Spring Break
Sawed off
Women's basketball team takes down Longhorns, 68-54
By: Michael Teague
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Sports
Texas A&M senior Takia Starks scored 21 of her 25 points in the second half Wednesday, as the Aggies dropped rival Texas 68-54.
"The second half has been my half this whole season," Starks said. "I just come out more aggressive and adapt to the defense."
With the win, No. 11 A&M (16-3, 4-2) holds onto its fourth place standing in the Big 12 while Texas (14-5, 2-3) remains in sixth place.
Despite giving up 29 points off turnovers, Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair said he was happy with his team's hard-nosed performance in the rivalry game.
"It was a hard-fought ball game, like it usually is," Blair said. "I'm not happy with the turnovers, but I respect Texas' defense because they are always stripping the ball and are always in the passing lanes."
Senior La Toya Micheaux led A&M with a career-high 16 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.
"I'm just going out there and playing hard," Micheaux said. "No one was putting a body on me, so I just decided to be a beast. I just came out to work hard and my teammates know that when they're falling, I'm there to pick them up."
Sophomore Sydney Colson and junior Tanisha Smith both scored nine points in the first half to start the Aggies off.
"We just felt that we needed to come out with a burst of energy in the beginning," Colson said. "It is really important to get good starts on the road and we felt confident going into the half."
Coming into the game, Texas ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring, with 76.4 points per game. However, A&M's defense held the Longhorns to a 31.5 shooting percentage and their lowest-scoring output of the 2008-2009 season.
"We haven't been as intense on defense as we have been in the past, and we knew that was something we had to get back to," Colson said. "I just think it gave us a tremendous spark and helped us finish the game out well."
In their fifth victory in Austin, the Aggies silenced the Texas home crowd early.
"The second half has been my half this whole season," Starks said. "I just come out more aggressive and adapt to the defense."
With the win, No. 11 A&M (16-3, 4-2) holds onto its fourth place standing in the Big 12 while Texas (14-5, 2-3) remains in sixth place.
Despite giving up 29 points off turnovers, Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair said he was happy with his team's hard-nosed performance in the rivalry game.
"It was a hard-fought ball game, like it usually is," Blair said. "I'm not happy with the turnovers, but I respect Texas' defense because they are always stripping the ball and are always in the passing lanes."
Senior La Toya Micheaux led A&M with a career-high 16 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.
"I'm just going out there and playing hard," Micheaux said. "No one was putting a body on me, so I just decided to be a beast. I just came out to work hard and my teammates know that when they're falling, I'm there to pick them up."
Sophomore Sydney Colson and junior Tanisha Smith both scored nine points in the first half to start the Aggies off.
"We just felt that we needed to come out with a burst of energy in the beginning," Colson said. "It is really important to get good starts on the road and we felt confident going into the half."
Coming into the game, Texas ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring, with 76.4 points per game. However, A&M's defense held the Longhorns to a 31.5 shooting percentage and their lowest-scoring output of the 2008-2009 season.
"We haven't been as intense on defense as we have been in the past, and we knew that was something we had to get back to," Colson said. "I just think it gave us a tremendous spark and helped us finish the game out well."
In their fifth victory in Austin, the Aggies silenced the Texas home crowd early.
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