By ROBERT CESSNAThe Texas A&M women's basketball team got its swagger back at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Aggies also found another scoring option in Tyra White.
White and A&M will play their first home game since Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Monday against the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Tipoff was pushed back to allow fans time to watch the A&M football team play Georgia in the Independence Bowl.
A&M's women have been busy since rolling to a 108-48 victory over North Texas in their last game at Reed Arena.
The 10th-ranked Aggies (9-1) suffered a 56-54 loss at Texas Christian but bounced back in Las Vegas to beat Arizona State, which defeated A&M in the NCAA Tournament last season. A&M then finished the Holiday Hoops Classic by holding off Gonzaga 80-76.
White, a 6-foot sophomore guard, hit a pair of 3-pointers to spur a 16-6 opening run, then added a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left to seal the victory after Gonzaga had pulled within a bucket.
"Tyra White was probably our most valuable player for the whole tournament," A&M head coach Gary Blair said. "She was solid for us and made good decisions."
White had a career-high 18 points against Arizona State with a 7-of-11 shooting effort. She matched that with 18 points against Gonzaga but with an even more impressive shooting effort. She made 5 of 6 3-pointers and played a team-high 35 minutes. Over 70 minutes of action in the Classic, she committed just one turnover.
A&M expected those kind of numbers from White when Blair signed her out of Kansas City, but she suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2007-08 season opener. After a medical redshirt, she bounced back for a solid freshman season, averaging 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 13 minutes per game. She played in 34 games but started only one.
This season Blair is counting on more from White, who started slow but began heating up before heading to Las Vegas. She hit 5 of 6 shots against North Texas, then scored 16 points at TCU on 7-of-10 shooting.
White's scoring average has ballooned to 10.3 points a game, third on the team behind senior guard Tanisha Smith (17.3) and junior forward Danielle Adams (13.7). White has become the top sharpshooter in the team's nine-player rotation. She's shooting a blistering 60.9 percent from the field (42 of 69), including 10 of 17 from 3-point range.
White and the Aggies will be tested by the competitive Lady Panthers, who won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title last season for the third straight year and are picked to repeat.
Monday's game is almost like a home opener for Prairie View (3-5), which has played six road games and two others in a tournament at Texas Tech.
All of the Lady Panthers' losses have been by single digits. Perennial power Rutgers beat Prairie View 50-45 on Dec. 10, which was the Lady Panthers' last game.
PVAMU's other losses were to Long Beach State (76-68), San Francisco (68-64), Texas Tech (67-60) and Tulane (67-63). The Lady Panthers' wins came against Cal State Northridge (85-70), Texas-Arlington (65-58) and New Orleans (71-50).
Prairie View is led by 6-foot senior forward Gaati Werema the reigning SWAC player of the year. She's averaging 15 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Candice Thomas averages 16.5 points a game.
A&M women's basketball
8 p.m. Monday
Prairie View A&M (3-5) at A&M (9-1)
KZNE (1150 AM)
Tickets: $2.50, $5.50
TEXAS A&M-PRAIRIE VIEW A&M LINEUPS
TEXAS A&M (9-1)
NAME POS. HT. CL. PPG RPG
Sydney Colson G 5-8 Jr. 7.2* 5.0
Tanisha Smith F 6-0 Sr. 17.3 3.7
Tyra White G 6-0 So. 10.3 2.6
Adaora Elonu F 6-1 So. 9.7 3.7
Damitria Buchanan F 6-2 Sr. 4.1 5.0
PRAIRIE VIEW (3-5)
NAME POS. HT. CL. PPG RPG
Candice Thomas G 5-9 Sr. 16.5 3.3
Gaati Werema F 6-0 Sr. 15.0 8.9
Courtney Larson G 5-8 Jr. 4.1 1.6
Latara Darrett G Jr. 5-10 11.9 5.6
Ciara Banks F 6-1 Jr. 4.6 5.0
*assists per game
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