Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
WBB: A&M 68, TCU 53
Kelsey Bone not starting against the Horned Frogs was an initial surprise, but when you think about what the coaching staff preaches and how the ladies played against Purdue and UCONN, you knew the coaching staff would make some dramatic changes. Bone has shown signs of being extremely talented, but often comes out of the gates slow and unenthusiastic. Until she figures out that Gary Blair and company are serious about work ethic, attitude, and the team first, Kelsey will continue to have her highs and lows.
The team looked focused from the jump ball against TCU today and at times were showing signs of being on the right track. The defensive intensity in the first half was on point, while the offense continued to struggle. The Ags only scored 28 points in the first period, but the second period proved to be more explosive as the girls finished the game by scoring 40 points in the last 20 minutes. The first half was very defensive minded and the second was more about the offense, but if this year's team wants to match the outcome of last year, they are going to have to start putting both halves together at each end of the court.
Notable Players:
- Adaora Elonu: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist, 4 TOs
- Tyra White: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 TOs
- Kelsey Bone: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist, 4 TOs
- Sydney Carter: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 TOs
Opening Statement...
"The first half I loved our defense and didn’t love our offense. The second half I loved our offense didn’t like our defense. We’ve been shooting the ball poorly in the first half, but in the second half all of a sudden we got the ball inside more. Bone played a good 14 minutes in a row. That’s probably the longest she’s played for us (continuously). Gilbert came in and finished up and did a very good job. (We had) 17 rebounds from the 5 position and 12 from the 4 position, I thought we were very active there."
"We gave up what’s going to happen (3-pointers). We have to continually work on that. As you noticed we’re not shooting the 3 as much as we normally do because we don’t have Danielle Adams and Carter and White haven’t been shooting it well, so I said let’s get it inside."
"We struggled a little (against their) zone offense because our girls looked like passers instead of penetrators, attacking the zone. We’re a work in progress right now. This is about where we were last year and we’re going to keep working and working."
"Now we’re going to face a giant team in USC (on Sunday, Dec. 18). They’re going to be the largest team we play this year."
On the TCU series and being in the Dallas/Fort Worth area...
"We have four players from the Dallas area and I had 3 signees in the audience. I had family here and your family is your biggest critic. It’s good to play here. I’d love to play in Dallas every year. We have a 4-year deal with TCU and I hope to keep it going. I don’t think TCU is going to be like some of the other schools in the Big 12 and refuse to play us. I think Coach Mittie and I get along well enough, if not I’ll take him out on the golf course and wear him out. Coach Mittie plays the hardest schedule in the country for a team that’s not in a BCS league. Year in and year out that’s why they’ll be in the playoffs. They’re going to be very good once conference rolls around. I hope to keep this series going."
Texas A&M Senior Guard Tyra White
On A&M’s defensive pressure...
"That’s just how we get out and get into our offense. The first half was kind of wishy-washy, but the second half we came out and pressured the ball, forced turnovers and got out into fast breaks."
On the previous two losses and the importance of getting this win...
"That’s all we’ve been talking about, our two losses and coming back from them; to be able to win a game on the road before we go home and play USC before the Christmas Break. I think that brought a lot of momentum to us. Coming into this game we wanted to play more aggressive on defense and (force TCU to) turn the ball over to create our offense."
Texas A&M Senior Forward Adaora Elonu
On the game...
"They’re a very good team, and at home. We lost our last game against them here. We knew they were going to come out and play the same way today, just because they knew what we were capable of and what they could take away. We were just too complacent in their zone. Having too many turnovers and allowing them to get out into fast break. Once we got settled down, started running our plays, penetrating and crashing the boards, that’s when we were able to take control of the game completely."
On the previous two losses and the importance of getting this win...
"It was definitely something that we needed, this win, coming off two loses. We just needed to play hard and establish who we are as Texas A&M. I don’t think those two loses showed what our team was capable of. We did an ok job of getting back into the flow of how we can play. Toughness is something that the coaches pinpointed for us that we needed to establish; that and being confident out there."
• Texas A&M moves to 31-4 in the all-time series against TCU. The Aggies have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams.
• Texas A&M is now 2-2 on national television this season.
• A&M nearly doubled TCU in rebounds, holding a 48-27 advantage, which included a 21-10 edge in offensive rebounds.
• The Aggies limited TCU to just 6 second chance points, while scoring 18.
• The Aggies are now 7-0 when holding their opponents under 60 points.
• White has now started in 67 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
• White has scored double figures in 16 of her last 17 games.
• Elonu’s 12 rebounds were a season-high mark and with her game-high 15 points she recorded her fourth career double-double. She also matched a career-high with four steals.
• Karla Gilbert grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
• Sydney Carter and Adrienne Pratcher combined for 10 assists.
• Pratcher’s block in the first half was the second of her career.
• White matched a first-half season-high with six rebounds.
• Off the bench, Skylar Collins contributed 5 points on 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
The team looked focused from the jump ball against TCU today and at times were showing signs of being on the right track. The defensive intensity in the first half was on point, while the offense continued to struggle. The Ags only scored 28 points in the first period, but the second period proved to be more explosive as the girls finished the game by scoring 40 points in the last 20 minutes. The first half was very defensive minded and the second was more about the offense, but if this year's team wants to match the outcome of last year, they are going to have to start putting both halves together at each end of the court.
Notable Players:
- Adaora Elonu: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist, 4 TOs
- Tyra White: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 TOs
- Kelsey Bone: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist, 4 TOs
- Sydney Carter: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 TOs
Post-Game Quotes
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary BlairOpening Statement...
"The first half I loved our defense and didn’t love our offense. The second half I loved our offense didn’t like our defense. We’ve been shooting the ball poorly in the first half, but in the second half all of a sudden we got the ball inside more. Bone played a good 14 minutes in a row. That’s probably the longest she’s played for us (continuously). Gilbert came in and finished up and did a very good job. (We had) 17 rebounds from the 5 position and 12 from the 4 position, I thought we were very active there."
"We gave up what’s going to happen (3-pointers). We have to continually work on that. As you noticed we’re not shooting the 3 as much as we normally do because we don’t have Danielle Adams and Carter and White haven’t been shooting it well, so I said let’s get it inside."
"We struggled a little (against their) zone offense because our girls looked like passers instead of penetrators, attacking the zone. We’re a work in progress right now. This is about where we were last year and we’re going to keep working and working."
"Now we’re going to face a giant team in USC (on Sunday, Dec. 18). They’re going to be the largest team we play this year."
On the TCU series and being in the Dallas/Fort Worth area...
"We have four players from the Dallas area and I had 3 signees in the audience. I had family here and your family is your biggest critic. It’s good to play here. I’d love to play in Dallas every year. We have a 4-year deal with TCU and I hope to keep it going. I don’t think TCU is going to be like some of the other schools in the Big 12 and refuse to play us. I think Coach Mittie and I get along well enough, if not I’ll take him out on the golf course and wear him out. Coach Mittie plays the hardest schedule in the country for a team that’s not in a BCS league. Year in and year out that’s why they’ll be in the playoffs. They’re going to be very good once conference rolls around. I hope to keep this series going."
Texas A&M Senior Guard Tyra White
On A&M’s defensive pressure...
"That’s just how we get out and get into our offense. The first half was kind of wishy-washy, but the second half we came out and pressured the ball, forced turnovers and got out into fast breaks."
On the previous two losses and the importance of getting this win...
"That’s all we’ve been talking about, our two losses and coming back from them; to be able to win a game on the road before we go home and play USC before the Christmas Break. I think that brought a lot of momentum to us. Coming into this game we wanted to play more aggressive on defense and (force TCU to) turn the ball over to create our offense."
Texas A&M Senior Forward Adaora Elonu
On the game...
"They’re a very good team, and at home. We lost our last game against them here. We knew they were going to come out and play the same way today, just because they knew what we were capable of and what they could take away. We were just too complacent in their zone. Having too many turnovers and allowing them to get out into fast break. Once we got settled down, started running our plays, penetrating and crashing the boards, that’s when we were able to take control of the game completely."
On the previous two losses and the importance of getting this win...
"It was definitely something that we needed, this win, coming off two loses. We just needed to play hard and establish who we are as Texas A&M. I don’t think those two loses showed what our team was capable of. We did an ok job of getting back into the flow of how we can play. Toughness is something that the coaches pinpointed for us that we needed to establish; that and being confident out there."
Post-Game Notes
• For the first time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Adrienne Pratcher, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Karla Gilbert… It marked the fifth start of Gilbert’s career, the 10th career start for Pratcher, 63rd for Carter, 80th for White and 83rd for Elonu.• Texas A&M moves to 31-4 in the all-time series against TCU. The Aggies have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams.
• Texas A&M is now 2-2 on national television this season.
• A&M nearly doubled TCU in rebounds, holding a 48-27 advantage, which included a 21-10 edge in offensive rebounds.
• The Aggies limited TCU to just 6 second chance points, while scoring 18.
• The Aggies are now 7-0 when holding their opponents under 60 points.
• White has now started in 67 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
• White has scored double figures in 16 of her last 17 games.
• Elonu’s 12 rebounds were a season-high mark and with her game-high 15 points she recorded her fourth career double-double. She also matched a career-high with four steals.
• Karla Gilbert grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
• Sydney Carter and Adrienne Pratcher combined for 10 assists.
• Pratcher’s block in the first half was the second of her career.
• White matched a first-half season-high with six rebounds.
• Off the bench, Skylar Collins contributed 5 points on 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
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