Spring Break
One of the Elite
The Texas A&M defense smothers the Duke Blue Devils as the Aggies advance to the Elite Eight for first time
By: Clif Turner
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Texas A&M's women's basketball team is entering uncharted waters in what has truly been a season of destiny.
The magical run took one more step on Sunday night as the Aggies defeated Duke, 77-63, in Oklahoma City. The victory carries A&M into the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Junior Danielle Gant sat out the second half after suffering dehydration and taking in three bags of intravenous fluid in the locker room following the first half. She finished the night with eight points.
"Gant was playing out of sight like she always does," said A&M Head Coach Gary Blair.
"She felt dizzy on the bench. I told [our trainer] if she's dizzy, I'm sick."
Senior Patrice Reado led all scorers with 17 points while junior Takia Starks added 15. Seniors Morenike Atunrase and A'Quonesia Franklin also contributed 13 points each.
The Aggies improve to 29-7 on the year and extend their current winning streak to 12 games. A&M has also won 16 of their last 17.
Blair had mentioned prior to tip-off that the Aggies would need to keep the score as low as possible to counter the Blue Devils' high-powered offense. Duke, the No. 3 seed in the Oklahoma City regional, who ends their season with a 25-10 record, committed 19 turnover and never really found an offensive pattern against an A&M team that ranked first in the Big 12 in scoring defense.
"We had eight more turnovers than them in this game," Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie said on ESPN. "That's an enormous turnaround in offensive possibilities."
Duke junior Chante Black led her team with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Aggies kept the Blue Devils cold from beyond the arc for nearly the entire game. Duke only found the bucket from three-point range three times all night and didn't hit their first one until Jasime Thomas' 3-pointer found its mark with 4:35 left in the second half.
"You're never happy when your shot doesn't fall," Duke's Abby Waner told ESPN. "It does get frustrating. Coach [McCallie] was right -- we needed to go inside-out more."
The magical run took one more step on Sunday night as the Aggies defeated Duke, 77-63, in Oklahoma City. The victory carries A&M into the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Junior Danielle Gant sat out the second half after suffering dehydration and taking in three bags of intravenous fluid in the locker room following the first half. She finished the night with eight points.
"Gant was playing out of sight like she always does," said A&M Head Coach Gary Blair.
"She felt dizzy on the bench. I told [our trainer] if she's dizzy, I'm sick."
Senior Patrice Reado led all scorers with 17 points while junior Takia Starks added 15. Seniors Morenike Atunrase and A'Quonesia Franklin also contributed 13 points each.
The Aggies improve to 29-7 on the year and extend their current winning streak to 12 games. A&M has also won 16 of their last 17.
Blair had mentioned prior to tip-off that the Aggies would need to keep the score as low as possible to counter the Blue Devils' high-powered offense. Duke, the No. 3 seed in the Oklahoma City regional, who ends their season with a 25-10 record, committed 19 turnover and never really found an offensive pattern against an A&M team that ranked first in the Big 12 in scoring defense.
"We had eight more turnovers than them in this game," Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie said on ESPN. "That's an enormous turnaround in offensive possibilities."
Duke junior Chante Black led her team with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Aggies kept the Blue Devils cold from beyond the arc for nearly the entire game. Duke only found the bucket from three-point range three times all night and didn't hit their first one until Jasime Thomas' 3-pointer found its mark with 4:35 left in the second half.
"You're never happy when your shot doesn't fall," Duke's Abby Waner told ESPN. "It does get frustrating. Coach [McCallie] was right -- we needed to go inside-out more."
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