Spring Break
Shucked
Domination
By: Michael Teague
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: News
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Bouncing back from a loss at Iowa State, A&M (18-4, 6-3) and Head Coach Gary Blair were glad to see the offense and defense hitting on all cylinders.
"That game kind of allowed people to second-guess us," Senior guard Takia Starks said about the Iowa State game. "But we got back out to the practice court like we always do. We got back to what we know and today we showed you a different team."
Starks led the Aggies with a game-high 13 points, which was matched by freshman Sydney Carter. The freshman was forced to lead the Aggies after starter Sydney Colson went down with a pinched nerve.
"Carter is getting better," Blair said. "We were good in transition and the three-point play she made was very important. She has probably been our most consistent freshman this year."
"I think it's just a matter of me maturing," Carter said. "And my teammates having confidence in me that I can step out there and run set plays and knock down shots at the same time."
A&M shot 61 percent from the field. It was the first time the
Aggies had shot more than 60 percent since 2006.
"We had good balance," Blair said. "I think that's what we're going to have the rest of the year. We can't always depend on a jump shot or a 3-pointer. In this ballgame, we didn't need to shoot a lot of threes. I can live with that any day as long as we're at the basket attacking."
Though A&M was successful on offense, the Aggie defense was the key to the game. Nebraska turned the ball over a season-high 28 times and allowed the Aggies 20 fast break points. Colson led A&M with five steals.
"We just couldn't get anything going offensively and that's a credit to A&M's defense," said Nebraska Head Coach Connie Yori. "They turned up their pressure. The number one thing we said going into this game is 'you got to take care of the ball.' If you're going to play A&M you got to take care of the ball."
Coming into Sunday's game, the Aggies boasted the Big 12's best 3-point defense. That was made even more apparent when the Cornhuskers shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc. Nebraska was held to a 28.3 field goal percentage and scored 16 of its 43 points from the free throw line.
"Our defense set up a lot," Starks said. "We had a lot of transition buckets, but on the other end we also stopped them from scoring."
Following the game, Blair emphasized the importance of the bench players. A&M received 47 points from the bench and gave up four. Eleven Aggies made a field goal in the first half and 14 received playing time.
The A&M offense took a while to warm up, scoring six points in the first six minutes of play. Nebraska's pressure defensively forced several turnovers and put Starks and senior Danielle Gant in foul trouble early.
Ignited by Kelsey Assarian, A&M took over the final seven minutes before the break and went on a 19-7 run.
Coming out of the locker room, the Aggies' defense took over. Nebraska was held to only seven points in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
The Aggies remain tied for fourth place in the Big 12. At 1-8 in conference play, Nebraska is at the bottom of the Big 12 standings.
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