THE BATTALION
Page 7
Aggies start with win, 72-53
By Brian Ruff
THE BATTALION
Junior forward Meg Banahan and sopho
more forward Toccara Williams led the Texas
A&M women’s basketball team to a 72-53
victory over the Abyhoj basketball club
Tuesday night at Reed Arena in the team’s
opening exhibition game of the 2001 season.
The Abyhoj team is the Aggies’ first of
two exhibition opponents to open the season.
Coming from Denmark on its United States
tour, Abyhoj’s game against the Aggies was
its fourth stop in Texas. The club team had
already played the University of Texas-
Arlington, Texas Christian University and
Southern Methodist University before trav
eling to College Station.
Banahan, who was one of two Aggies who
tallied a double-double against the Denmark
team, racked up 12 points and had 13 rebounds,
including eight in the first half of play.
“Meg played an all-around game,” said
A&M basketball coach Peggie Gillom.
“Defensively, offensively — she just
played smart. That is what she was last year
before she got hurt.”
The game was Banahan’s first action since
suffering a season-ending knee injury on Jan.
17 against Oklahoma.
“Last year when I got hurt, it was a spot
where 1 really thought I was playing well,”
[Banahan] played an
all-around game.
Defensively, offensively — she
just played smart.
— Peggie Gillom
A&M women’s basketball coach on
the play of junior forward Meg Banahan
Banahan said. “I just worked real hard trying
to get back to that.”
Williams also added 17 points, but was just
one rebound shy of a double-double with nine
boards on the night.
Both teams took some time to brush away
the off-season dust, going four minutes with
out adding points on the scoreboard. The
Aggies also had trouble hitting shots from the
floor, going just 16 for 44 from the floor in
the opening period.
“We just came out flat,” Gillom said.
“We were getting good looks, but the shots
did not fall.”
A&M jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but
the Denmark team marched back and cut the
Aggie lead to just 24-12 with just more than
five minutes left in the half.
The Aggies held on to the lead at the close
of the first half, but Denmark guard Kendra
Neal hit a layup with just three seconds left in
the half to cut the Aggie lead to 35-20.
In the second half of play, the Aggies main
tained a comfortable lead on the shoulders of
senior post Celeria Washington, who had 10
points in the second half. Washington also
brought down 14 rebounds against the
Denmark squad.
Washington hit a layup with more than
eight minutes remaining in the game, giving
the Aggies their biggest lead of the game at
22 points.
Abyhoj was led by point guard Kendra
Neal, who had 20 points as well as 10
rebounds to post a double-double of her own.
odriguez, Penright stepping up
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fter suffering its second
i of the season, the Texas
M football team will travel
Norman, Okla., Saturday to
;le the University of
lahoma Sooners. The No. 3
naers own an 18-game home
winning streak and are tied for
first in the Big 12 South.
Production from the outside
The Wrecking Crew has
been bolstered this season by a
pair of first-year starters at out
side linebacker.
Christian Rodriguez, a fifth-
year senior, and junior Jarrod
Penright have combined for 80
tackles this season. Rodriguez
has seen action in all but one
game, and Penright has played
in all of A&M’s nine games.
Penright recorded a career-high
nine tackles during the Aggies’ 24-
21 win over Iowa State.
The duo are also first and
second in sacks for A&M.
Penright has 9.5 sacks this year
while Rodriguez has 5.5.
After starting 2001 with a
combined four starts in the regu
lar season, the duo has earned
starts in 16 games this year.
Farmer keeps fighting
With one more rushing yard,
true freshman Derek Farmer
will become the seventh fresh
man running back in A&M his
tory to tally 500 rushing yards
and the first since Dante Hall ran
for 642 in 1996.
The school record for fresh
man rushing was set by Greg
Hill when he rushed for 1,216
yards in 1991.
Farmer leads the Aggies in
ground yards with 499 on 108
carries, an average of 4.6 yards
per carry. Farmer first saw
action against Oklahoma State
See Notebook on page 10.
GUY ROGERS • THE BATTAL16N
A&M junior cornerback Sammy Davis pushes Texas Tech’s Nehemiah
Glover out of bounds during the Aggies’ 12-0 loss in Lubbock.
dffering
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CONGRATULATIONS!
Join the Celebration at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
NOVEMBER 8TH RING DELIVERY
Tickets distributed throughout the day, beginning at 7:15 a.m.
You must have a numbered ticket to get your Ring.
Festivities begin at 2 p.m.
Ring distribution starts at 3 p m. and ends at 6 p.m.
FREK REFRESHMENTS, PHOTO,
GAMES AND MUSIC
Texas Aggie Artist, Benjamin Knox ’90, personalizing the “Historic Aggie Ring”
You must bring your pink receipt and driver’s license
to pick up your Ring. If you do not have your pink receipt, please bring
your student ID and driver’s license.
SPONSORED BY
TheAssociatiori
OF FORMER STUDENTS
lA/esevtb Tlte, Aggie, NetuucnJo!
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