Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News

Media Credit: File - The Battalion The Aggie women are starting their last two games of the season with a four-game winning streak. The team says it is on a payback tour and have been focusing on the Big 12 Tournament. [Click to enlarge]

The A&M women's basketball team is in the final stretch of its season, arguably their toughest, and is off to a solid start of the final leg. A&M's 63-57 win over Oklahoma State gives them a four-game win streak coming into their final two games. The remaining games are at home against No. 8 Baylor on Saturday and No. 10 Oklahoma on Thursday. The showdown begins at 1 p.m. Saturday when the Bears roll into Reed Arena.

Baylor is the Big 12 Conference leader and has already beaten A&M once this season, 59-56. In that game, Baylor had four of their women score in double digits. Junior Takia Starks led the Aggies with 16 points. Since then, the Aggies have had their ups and downs, but feel they are playing their best basketball right now.

"Lately in practice we've been having great focus," junior Danielle Gant said. "Coach has been telling us that the tournament is coming up and that's our main focus right now."

The game against Baylor is part of a self described payback tour.

"We're on our payback tour," senior A'Quonesia Franklin said. "The games we have left are the teams that beat us earlier in the year. We're just taking one game at a time."

"We have no Top 25 wins," Head Coach Gary Blair said. "Oklahoma State was the first one and that really helped us. To get into the top four in conference we will probably have to beat both Baylor and Oklahoma. Kansas State should win it if all of us in the Big 12 South keep knocking each other off."

Baylor has continued to be one of the best teams in the Big 12 and the nation. In addition to leading the Big 12 standings and having the best record, 24-3, the Bears lead five team statistical categories, including scoring, defense, field goal and three point percentage defenses, and blocked shots. The Bears are ranked in the top four in 14 of the 19 major team statistical categories. This is compared to the Aggies, who lead only one team statistical category, turnover margin, and rank in the top four of five categories.

In the game earlier this season, the Aggies held the Bears' to 29.2 percent field goal percentage as the Bears only hit 19 of 65 shots. If the stats and history say anything, the game will certainly be a match up of top defenses with a lot riding on the game in terms of standings and tournament seeds.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools