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Sports
The Battalion
Page 5 • Friday, January 17, 2003
Aggies take on No. 20 Texas
Men’s basketball seeking consecutive conference wins
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
This time in 2002, the Texas A&M bas
ketball team went down the road to Austin
and accomplished something that an Aggie
basketball team had not done since the
1984-85 season: it beat the Longhorns on
their home court.
This year, the No. 4 ‘Horns are stronger
and faster than last year’s squad, but the
Aggies still feel they have a chance to win
the game.
“It’s always tough to go on the road in
the Big 12,” said A&M head coach
Melvin Watkins. “That’s our challenge, to
go on the road and see how well we can
play in the Big 12.”
Road wins in the Big 12 don’t come easy
for anyone, but the Aggies have had an
especially difficult time on the road since
joining the conference.
Since joining the Big 12 in the 1996-97
season, the Aggies are a combined 6-43 on
the road in Big 12 conference play, including
their win against Nebraska Wednesday.
The Aggies’ performance on the road
should be a confidence booster for the
Aggies heading into Austin Saturday night.
A&M held off Nebraska with a strong fin
ish in Lincoln. Senior guard Bernard King
scored with 1:01 remaining in the game.
Neither team scored again in the final minute
and the Aggies held on for the 53-52 win.
King's 18-point effort in the win against
Nebraska puts him 96 points away from the
all-time Big 12 scoring record of 1,779
career points.
Watkins said the key to winning on the
road is confidence.
“You better have some good players with
lots of confidence,” Watkins said. “That
surely puts you in position to win on the
road. If you don’t have that confidence you
are in a bad. bad situation.”
“Part of being good is having confidence
to go out and execute your game plan.”
The Longhorns (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) have
had that confidence so far this season. The
Longhorns’ two losses were to Notre Dame
in the BB&T Classic in Washington, D.C.
and on the road to Arizona.
UT struggled early in its last action as it
trailed by as many as 1 1 points in the first
half at Baylor University before pulling out
an 16-1 scoring run in the second half to
gain the lead for good and leave Waco with
the 82-7 1 victory.
The Longhorns are led by sophomore
guard T.J. Ford, who has been dominant on
offense and defense. Ford enters Saturday
night’s game with the Aggies averaging
13.0 points per game and leads the team
with 30 steals.
Texas has beaten A&M in 22 of their
past 25 meetings, dating back to 1986-87.
The Longhorns lead the all-time series
with a commanding 121-79 record against
the Aggies.
The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. at Frank
C. Irwin, Jr. Center.
AUSSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION
Aggie guard Bernard King dunks the ball while the Oklahoma State
Cowboys look on. A&M will face the Longhorns on Saturday night.
Women’s basketball travels to OU following loss to Longhorns
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M women’s basket
ball team will have an opportunity to
move forward after being trounced
74-47 by the University of Texas
when the Aggies travel to face the
Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.
The overwhelming defeat at the
hands of the 20th-ranked Longhorns
came on Wednesday night at Reed
Arena. Texas’ Stacy Stephens scored 18
points, aiding her team in its third
straight victory, but the Aggies’ most
significant problems were associated
with their inability to rebound. A&M
was outrebounded 50-26 in the game.
“I thought we had fixed that since the
Texas Tech game,” said A&M head
coach Peggie Gillom. “I thought
rebounding was going to be one of the
keys of the game.”
The Aggies’ rebounding struggles
were likely to be expected following the
retirement of Kim Moore, the team's
leading rebounder, announced this past
Wednesday. Moore cited personal rea
sons as the motivation for her departure.
It is doubtful that things will get
much easier for Gillom and her team
during the trip to Lloyd Noble Center in
Norman. No. 23 Oklahoma finished as
the NCAA runner-up just a year ago.
Still, the Sooners returned only one
starter from last year’s squad and are
fresh off of an 80-71 loss to No. 7
Texas Tech on Wednesday. Junior
guard Maria Villarroel contributed 20
points for Oklahoma, which surren
dered its first conference loss at home
in more than a year.
“We had a few slips, and every time
we did, they made us pay,” said
Sooners’ head coach Sherri Coale.
“They’re not ranked No. 7 in the coun
try for nothing.”
Oklahoma had trouble shooting ver
sus the Red Raiders, despite putting up
71 points. One of the Sooners’ top
offensive threats, sophomore guard
Dionnah Jackson, shot just two of 16.
“We have come to depend on her for
about 15 points, and she just struggled
and took some ill-advised shots,” Coale
said. “I thought we executed better, but
we still have a long way to go.”
With A&M and Oklahoma coming
off upsetting defeats, Saturday’s game
becomes much more important for each
team. The Aggies could pick up consec
utive Big 12 road wins for the first time,
while the Sooners will be working to
maintain a national ranking in the top 25.
Junior A&M point guard Toccara
Williams will certainly be a player to
watch, having averaged 13.3 points, 6.5
assists and 5.2 steals per game.
Williams ranks first nationally in steals
and is 15th in the country in assists. One
of Williams' goals entering the season
was a top-six finish in conference, an
accomplishment being sought by many
teams in the conference.
“When you’re in the top six, you're
going to be recognized as one of the
best teams in the nation,” Williams said.
“The Big 12 is the hardest conference,
so being in the top six says a lot.”
Oklahoma will depend on improve
ment from Jackson, along with con
tinued output from older players such
as Villarroel.
Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.
e fitace, ta
reie:)
15 13
In
Rudder
Theater
at 8pm
Free with
Wristband
Presented in conjunction with the
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& the African American Student Coalition
must be present to win
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& win $150
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from 9:30 fil 12:30
in the flaeroom
Enjoy all the
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starting at 9pm
In the basement
ALL NIGHT LONG
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Free IMlliards
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Friday, January 17 9pm - 1am In the MSC
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