Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M
Ladyjacks Unable to Hang with Fifth-Ranked Aggies
12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2008
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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - There were many story lines entering Tuesday's game between SFA and No. 5 (ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll) Texas A&M. Former SFA head coach Gary Blair returning to Nacogdoches with his Aggies, Blair's induction into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame, current SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley going up against her former mentor, and Ladyjack assistant coach Taqueta Braxton coaching against her former coach from their time at Arkansas together. But in the end, the fifth-ranked Aggies stole all the headlines by recording a 77-36 victory to drop SFA to 4-3 on the season, while Texas A&M remains undefeated, 7-0.
"Texas A&M is a great team, and they have a great coach," said SFA head coach Lee Ann Riley. "But I really expected our girls to compete harder than they did. We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game. I'm just very disappointed."
The Aggies scored the games' first eight points, and never trailed in the contest, but that stat by itself is misleading. The Ladyjacks had their way defensively against one of the nation's top teams forcing Texas A&M into 13 first-half turnovers, and only being outrebounded by one, 18-17. Unfortunately for the Ladyjacks when they did something good on the defensive end, they were unable to cash in offensively. SFA was only able to convert the 13 turnovers with into five first-half points, and among 11 first-half offensive rebounds SFA could only muster eight second chance points.
"Texas A&M is very successful at taking you out of your offense," said Riley. "That is what they did to us tonight. We were able to force some turnovers, but couldn't convert on the other end. That really hurt us, and it's a problem we've been fighting all year long. We also didn't get any production from our wings, and when that happens our offense struggles."
A&M built its lead to as many as 24 points in the first half before taking a 33-12 lead into the locker room. The Aggies connected on 12-of-21 (.571) shots in the opening half, while holding the Ladyjacks to a 16-percent clip.
SFA picked up the offense in the second half knocking down 8-of-22 (.364) shots, but they couldn't slow down the Aggies who shot 51.5 percent in the second half due in large part to their success in the low post. Texas A&M finished the game with a 38-18 advantage points in the paint.
The lone offensive spark for SFA was senior guard Natashia Green. The Lancaster, Texas, native finished the night with a team-high 12 points. The Aggies were led by Adaora Elonu's 17 points and six rebounds.
The Ladyjacks return to action Saturday when they travel to Grambling, La., to take on Grambling State. The game against the Lady Tigers is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from the GSU Assembly Center.
-SFA-
