Spring Break
Aggies snap No. 2 Sooners' 20-game win streak
Aggies' second half defense smothers No. 2 Sooners
By: Michael Teague
Issue date: 2/24/09 Section: News
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The No. 2 Sooners are the highest ranked team A&M has ever beaten. Following the upset, more than 700 students stormed the Reed Arena court.
"I appreciate you all coming out and supporting us tonight," Starks told the crowd after the game. "It was huge. We needed that."
A&M (21-5, 9-4) improved to third place in the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma (24-3, 12-1) suffered its first loss of conference play but still holds a three-game lead with three games remaining in the regular season.
"We needed a signature win like that," said A&M Head Coach Gary Blair. "The crowd was tremendous and they were fighting out there with us."
Oklahoma Head Coach Sherri Coale said turnovers were the story of the game. The Sooners turned the ball over 29 times, leading to 26 A&M points.
"You don't give an opponent the basketball 29 times and expect to win," Coale said. "I don't care how talented you are, it doesn't matter. You cannot give an opponent 29 extra offensive possessions."
Coming into Monday's game, the Aggies led the Big 12 in steals, averaging 11.8 per game. A&M recorded 16 steals by eight players.
"We stepped up so big," Starks said. "We had them fumbling the ball and when the ball was on the ground, we got on the ground. We just did everything right on the defensive end."
After allowing the Sooners to shoot 60 percent from the field in the first half, the Aggies' defense held them to 32 percent in the second half.
Junior guard Tanisha Smith provided a spark to the Aggies' offense, scoring a team-high 18 points. Freshman Sydney Carter scored 11 points off the bench.
Oklahoma senior Courtney Paris picked up her 11th double-double of the 2008-2009 season, posting 15 points and 11 rebounds. A&M defenders senior La Toya Micheaux and freshman Kelsey Assarian held the 6-foot-4-inch center to six points in the second half.
"They've always been a fast pressure team," Paris said. "They have more athletic players than some other teams."
The Aggies fell behind 18-6 early in the first half. The situation got worse when three starters went to the bench early because of foul trouble.
The Aggies came back and made a 16-8 run before halftime to get within reach, but Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Sooners a five-point lead at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, Oklahoma started off strong, extending its lead to 42-28. Blair was forced to call a timeout to regroup. His team responded.
After the stoppage in play, A&M went on a 25-4 run to take the lead.
After falling behind 53-48, Oklahoma stormed back to take a three-point lead with 3:27 remaining. The Aggies defense held the Sooners scoreless for the remainder of the game.
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