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SALLIE TURNER/Tm BattaUON
senior forward Aaron Jack goes up for a shot against Colorado
University last Saturday at Reed Arena.
Ags host Texas Tech
BY AL LAZARUS
The Battalion
Officially, the Texas A&M men’s
eeh Univer
sity, 88-86, Jan. 15 in Lubbock.
Unofficially, the Aggies tied the Red
\ oters gave Bush 4 ? ^sketball team beat Texas
cent and McCain 4! j
cent, w itli 7 percentiri
Raiders.
Sophomore guard Andy Leather-
man’s layup appeared to come alter the
final buzzer had sounded, but the basket
was ruled good — igniting a storm of
protest from the Red Raiders and a hasty
departure from United Spirit Arena by
the Aggies, who understandably did not
want any part of what quickly turned into
an ugly situation.
A&M (7-15,3-8 Big 12) will look for
I a season sweep of Tech (10-12, 1 -10 Big
1 \2) when the Red Raiders visit Reed
Arena on Saturday. TipolT is set for 3
p.m.
“They’re going to be breathing fire,"
A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "Tech
will come in here thinking we stole one
up there, and they will have every intent
to get it back.”
The Aggies are coming off a 63-54
loss to Baylor Wednesday night in Waco.
A&M rallied from 13 down to take a
five-point lead with 4:00 remaining, but
the Bears’ Tevis Strikes nailed two clutch
3-pointers to rally Baylor down the
stretch.
Freshman guard Bernard King led
the Aggies with 21 points, upping his
scoring average to 16.5. King, who is the
Big 12’s seventh-leading scorer, was
See Tech on Page 8.
SPORTS
THE BATTALION Page?
Ags in second at Big 12 Championship
BY BLAINE DIONNE
The Battalion
It was a smile four years in the
making.
Senior Monica Williams, one
of five remaining seniors from an
initial freshman class of 14, was
grinning from ear to ear after she
finished warming down from her
most successful day at a Big 12
Championship as a Texas Aggie.
Although the University of
Texas is currently in first, Williams
and her teammates managed to fin
ish second, the best single-day
team performance at the Big 12
Championships in A&M history,
giving them the chance to make
some serious noise over the next
two days.
Williams’ contributions came
as a second-place finish in the 200-
yard freestyle relay, her third place
finish in the 200 individual medley
and another third-place finish in
the 400-yard medley relay.
According to Williams, what
made her performance so special
was the fact that she had never
swam the 200 IM in a pressure sit
uation before.
”1 was excited, it was my first
time swimming it [the 200 IM] at
a big meet because I basically
sprint freestyle,” Williams said.
“But my coach and I decided that
this time we’d swim the 200 IM in
stead of the 50 1'ree and I shocked
myself.”
Texas A&M women’s swim
ming coach Steve Bultman said he
was very pleased with the way his
senior was able to respond to the
challenge of the 200 IM.
“Monica Williams had a nice
time drop to get third in her race,
so that’s real good,” Bultman said.
“She just swam real well.”
Williams was not the only
highlight of the Aggies’ day,
though. Bultman said he was hap
py with his whole team after the
meet.
“We had a very good perfor
mance today,” Bultman said. “We
had a number of lifetime bests and
a number of school records, so we
were pleased.”
As happy as the Aggies may be
with their first-day results, they
still have a long way to go against
a powerful Texas team and an
equally skilled University of Ne
braska team.
The Longhorns took all three
See Second on Page 8.
JP BEATO/The Battalion
A&M swimmers (l-r) Monica Stroman, Monica Williams. Amy Osmun and Clara Ho
came in third in the 400-yard medley relay.
Women’s basketball travels to face Oklahoma State
BY REECE FLOOD
The Battalion
The last time the Texas A&M women’s basketball
team played Oklahoma State University, the Aggies lost
61-42 in Reed Arena. The loss put A&M in a freefall as
they lost the next seven games.
But the Aggies (11-11,3-9 Big 12) seem to have right
ed the ship, winning two of their last three games, and
will head to Stillwater, Okla. for a rematch game against
the Cowgirls (12-12, 4-8 Big 12) Saturday at 2 p.m.
In the first game, senior forward Kera Alexander
lead the way for the Aggies with 11 points. But the
Cowgirls had three players that shined. Toya Releford
ended the game with 15 points for OSU, while team
mates Chantoya Hawkins and Jennifer Crow each tal
lied 13 points.
Alexander thinks tomorrow’s game may be a little
different than the last time the two teams met.
“Hopefully, we’re starting to peak now alter the past
couple of games,” Alexander said. “I think we’re play
ing better as a team. I think we’re good enough to beat
them. I think we were good enough to beat them the
first time. Hopefully, the difference will be we decide
to come out and play.”
The Aggies feel confident about their chances for
a victory in Stillwater. OSU is in the midst of a five-
game losing streak, while the Aggies seem to be gain
ing momentum.
Alexander said if her team places pressure on OSU,
they might be able to take advantage of the Cowgirls.
“I think if we come out strong in the beginning, that
we can (take advantage of them),” Alexander said. “The
biggest thing is, if you let them in the game, they’re go
ing to build confidence and build confidence. Cause
when you’re down, you look for anything to build con
fidence. If we keep them down, then we should win the
game.”
Junior guard Brandy Jones thinks the Aggies are
ready for the challenge.
“We’re coming olf two big wins at home,” Jones
said. “We have the momentum, and we’re playing more
together as a team.”
See OSU on Page 8.
i
JMSa.