Aggies get set for NCAA Tournament, Wichita State

Click here to see full quotes from Friday's press conference and more first and second round information on AggieAthletics.com.

In recent years, the Texas A&M women's basketball team has done some shocking things in the NCAA Tournament.

Who can forget the run in 2011, when the second-seeded Aggies rattled off wins over top-seeded Baylor and Stanford before claiming the national championship with a 76-70 victory over second-seeded Notre Dame?

But on Saturday afternoon, it is A&M that will look to avoid being shocked when the 14th-seeded Wichita State Shockers come to Reed Arena for the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

"[Wichita State] is playing with nothing to lose," said A&M head coach Gary Blair in Friday's pre-tournament press conference. "These teams win because of the coaches that come and put in their philosophy. Wichita State is going to give us all that we want."

While the Shockers are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, head coach Jody Adams knows a thing or two about grabbing victories in the postseason. Adams played point guard on the 1991 national champion Tennessee Volunteers and has Wichita State in the postseason for the third consecutive year.

“We know that [Wichita State] plays hard,” said A&M junior center Kelsey Bone. “They have two women’s basketball greats on their staff in [assistant coach and women’s basketball hall of famer] Bridgette Gordon [and coach Adams].”

Third-seeded A&M comes into Saturday’s matchup averaging an even 70 points per game — good for 33rd in the country — but the Aggies will have to deal with a stingy Shockers defense that gives up an average of just 54.9 each contest.

On the other end, Wichita State averages 61.6 points per game on offense while the Aggies’ defense gives up 57.6 per game.

“We have to come out and be focused,” stated Bone. “They have three kids on their team that I happen to know very well, so they are coming back home and are going to be wanting to make a statement.”

One of those familiar faces is Houston Nimitz product and Shockers’ leading scorer Jessica Diamond. The senior guard leads her team with 12.0 points per game.

With a victory over Wichita State on Saturday, the Aggies would move into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season.

Pretty shocking for a team that went 9-19 ten years ago, isn’t it?

Texas A&M (24-9)

• Seed: 3
• Conference: SEC
• Coach: Gary Blair
• Mascot: Aggies
• Bid: SEC Tournament champions
• Last 10 games: 6-4
• Most impressive victory: Kentucky (March 10th)
• Leading scorer: Kelsey Bone (16.9 PPG)

Wichita State (24-9)

• Seed: 14
• Conference: Missouri Valley Conference
• Coach: Jody Adams
• Mascot: Shockers
• Bid: MVC Tournament champions
• Last 10 games: 8-2
• Most impressive victory: Creighton (January 19th)
• Leading scorer: Jessica Diamond (12.0 PPG)

Nebraska (23-8)

• Seed: 6
• Conference: Big 10
• Coach: Connie Yori
• Mascot: Cornhuskers
• Bid: Big 10 at-large
• Last 10 games: 8-2
• Most impressive victory: Michigan State (January 24th)
• Leading scorer: Jordan Hooper (17.7 PPG)

Chattanooga (29-3)

• Seed: 11
• Conference: Southern Conference
• Coach: Wes Moore
• Mascot: Lady Mocs
• Bid: Southern Conference Tournament champion
• Last 10 games: 10-0
• Most impressive victory: Tennessee (November 9th)
• Leading scorer: Ashlen Dewart (15.3 PPG)