i aggie* rHE BATTAL vorh Sports I ’ up next for Aggies THE BATTALION Wednesday, January 23, 2002 a ! 0-minute p ■ggie Players, word process o said. “1 deci of my prior* major, saidti has written > ieard said. “A out the Elizib ^ apply becat' r work publish located in E« . McCann v ve not won o« ilar hut youdc' ■>lishers will it is buy a cop; Diversity Ur litcd but gro*: nd web reset, n the right (t e w riters be. , we can ex; s' workshop ction. Right provide e review with ch structure iters an at hat is supi st.” By True Brown THE BATTALION Bust when it looks like there might be a break in he clouds for the Texas A&M men’s basketball ear , the road comes calling. This time the road eatls straight to Austin, where the red-hot Jniversity of Texas Longhorns await. iBl'Iie road has been brutal for A&M this season, ind the Aggies have managed only a 2-9 record iway from Reed Arena. HThc skies seem a bit brighter after A&M (7-11, 1-3 Big 12) posted a 63-60 win over Baylor Jaturday. its first conference win of the season. ■The first thing I’ve noticed is that the guys had t smile when they came to practice,” said A&M tea ! coach Melvin Watkins. “It didn’t seem like it vs such a chore. The guys have been working tani and the only part that was missing was that ve hadn’t gotten a win. [Saturday] was surely a vav of saying that if you keep working hard, good hings will happen.” ■UT head coach Rock Barnes has his team firing >n ill cylinders, as the Longhorns (13-4, 4-0) have von 12 of their last 13 games, including a road vin over then-No. 5 Oklahoma State on Jan. 5. Bflie Longhorns have been without forward rhiis Owens, their leading scorer, since a Dec. 29 jan in Utah where he tore the anterior cruciate igament in his right knee, ending his season. With Owens’ absence, the Horns have relied on the likes of guards Brandon Mouton, Royal Ivey and T.J. Ford. Ford, a freshman, leads the nation in assists with an 8.4 average and surpassed last year’s team leader in assists for the entire season during his eighth game. “[Ford | has a great understanding of the game,” Bames said. “He really sees what is going on, and if he doesn't see something, he has a great under standing of what needs to be happening.” Watkins said he will depend on more than one player to guard Ford. “(Junior guard) Bradley Jackson will get T.J. Ford and (senior guard) Andy Leatherman and whoever else we can find to guard him,” Watkins said. “He’s having a sensational freshman year. He is a special player.” Watkins also announced that freshman guard Daryl Mason has been cleared to return to practice with the team. Mason, along with sophomore guard Michael Gardener, was suspended prior to A&M’s game against Oklahoma on Jan. 5. The pair have missed all four of the Aggies’ conference games. Watkins did not say when Mason would be alloyyed to resume playing in games. He also See Longhorns on page 7 STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION Sophomore forward Nick Anderson and the Texas A&M men’s basket ball team will take on the University of Texas at 8 p.m. tonight in Austin. Tough stretch continues for A&M JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION Tex t s A&M sophomore Janae Derrick puts upp shot against Iowa State Jan. 12. By Kevin Espenlaub THE BATTALION The Texas A&M women’s basketball team (10-7, 2-3) will reach the halfway point of a brutal seven game stretch against ranked opponents Wednesday when it tries to get back on track after a 88-70 defeat Saturday at the hands of the No. 19 University of Colorado Buffaloes. Standing in its way is a tough Baylor team (13-3, 2-3) that will enter Wednesday’s game on the heels of a dominating win over the University of Missouri Tigers, 80-59, Saturday. The Bears enter the contest at the Ferrell Center in Waco ranked No. 14. The Aggies started the rough stretch at Reed Arena with a win over then- ranked No. 5 Iowa State and a narrow defeat by the No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats. Saturday’s game was another close contest at halftime when the Aggies hit the locker room trailing by one, but Colorado was able to pull away in the second half with the help a 7-of-8 three-point shooting performance. A&M finished the game with 1 1 buckets from the long-range line. After shooting 50 percent from the field for the first half, the team followed up with a 32 percent performance in the final 20 minutes of the game. “I think we played well in the first half, but we just ran out of gas in the sec ond,” said A&M head coach Peggie Gillom. “Offensively we just weren't able to get anything going.” One bright spot for the team was their leading scorer, senior guard LaToya Rose, who shot for 19 points, including five from the three-point line. Rose was the leading scorer for the team during the upset over Iowa State when she notched a school-record eight three-pointers. See Ranked on page 7 SPORTS IN BRIEF Three sign letter of intent for A&M The Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team announced the signing of three athletes to a National Letter of Intent Tuesday. Paty Villarreal, from Jacksonville, Fla., was a Mexican Olympian in 2000 and swims the distance freestyle event. Katy Lieb, from Brookfield, Wis., was the 2001 Wisconsin High School State Champion in the 200 freestyle. Kara Morelli, from Scottsdale, Ariz., was the 2001 Arizona State High School champion and auto matic All-American in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley. Coakley added to Pro Bowl roster IRVING, Texas (AP) - Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dexter Coakley was added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster Tuesday, replacing Derrick Brooks of Tampa Bay, who is injured. Coakley, a Pro Bowler in 1999, becomes the first Dallas linebacker to earn multiple trips to the Pro Bowl since Bob Breunig went for the third time in 1982. Prior to this season, Coakley signed a $25 million, six-year contract, the most the team has ever given a linebacker. That deal, which included a $5.5 million sign ing bonus, ended an exodus of 13 free-agent linebackers the Cowboys had lost since free agency began in 1989. )0pm 79) 764'1^ ! Your Direct Fin!! ’touts to: 5 ~ Fis>h Fond The MSC * The Wehner fiuilding, the Medical School & the Vet School • MosK