Gary Blair & Players
1on1: Lexi Standish
Texas A&M Women's Basketball
Blair's Aggies overpower KU to move to second round
BOX SCORE: LINK
Well … I did.
So did anyone else that has watched the defending champion Texas A&M women's basketball team play throughout the course of the 2011-12 season.
But on this night, the Aggies were hooked up in every way possible.
Led by an outstanding performance from freshman point guard Alexia Standish and an almost-perfect night from senior guard Sydney Carter — and without the services of an injured Tyra White, who sat out with a hotspot on her left foot — the Ags went to work on the Kansas D, bombing outside shots from all directions.
It all culminated in a 78-63 victory over Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Texas A&M improved to 21-9 on the season and advanced face Oklahoma on Friday at 2:30 p.m in the semifinal round. The Jayhawks fall to 19-12.
A&M shot 49.1 percent from the field and a whopping 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from three-point range. The Ags were 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) on free throws.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies ran to the '11 title with Sydney Colson and Danielle Alexander's leadershp, but those who remained (including Sydney Carter, pictured) have changed the dynamic in 2012.
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With White on the bench, Standish and Carter took the opportunity to step to the forefront. Standish, who came into the game with just two double-digit scoring efforts this season, exploded for 25 points and three assists, making eight of her 15 attempts from the field and going 6-of-9 on free throws.
Standish's 25 points were the most in a game by a freshman at A&M since Takia Starks produced a 25-point game in 2005.
Carter, meanwhile, played nearly a perfect game. She scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and went 2-of-4 from downtown. The senior also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists without turning it over.
Kelsey Bone added 16 points and seven rebounds from the 5 position and Adaora Elonu chipped in with 13 points and five boards.
KU shot 44.0 percent from the field and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range. The Jayhawks were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) at the stripe. Angel Goodrich, who posted 21 points and nine assists, led KU.
The game was back-and-forth for the first 28 minutes of action, as the Ags held a three-point lead heading into the under-12:00 media timeout in the second half, 52-49. But out of that break, Standish hit a big three to put A&M up by six and ignited a 6-0 run that allowed the Aggies to claim a nine-point lead.
Then with 5:56 on the clock, Texas A&M blew the doors open on the game with an 11-0 run to go up by 19 and cruise to a 15-point victory.
The Aggies are a win awasy from a possible rematch against Baylor in the Big 12 title game, but they must first get past the Sooners on Friday.
"The role-playing that stepped up with Assarian and Collins filling a role. They didn't have to step up because Lexi filled the role. We'll have to see how it goes. It's very doubtful she'll play tomorrow. If somehow we can get by Oklahoma, she's at her hometown here. We'll see. But we don't want to do anything that could snap that thing and turn it into a fracture and we won't have her for a tournament. But we have other kids on the scholarship, and they stood up today."
"Folks, that's 40 minutes, and that's how you play it, and that's how she is on the all Big 12 defensive team. But she gave us the offense that we've been missing all year, but we ran some good stuff for her at the right time. I think it's very important."
"Angel Goodrich is probably the best scorer and point guard in this league. That doesn't say a thing about Odyssey Sims now, I'm not saying a thing there, but Odyssey doesn't have to do for her team what Angel has to do for her team, and that makes a difference. But don't worry. Odyssey can do it the year that Griner leaves. You know, I want to lobby for the University of Kansas to get in. Last weekend the No. 6, the No. 7, the No. 8 and 9th place team beat the No. 2, 3, 4, and 5 in our league. That shows you how balanced we are. 18 games is too much. And all of a sudden, those coaches just play so hard.
"She went into Oklahoma. Nobody goes into Oklahoma and dominates the game like they did. I think it woke up Oklahoma, and that's why they played so well in the second half. They
remembered what Kansas did to them. But Kansas deserves to be in that NCAA Tournament. Now, we've already had three wrong winners out there, and that's going to hurt an 8-10 team. Hopefully, with their RPI and how hard their kids play and also playing without Carolyn Davis and not using that as an excuse, that's why that team deserves to go to the dance."
G Sydney Carter
"I think it shows a lot, the way our team responded. I think Coach (Vic) Schaefer said before the game, everybody has got to step up tonight without our leading scorer. I think the main focus tonight was our defense. If we could get our defense going like it usually is, we could get our offense going. She was hitting shots. Any time you have somebody hot, you keep giving it to them."
"We're more balanced this year. And everybody can kind of bring their own thing to the table. So I definitely got some good memories in here. It's nice to say that I do have a championship. I think that this team is just working today. We're trying to make our own name. As far as Lex goes, I was just trying to get the ball to her because she did have the hot hand. We had the emotion today. We were high-fiving each other and screaming and having fun. I think that's what we've been missing this entire year, when we're out running in transition and when we're getting rebounds and people are missing shots, that's when the game is fun for us.
"So we need to get back to that and keep chest bumping and high-fiving like people are used to seeing us do, and I think that will help us."
F Kelsey Bone
"We knew we had to step up. If two or three people stand on me and they want to leave Standish open, that's fine by me. Leave her open. She's finally getting into a rhythm and put it all behind and just playing basketball. I think it had a lot to do with maybe we needed to kind of depend on one another and help chemistry because now some people are in a groove, and when Tyra comes back in, she's just going to fit right back into the puzzle."
G Alexia Standish
On when she felt she could have a big game...
"For me, it wasn't really my shooting. It was watching the team get motivated and excited after we'd make a good play or make a good defensive stop. Seeing that got me really confident in my team knowing that, hey, if I missed that shot, Bone's got the rebound, Karla's got the rebound. For me, it was a confidence thing, seeing how motivated my team was playing."
* The Aggies have won the past 11 contests against the Jayhawks … The teams met in the Big 12 Championship for the first time.
* Texas A&M is 11-2 over the past five years at the Big 12 Championship … They improve to 7-1 all-time in quarterfinal action … A&M reaches the Big 12 championship semifinals for the seventh consecutive year … The
Aggies are 14-13 in Big 12 Championship games … A&M is now 3-0 on neutral courts this season
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Standish's big game propelled the Aggies, who are looking for a high seed after winning the NCAA title in 2011 as a #2.
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*Texas A&M coach Gary Blair is 617-251 overall, including a 209-88 mark at Texas A&M … He is 14-0 against KU in his time as a head coach
* Four A&M players were in double figures (Standish, 25; Carter, 18; Bone, 16; Elonu, 13) … Standish’s 25 are a career high … This is the second time in her career she has been in double figures … Her six three-pointers are an individual high from an Aggie this season … Carter was in double figures for the third consecutive game and the 18th time this season … Her eight assists are a season high and tie her career high … Bone scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and 22nd time this season … Elonu was in double figures for the fourth consecutive contest, as well as the 20th time this season
* 18 of A&M’s 21 wins this season have come by 10 points or more … The Aggie’s eight three-pointers marked a season high … Texas A&M committed eight turnovers, which is a season low … A&M shot 61.5 percent from three-point range which is tied for 10th all-time in Big 12 Championship contests, and ranks fourth all-time in second-round games.
* Four Kansas players scored in double figures (Goodrich, 21; Sutherland,14; Knight, 14; Gardner, 13) … This is the 15th time Kansas has had four or more players score in double figures this season … Goodrich has scored in double figures in 23 games in her career … She has scored 20+ points in four games in her career, including three games this season … Goodrich had a game-high nine assists … Sutherland carded her 24th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 60th of her career … Knight scored in double figures for the seventh time … Gardner scored in double figures for the fourth time."
* Texas A&M edged Kansas at the half, leading 32-30 … The Aggies are now 17-2 when leading at the half … The Jayhawks are 1-9 when trailing … There were three ties and two lead changes in the contest.
Quick recap
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Who said this team couldn't shoot?Well … I did.
So did anyone else that has watched the defending champion Texas A&M women's basketball team play throughout the course of the 2011-12 season.
But on this night, the Aggies were hooked up in every way possible.
Led by an outstanding performance from freshman point guard Alexia Standish and an almost-perfect night from senior guard Sydney Carter — and without the services of an injured Tyra White, who sat out with a hotspot on her left foot — the Ags went to work on the Kansas D, bombing outside shots from all directions.
It all culminated in a 78-63 victory over Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Texas A&M improved to 21-9 on the season and advanced face Oklahoma on Friday at 2:30 p.m in the semifinal round. The Jayhawks fall to 19-12.
A&M shot 49.1 percent from the field and a whopping 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from three-point range. The Ags were 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) on free throws.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies ran to the '11 title with Sydney Colson and Danielle Alexander's leadershp, but those who remained (including Sydney Carter, pictured) have changed the dynamic in 2012.
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Standish's 25 points were the most in a game by a freshman at A&M since Takia Starks produced a 25-point game in 2005.
Carter, meanwhile, played nearly a perfect game. She scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and went 2-of-4 from downtown. The senior also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out eight assists without turning it over.
Kelsey Bone added 16 points and seven rebounds from the 5 position and Adaora Elonu chipped in with 13 points and five boards.
KU shot 44.0 percent from the field and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range. The Jayhawks were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) at the stripe. Angel Goodrich, who posted 21 points and nine assists, led KU.
The game was back-and-forth for the first 28 minutes of action, as the Ags held a three-point lead heading into the under-12:00 media timeout in the second half, 52-49. But out of that break, Standish hit a big three to put A&M up by six and ignited a 6-0 run that allowed the Aggies to claim a nine-point lead.
Then with 5:56 on the clock, Texas A&M blew the doors open on the game with an 11-0 run to go up by 19 and cruise to a 15-point victory.
The Aggies are a win awasy from a possible rematch against Baylor in the Big 12 title game, but they must first get past the Sooners on Friday.
Texas A&M post-game quotes
Head Coach Gary BlairOn Tyra White's injury and when she's expected back...
"After the Texas game, her foot had been bothering her for a week, she said, and we didn't know anything about it. After the Texas game, it's a hot spot on the fifth metatarsal. The X-rays were negative. She's been in a lot of pain and has been in the boot ever since, was on crutches for two days. It's day by day, and we'll just have to see what goes. I know Radar would like to hold her out to Saturday. First he told me he wanted to hold her out to Sunday, and I said, there's no game on Sunday. But that was Radar. I said, you may be looking for a game job on Sunday. But precaution."The role-playing that stepped up with Assarian and Collins filling a role. They didn't have to step up because Lexi filled the role. We'll have to see how it goes. It's very doubtful she'll play tomorrow. If somehow we can get by Oklahoma, she's at her hometown here. We'll see. But we don't want to do anything that could snap that thing and turn it into a fracture and we won't have her for a tournament. But we have other kids on the scholarship, and they stood up today."
On readying the team without White available...
"It killed me. I was in a horrible mood. I was snapping at the trainers, snapping at my team during the shootaround. It's a good thing my wife didn't get here until about 4:00 because she would have kicked me out of the room. She was driving in from Fayetteville. I was in a horrible mood. Woe is me, woe is me, I don't have all my toys to go out there. Somehow I believed in our kids. We had great guard play today. How's this for a line ... Carter's had a tough year, she goes 8 out of 13, 2 out of 4 from the three. Missed her only free throw, and that's where she's the best. Seven boards, I think they were all in the second half. Eight assists, zero turnovers, and guarded Goodrich."Folks, that's 40 minutes, and that's how you play it, and that's how she is on the all Big 12 defensive team. But she gave us the offense that we've been missing all year, but we ran some good stuff for her at the right time. I think it's very important."
On what makes the matchup between Carter and Goodrich so good...
"They both got out of high school the same year because Goodrich had a redshirt year. We looked at Goodrich also. But we couldn't be greedy, we already had Colson and other point guards. We wanted Carolyn Davis too, used to come to our camp. I think those are two of the premiere guards in the league. They don't need rest. They can go 40 minutes a game. Goodrich is so good with the ball. She's always diving into the paint. She's finding somebody open or whatever. We're just lucky Carolyn Davis wasn't in there, because when you have those two posts together, they're two very, very good offensive posts. But Goodrich can find you. Bonnie runs more sets than I do, and I thought I had the most sets in the world, but she runs a lot of different things."Angel Goodrich is probably the best scorer and point guard in this league. That doesn't say a thing about Odyssey Sims now, I'm not saying a thing there, but Odyssey doesn't have to do for her team what Angel has to do for her team, and that makes a difference. But don't worry. Odyssey can do it the year that Griner leaves. You know, I want to lobby for the University of Kansas to get in. Last weekend the No. 6, the No. 7, the No. 8 and 9th place team beat the No. 2, 3, 4, and 5 in our league. That shows you how balanced we are. 18 games is too much. And all of a sudden, those coaches just play so hard.
"She went into Oklahoma. Nobody goes into Oklahoma and dominates the game like they did. I think it woke up Oklahoma, and that's why they played so well in the second half. They
remembered what Kansas did to them. But Kansas deserves to be in that NCAA Tournament. Now, we've already had three wrong winners out there, and that's going to hurt an 8-10 team. Hopefully, with their RPI and how hard their kids play and also playing without Carolyn Davis and not using that as an excuse, that's why that team deserves to go to the dance."
G Sydney Carter
On the team's approach tonight without Tyra White...
"I guess my role is just to be a point guard. If I'm open, shoot the three. Tonight I was open. I just took what I had to take, and I guess I helped out our team since we're missing our leading scorer."I think it shows a lot, the way our team responded. I think Coach (Vic) Schaefer said before the game, everybody has got to step up tonight without our leading scorer. I think the main focus tonight was our defense. If we could get our defense going like it usually is, we could get our offense going. She was hitting shots. Any time you have somebody hot, you keep giving it to them."
On making it through the season with an altered roster...
"I think this season has definitely been a roller coaster. It's kind of like I'm the leader this year, and everybody is looking to me, and I've always had that backseat to Sydney Colson, so we kind of just complemented each other. So we always had that team where everybody knew we're going to get to the championship or we should get there. I think the Big 12 is so just balanced this year. So night in and night out, we're going to have to prove we're still the same Texas A&M, even though we don't have the players that we had the previous years, that we're the stars."We're more balanced this year. And everybody can kind of bring their own thing to the table. So I definitely got some good memories in here. It's nice to say that I do have a championship. I think that this team is just working today. We're trying to make our own name. As far as Lex goes, I was just trying to get the ball to her because she did have the hot hand. We had the emotion today. We were high-fiving each other and screaming and having fun. I think that's what we've been missing this entire year, when we're out running in transition and when we're getting rebounds and people are missing shots, that's when the game is fun for us.
"So we need to get back to that and keep chest bumping and high-fiving like people are used to seeing us do, and I think that will help us."
F Kelsey Bone
On everyone stepping their game up as the tournament arrived...
"You know, it would have been easy for us after last Sunday to just fold. I mean, Monday in the film room was like torture, and Tuesday was death. So for us, we knew we had to step up. The season started over now. Everyone coming in tonight was 0-0. We knew this was a team again for the second time in a row, they were fighting for their NCAA life. To ourselves, we put ourselves in a situation where we're fighting for our seeding life."We knew we had to step up. If two or three people stand on me and they want to leave Standish open, that's fine by me. Leave her open. She's finally getting into a rhythm and put it all behind and just playing basketball. I think it had a lot to do with maybe we needed to kind of depend on one another and help chemistry because now some people are in a groove, and when Tyra comes back in, she's just going to fit right back into the puzzle."
G Alexia Standish
On when she felt she could have a big game...
"For me, it wasn't really my shooting. It was watching the team get motivated and excited after we'd make a good play or make a good defensive stop. Seeing that got me really confident in my team knowing that, hey, if I missed that shot, Bone's got the rebound, Karla's got the rebound. For me, it was a confidence thing, seeing how motivated my team was playing."Post-game notes
* Texas A&M leads the all-time series 12-7 … The Aggies won all three meetings this season* The Aggies have won the past 11 contests against the Jayhawks … The teams met in the Big 12 Championship for the first time.
* Texas A&M is 11-2 over the past five years at the Big 12 Championship … They improve to 7-1 all-time in quarterfinal action … A&M reaches the Big 12 championship semifinals for the seventh consecutive year … The
Aggies are 14-13 in Big 12 Championship games … A&M is now 3-0 on neutral courts this season
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Standish's big game propelled the Aggies, who are looking for a high seed after winning the NCAA title in 2011 as a #2.
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* Four A&M players were in double figures (Standish, 25; Carter, 18; Bone, 16; Elonu, 13) … Standish’s 25 are a career high … This is the second time in her career she has been in double figures … Her six three-pointers are an individual high from an Aggie this season … Carter was in double figures for the third consecutive game and the 18th time this season … Her eight assists are a season high and tie her career high … Bone scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and 22nd time this season … Elonu was in double figures for the fourth consecutive contest, as well as the 20th time this season
* 18 of A&M’s 21 wins this season have come by 10 points or more … The Aggie’s eight three-pointers marked a season high … Texas A&M committed eight turnovers, which is a season low … A&M shot 61.5 percent from three-point range which is tied for 10th all-time in Big 12 Championship contests, and ranks fourth all-time in second-round games.
* Four Kansas players scored in double figures (Goodrich, 21; Sutherland,14; Knight, 14; Gardner, 13) … This is the 15th time Kansas has had four or more players score in double figures this season … Goodrich has scored in double figures in 23 games in her career … She has scored 20+ points in four games in her career, including three games this season … Goodrich had a game-high nine assists … Sutherland carded her 24th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 60th of her career … Knight scored in double figures for the seventh time … Gardner scored in double figures for the fourth time."
* Texas A&M edged Kansas at the half, leading 32-30 … The Aggies are now 17-2 when leading at the half … The Jayhawks are 1-9 when trailing … There were three ties and two lead changes in the contest.
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