sisters. But she's not worried in A&M's ability to get the job done because the Aggies are battle tested extremely well at this point in the season.

"We played against tough post players in the Big 12 … Brittney Griner and the [Nicole Griffin] from Oklahoma," Adams said. "I've played against many great post players. It's nothing [different] … just doing great on my technique and being aggressive."

Once you get past the Ogwumike sisters, then you have to deal with two All-Americans in Jeanette Pohlen Kayla Pedersen. Pohlen averages 14.6 points and 4.8 assists per game, while Pedersen produces 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest.

"We've got enough other problems with Pohlen and Pedersen and the rest of them," Blair said. "They're a complete team. This will be the most complete team that we've played this year."

While the Aggies understand that challenge that awaits them Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse, they are taking time to pull back and enjoy the ride.

“It’s been fun so far and this is what we set out to do from the very beginning [of the season]," Baker said. "So it’s fun and it’s great to see that we finally achieved a goal that we said we were going to do.”

“It means a lot and it goes to show that all of the hard work and dedication that we put in has paid off in the end," White added. "To be able to come out and play on the center stage like the Final Four is a blessing for us.”

As for women's basketball's version of the "old ball coach," Gary Blair sited another college football icon when discussing how much fun he's having as leader of the Texas A&M program.

"It's just a good ride and I'm enjoying it," Blair said. "I'm not looking to retire. I'm not looking to be as old as Joe Paterno and keep coaching too [long], but I'll give it a hell of a ride until then. And then [after I'm finished], I'll be on that golf course and I will beat [legendary coach and longtime mentor and friend Leon] Barmore on the golf course. I think."

Blair and the Aggies got to battle against the Stanford Cardinal Sunday at 6 p.m. Central Time at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. TexAgs.com will be there with full coverage of the event, as Texas A&M looks to reach their first ever national title game.