Dec. 8, 2009
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Tanisha Smith scored 16 points and No. 5 Texas A&M showed no signs of fatigue in its fourth game in seven days, routing North Texas 108-49 on Tuesday night at Reed Arena.
It was the largest margin of victory for the Aggies (7-0) who outscored North Texas 54-11 in points off turnovers. The Aggies have won their first seven games by an average of 29 points.
The game was tied at 10 five minutes in, but A&M began asserting itself defensively against the overmatched Mean Green (3-7) and led 56-22 at the half.
The Aggies are off to their second-best start in school history, trailing only last year's 12-0 mark at the beginning of the season. The Aggies have also won 40 consecutive non-conference home games since the 2003-04 season.
Chynna Burwell scored 10 points for North Texas.
The Aggies reached the 100-point mark with 3:38 remaining in the contest. A&M broke the 100-point barrier for the second time in a season for the first time in school history, after defeating Stephen F. Austin 106-56 on Dec. 2.
A&M will return to the road for its next three ballgames starting off with a meeting with old Southwest Conference rival TCU (5-3) on Saturday, Dec. 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be televised live on the Mtn. Network and tipoff at 6 p.m. (CT).
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the sixth time this season, Texas A&M used the starting five of Sydney Colson, Tyra White, Tanisha Smith, Adaora Elonu and Damitria Buchanan (6-0).
• With the victory, the Aggies are off to their second-best start in school history with a perfect 7-0 mark. They have now won the last four-straight meetings with North Texas in the 17-game all-time series (13-4).
• A&M scored a season-high 106 points in the ballgame which is third-largest output by any Aggie squad in the 36-year history of the program. The 59-point blowout was the fifth-largest margin of victory in school history.
• The Aggies have now recorded two 100-point games in a single season for the first time in program history. They also defeated Stephen F. Austin by a count of 106-56 on Dec. 2 in College Station.
• Damitria Buchanan recorded a career-and season-high 15 points versus the Mean Green. She surpassed her previous career-high of nine points in the first half of play. Buchanan also registered her 200th career point in the ballgame and currently has 203 career points to date.
• Tanisha Smith turned in a game-high 16 points and is now on a 15-game consecutive double-digit scoring streak. She was one of six players in double figures including 11 from Tyra White, 10 from Adaora Elonu, a career-high 10 from freshman Kristi Bellock and career-high 10 from sophomore Skylar Collins.
• The A&M defense held North Texas to the fewest points scored by an opponent this season in a first half (22) next to 22 first-half points by Rice on Nov. 18. The Mean Green ended the night with an opponent season-low 49 points which was the same number produced by the Aggies' bench (49).
• A&M scored 56 first-half points which marked the second most points scored in the first half this season.
• The Aggies have now won 44 of their last 46 non-conference home games in the Gary Blair Era. They have won 40 consecutive non-conference home contests since a loss to Houston on Dec. 30, 2003.
• Fourteen of the 16 players on the team's roster contributed to the scoring column including freshman Diamond Ashmore who scored her first career points (2) as an Aggie at the 9:37 minute mark of the second half against North Texas.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
On the game ...
"Our kids came ready to play. We had a good tournament out there in California. Our kids needed a little bit of sleep and the coaching staff did, too. Our bench played better than they have all year. It was good to see CeCe (Windham), (Kristi) Bellock and (Adrienne) Pratcher come into the game. The first five or six kids were making good decisions. Damitria Buchanan is the most improved player on our team. She is getting better and better. I really like the way Damitria is playing right now. Our point guards are getting people the basketball. We do a good job of sharing the ball. It was good for our team to play as well as they did tonight. I'm not worried about the rebound total. When the score gets out of hand like that, you have a mismatch on rebounds. I liked our transition game and that was why our shooting percentage was good tonight."
On finals and the team's upcoming road game at TCU ...
"We really need the day off tomorrow to catch up in the classroom and on our sleep. They (the team) feel good about themselves right now. There are only 15 teams in the country who are still undefeated. You want to hold on as long as you can. The most important thing right now is to get better. We are going to take some hits, like everyone else in the country. TCU is a good basketball team and they are playing very well right now."
Texas A&M Senior Forward Damitria Buchanan
On the game and scoring a career-high 15 points ...
"We knew going into the game that they had a very small squad. For the past few games, we've played teams that didn't have a lot of height and we pounded the boards. Danielle (Adams) was getting her points and Adaora (Elonu) was getting her points. I figured it was my time to step it up and score on the offensive end."
On keeping up the intensity despite being up by so much ...
"We don't know anything else except to be intense. Our practices, pre-games and shootarounds are intense. It's like second nature for us to be intense regardless what the other team is doing."
Texas A&M Senior Guard/Forward Tanisha Smith
On playing against a zone ...
"The last couple of games we actually have seen a zone. We've been working on plays to get the ball inside the paint. I passed when I knew I had to, when they were doubling and tripling me. We just take what the offense gives us."
On having a deep bench ...
"Getting our young ones in is a plus. We might need them down the stretch if someone fouls out. Our first five is not always going to have a perfect game. We have too much talent on our team to focus on just the starting five."
North Texas Head Coach Shanice Stephens
On the game ...
"This was a tough one from the start. They pressed us and we couldn't get into any rhythm. They are as good as advertised. We got completely dominated in every phase tonight."
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