Sports
The Battalion
Page IB • Friday, December 13, 2002
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By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
A red-hot and we II-rested Texas
A&M men’s basketball team will
return to the court on Sunday at Reed
rena to host the University of Texas-
in Antonio Roadrunners (UTSA).
[Tie Aggies (5-1) have been on a four-
ime tear since losing a close game to
!iami on Nov. 26. The streak
includes wins over Louisiana State,
mnessee, and most recently. Prairie
(ew A&M in double overtime.
While the A&M men have contin-
sd adding to their win total, fresh-
lan guard Antoine Wright has con
tinued to play like a seasoned veteran,
■right averaged just under 19 points
and 10 rebounds in the Aggies’ three
Ictories last week on his way to
:oming the Phillips 66 Big 12
Rookie of the Week for the second
consecutive week. Wright poured in
21 points and nabbed 12 rebounds
against Prairie View in A&M’s most
recent contest.
| “I knew he could score, but his
^bounding has been a plus for us, so
we hope he can continue to do that,”
said A&M head coach Melvin Watkins.
The Aggies’ significantly
improved defense has provided some
peace of mind for Watkins. Since
allowing 65 second-half points in a
forgettable preseason game versus
the EA Sports All-Stars, the Aggies
have finally started to show signs of
life on both ends of the court.
“We’ve made defense a top priori
ty," Watkins said. “We’ve put a lot of
emphasis on (defense) because we
know that’s an area where, to be a
good team, you’ve got to play well.”
On Sunday, A&M has an opportu
nity to further the team’s defensive
confidence, as UTSA head coach
Kevin Carter and his team (2-3) will
continue adjusting to a new offensive
scheme. Carter made the changes just
two days prior to his team’s 81-67
victory over St. Mary's University a
week and a half ago.
“We installed a new offense ... so
we are still a little shaky with what
we are doing, but I thought we did a
good job of controlling the second
half (against St. Mary’s),” Carter said.
While the Roadrunners lack the
early season record A&M boasts.
UTSA has its share of threatening
players. Junior forward Leroy Hurd
dropped 21 points on St. Mary’s and
has posted double-digit outings in
all five of his team’s games thus far.
Of late, senior forward Ike Akotaobi
has been the Roadrunners’ hottest
hand, throwing down 24 points in a
loss to Marquette University and
matching Hurd’s 21 points in
UTSA’s last game.
Committed to avoiding a collapse
following the Aggies’ scorching start,
Watkins does not want his team to
become complacent.
“Can we win some close games?
Can we compete with Big 12-caliber
teams? I think we’ve answered some
of those questions,” Watkins said.
“Now the question has to be: Can we
get better? Can we take it another
step? Hopefully, the answer is yes.”
The A&M men will enter
Sunday’s game off an eight-day hia
tus, during which players prepared
for final exams. Tip-off is scheduled
for 2 p.m.
A&M’s new head football coach
Dennis Franchione will be speaking
to fans at halftime.
'tPS
JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION
A&M freshman forward Antoine Wright drives past his Prairie View defender last Saturday.
Wright was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive time earlier this week.
New coaches named Aggies ready to take on Mavericks
tion
:eam
ion
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M Head Football
[loach Dennis Franchione
innounced Les Koenning. Jr. as the
new offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach on Thursday.
Koenning is one of eight assis
tant coaches making the move from
Alabamato A&M with Franchione.
The Crimson Tide offense was
ranked No. 1 in the Southeastern
Conference last season.
T’m pleased (Koenning) will
join our staff as offensive coor
dinator and quarterbacks coach,”
Franchione said. “He’s done an
excellent job of coordinating
(Alabama’s) offense the past
two years.”
This will be Koenning’s second
stop in College Station. Koenning
worked with wide receivers at
A&M from 1995-96 before work
ing on Jimmy Johnson’s staff with
the Miami Dolphins as an offensive
assistant in 1997.
Koenning moved back to the
college game in 1998 as offensive
coordinator and quarterbacks coach
at Duke University.
Koenning served in the same
capacity at Houston before joining
See Coaches on page 4B
By Gary Livingston
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M women’s basketball
team will try to extend its five-game win
ning streak when it hosts the University of
Texas-Arlington (UTA) Mavericks on
Saturday at Reed Arena at 2 p.m.
The Aggies (5-1) are coming off an
impressive 85-68 win over Wright State
(1-5) in which senior forward Kim
Moore had a double-double with a sea
son-high 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior center Lynn Classen also scored a
career and season-high 20 points.
“This was a big road win for us,” said
A&M head coach Peggie Gillom. “We
started slow, but picked it up on defense.
We started to beat them inside and I
thought that was the key to the game.’
In the game, the Aggies scored 56 of
their 85 points in the paint and outrebound-
ed Wright State, 46-31.
“We just kept pounding at them,”
Gillom said. “Lynn (Classen) really wanted
this game. She is quickly becoming a
leader for us. She is just getting better with
each game.”
The Aggies will now set their sights on
Saturday’s match up with UTA (2-3).
Last season, the Mavericks went 14-
15 overall and 12-8 in the Southland
conference.
The Mavericks have all five starters
returning from last year’s squad including
center Sheena Johnson, who averaged 10
points and 11 rebounds per game, and for
ward Rola Ogunoye, who averaged 13
points and six rebounds.
The two teams have not faced off since
1988, but the Aggies hold a 6-1 all-time
advantage over the Mavericks and have
won six straight games against UTA.
During the Aggies’ five-game winning
streak, they have won by an average of 23
points a game and captured the Whataburger
Women’s Basketball Classic.
Junior guard Toccara Williams, who
leads the nation in steals and is averaging 6.6
assists and 5 steals per game, has been post
ing another solid year for A&M. She is the
Big 12 Conference’s active steal leader with
244 and is only 64 shy of breaking A&M’s
all-time record held by Lisa Branch.
MAKE
PLANS
FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Don’t spend your entire holiday
break eating fruitcake at
Aunt Edna’s. Get out and see
what Houston and the rest of
the world are talking about.
Check out the game schedule
below for some of the hottest
Rockets games of the season,
all happening during your
holiday break.
2002.03 season
• I »7i
Ti
Ti
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Friday,
December 27
7:30 pm
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oelebncluck to first 5,000 fans
entering the arena
Friday,
December 20
7:30 pm
See the Rockets battle
Shareef Abdur-Rahim and
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Sunday,
December 29
7:30 pm
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take on
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Tuesday,
December 31
9:00 pm
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