Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
* Other than Adaora Elonu - who continues to perform at a very high level in Big 12 play - no individuals stand out as having a great game. And the stats overall don't really scream of "dominant performance" as I alluded to above, but the main stat - the scoreboard - says that they did. And anytime a team can go on the road in the Big 12 and beat a well-established program by 26 points, it's a great team victory. The stats that do stand out: ISU shot just 28.9 percent and just 23.7 percent from three-point range. The Cyclones also committed 18 turnovers. That lets you know that A&M went to Ames and guarded from the time they stepped off of the plane on Friday night. Gary Blair talked about it after the game … half court defense was the key and give the players credit for fighting through fatigue that they are facing right now, and getting it done.
* We've been waiting for THIS Adaora Elonu to emerge for quite some time. We've seen flashes throughout her career. Heck, she was pretty dang good in the Final Four and national championship game. But consistency has always been a concern. I think we can say that she has turned the corner in that regard. Elonu was A&M's best player in this one, scoring a game-high 14 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. She played 38 minutes and, from what I could tell, gave great effort from start to finish … even in a blowout victory. While Kelsey Bone struggles to figure it out on a game-in, game-out basis and while Karla Gilbert remains in development mode, it's a huge blessing for Blair and Co. to be able to lean on an experience, solid "big" in Elonu.
* The win moves A&M's record to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play. The Aggies should be favored to win each of their next seven games and I predict that the next three weeks is when we will all begin to see this team take off and begin performing up to their great potential. Nothing like a stretch that begins with Missouri and Kansas to allow for a "get right" opportunity. It all started tonight and I believe it will only get better from here.
Opening Statement…
"What won the ball game was our half-court defense. That looked like last year’s team. We have not played that well on defense the whole year. Our kids did a great job of helping and we stopped the lob the majority of the time. Tyra (White) hit the shot before the half that drained any momentum that they had. It was a tough shot, but that was the shot she hit to win the national championship for us. We’re getting everyone’s best games, but this was not Iowa State’s best game. They’re coming off a tough double-overtime loss and I feel for Bill with what he’s going through. The crowd was great, but for the first time we were able to silence the crowd. Our job as players and coaches is to get better during the season, not just get wins. We made a step in the right direction here."
On the key to the game…
"The key to the game was exactly how we lost to Texas. When we got their two bigs into foul trouble the last eight minutes of the first half, we did not take advantage. ISU didn’t take advantage of us when we were in foul trouble. I thought that was key, that ISU didn’t hurt us inside during that time. We weren’t able to hurt Texas, same scenario."
On this being A&M’s last trip to Iowa State…
"This is the last time I get to come to Iowa State. I love coming here because this is a classy program. ISU has a great staff."
Guard Tyra White
On what the difference was in this game…
"I think our defense was the big key for us. We were getting in help side and we took away the lob that they wanted to get early. That led to our offense, which was pretty good momentum for us."
On having the momentum at the half…
"We felt a lot of momentum just knowing that our defense was paying off to lead to offense. The shot at the half kind of sealed it for me and the rest of our team. Our defense was the main talk at halftime."
On A&M’s goals coming into this game…
"To make them shoot through our chin and not let them get too comfortable. We wanted to get good ball pressure and I think (Sydney) Carter did a great job with that today."
Forward Adaora Elonu
On what worked for her tonight…
"I was just trying to get comfortable and shoot when I was open; not force the issue. My teammates did a good job of moving the ball; we read what was given to us and shot the shot. That’s exactly what I tried to do."
On A&M’s defensive performance…
"We definitely came out intense and with a helping attitude tonight. We had everyone in the right spots, helping, trying to get up the line and sealing. It’s something that we need to continue for the rest of our conference games."
* Texas A&M improves to 7-14 in the all-time series against Iowa State and has won five of the last six meetings. The Aggies now have two straight wins at Hilton Coliseum.
* Thirty-three points was the lowest A&M has held a conference opponent to (by 6 points) in the Gary Blair Era. It was also the second-lowest opponent point total in the Gary Blair Era, next to 26 points for McNeese State on Nov. 21, 2006.
* A&M held an 18-point lead at the half, its largest halftime lead at Hilton Coliseum all-time. In addition, A&M led by as many as 27 points in the second half, its largest lead all-time in Ames.
* A&M defeated Iowa State by 26 points, its largest margin of victory all-time in the series.
* The Aggies held the Cyclones to a season-low 28.9 shooting percentage.
* A&M made a season-high seven 3-pointers.
* For the first time this season, the Aggies were perfect from the free-throw line.
* The Aggie bench outscored the ISU bench, 21-3. A&M also held the advantage in points off turnovers, 21-10, and second-chance points, 19-9.
* White has now started in 73 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
* Collins hit a career-best four 3-pointers and was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. She also added two assists and two steals and matched a career-high 23 minutes of action.
* White swiped a career-best four steals.
* Elonu was one rebound shy of her third-straight double-double.
* With nine rebounds, Elonu moved into eight place on A&M’s career rebounds list (619).
* For the second straight game, Karla Gilbert had a season-high three blocked shots.
WBB Snippets: Ags pound Cyclones in Ames, 59-33
Post-Game Snippets
* A dominant performance for Gary Blair's squad and a much-needed win over Iowa State, 59-33, Saturday night in Ames. It was just the second victory at Hilton Coliseum for the Ags in the history of the rivalry, but two in a row because the national title team kicked down that door last season.* Other than Adaora Elonu - who continues to perform at a very high level in Big 12 play - no individuals stand out as having a great game. And the stats overall don't really scream of "dominant performance" as I alluded to above, but the main stat - the scoreboard - says that they did. And anytime a team can go on the road in the Big 12 and beat a well-established program by 26 points, it's a great team victory. The stats that do stand out: ISU shot just 28.9 percent and just 23.7 percent from three-point range. The Cyclones also committed 18 turnovers. That lets you know that A&M went to Ames and guarded from the time they stepped off of the plane on Friday night. Gary Blair talked about it after the game … half court defense was the key and give the players credit for fighting through fatigue that they are facing right now, and getting it done.
* We've been waiting for THIS Adaora Elonu to emerge for quite some time. We've seen flashes throughout her career. Heck, she was pretty dang good in the Final Four and national championship game. But consistency has always been a concern. I think we can say that she has turned the corner in that regard. Elonu was A&M's best player in this one, scoring a game-high 14 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. She played 38 minutes and, from what I could tell, gave great effort from start to finish … even in a blowout victory. While Kelsey Bone struggles to figure it out on a game-in, game-out basis and while Karla Gilbert remains in development mode, it's a huge blessing for Blair and Co. to be able to lean on an experience, solid "big" in Elonu.
* The win moves A&M's record to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play. The Aggies should be favored to win each of their next seven games and I predict that the next three weeks is when we will all begin to see this team take off and begin performing up to their great potential. Nothing like a stretch that begins with Missouri and Kansas to allow for a "get right" opportunity. It all started tonight and I believe it will only get better from here.
Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Gary BlairOpening Statement…
"What won the ball game was our half-court defense. That looked like last year’s team. We have not played that well on defense the whole year. Our kids did a great job of helping and we stopped the lob the majority of the time. Tyra (White) hit the shot before the half that drained any momentum that they had. It was a tough shot, but that was the shot she hit to win the national championship for us. We’re getting everyone’s best games, but this was not Iowa State’s best game. They’re coming off a tough double-overtime loss and I feel for Bill with what he’s going through. The crowd was great, but for the first time we were able to silence the crowd. Our job as players and coaches is to get better during the season, not just get wins. We made a step in the right direction here."
On the key to the game…
"The key to the game was exactly how we lost to Texas. When we got their two bigs into foul trouble the last eight minutes of the first half, we did not take advantage. ISU didn’t take advantage of us when we were in foul trouble. I thought that was key, that ISU didn’t hurt us inside during that time. We weren’t able to hurt Texas, same scenario."
On this being A&M’s last trip to Iowa State…
"This is the last time I get to come to Iowa State. I love coming here because this is a classy program. ISU has a great staff."
Guard Tyra White
On what the difference was in this game…
"I think our defense was the big key for us. We were getting in help side and we took away the lob that they wanted to get early. That led to our offense, which was pretty good momentum for us."
On having the momentum at the half…
"We felt a lot of momentum just knowing that our defense was paying off to lead to offense. The shot at the half kind of sealed it for me and the rest of our team. Our defense was the main talk at halftime."
On A&M’s goals coming into this game…
"To make them shoot through our chin and not let them get too comfortable. We wanted to get good ball pressure and I think (Sydney) Carter did a great job with that today."
Forward Adaora Elonu
On what worked for her tonight…
"I was just trying to get comfortable and shoot when I was open; not force the issue. My teammates did a good job of moving the ball; we read what was given to us and shot the shot. That’s exactly what I tried to do."
On A&M’s defensive performance…
"We definitely came out intense and with a helping attitude tonight. We had everyone in the right spots, helping, trying to get up the line and sealing. It’s something that we need to continue for the rest of our conference games."
Post-Game Notes
* For the third time this season, Texas A&M used the starting lineup of Alexia Standish, Sydney Carter, Tyra White, Adaora Elonu and Kelsey Bone… It marked the third career start for Standish, the 13th of Bone’s Aggie career, the 86th for White and 89th for Elonu.* Texas A&M improves to 7-14 in the all-time series against Iowa State and has won five of the last six meetings. The Aggies now have two straight wins at Hilton Coliseum.
* Thirty-three points was the lowest A&M has held a conference opponent to (by 6 points) in the Gary Blair Era. It was also the second-lowest opponent point total in the Gary Blair Era, next to 26 points for McNeese State on Nov. 21, 2006.
* A&M held an 18-point lead at the half, its largest halftime lead at Hilton Coliseum all-time. In addition, A&M led by as many as 27 points in the second half, its largest lead all-time in Ames.
* A&M defeated Iowa State by 26 points, its largest margin of victory all-time in the series.
* The Aggies held the Cyclones to a season-low 28.9 shooting percentage.
* A&M made a season-high seven 3-pointers.
* For the first time this season, the Aggies were perfect from the free-throw line.
* The Aggie bench outscored the ISU bench, 21-3. A&M also held the advantage in points off turnovers, 21-10, and second-chance points, 19-9.
* White has now started in 73 straight games, a streak that started on Jan. 4, 2010 against Lamar.
* Collins hit a career-best four 3-pointers and was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. She also added two assists and two steals and matched a career-high 23 minutes of action.
* White swiped a career-best four steals.
* Elonu was one rebound shy of her third-straight double-double.
* With nine rebounds, Elonu moved into eight place on A&M’s career rebounds list (619).
* For the second straight game, Karla Gilbert had a season-high three blocked shots.
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